It’s Thursday. Excited? Most people aren’t. Thursday is a
meh leftover of Wednesday, bland as cold mashed potatoes without any salt...and
I’m talkin’ the instant kind with lumpy bits of dried flakes. Cough, yak,
gross.
That’s right. Nothing even remotely exciting ever happens on Thursday.
Until now! Introducing (cue a cymbal crash loud enough to make you
cringe and/or want to punch said crasher in the head)…
A tidbit is a tasty little nibble. Think Kibbles-n-Bits but
for humans. Every Thursday, I’ll toss a dainty little morsel your way that’s
related to whatever I happen to be working on at the time.
For example, if A
Heart Deceived was my current work-in-progress, I might share what an
Airloom is (a mechanical contraption designed to insert thoughts into one’s
brain…as believed by one of the lunatics in eighteenth century Bedlam).
Presently, though, I’m working on a contemporary mystery, so
today’s tidbit is about the elements needed for the making of a good
page-turner.
1. A Quirky Detective
While every mystery involves some kind of crime, it’s not
the fictional corpses that tether your reader to the story. It’s the detective.
Readers want to help solve the crime, so you’d better give them somebody that’s
interesting to hang out with. I’ve actually got 2 detectives in my latest WIP.
Fern & Zula are retired sisters-in-law that have a love/hate relationship
and are freaking hilarious in their interactions.
2. Clues as Prolific
as Our National Debt
Don’t worry. I’m not going all debt ceiling kamikaze on you,
though with the current state of affairs in Washington…Nah. I promised Thursday
would be fun. Now then, there are 3 kinds of clues that need to be included in
a good mystery.
- Genuine Clues help the detective by pointing to the killer.
- Fake Clues (red herrings) point to anyone else except for the killer.
- Pivotal Clues are those on which the solution depends. Think of these as the final pieces of the puzzle that solve the crime.
3. The Big Reveal
A
mystery must culminate in a killer of a scene that exposes who the criminal is and his motivation, forcing your reader to shout, “I knew it! I just knew it!
Dang. I’m good.” It’s a feel good moment in which all the loose ends are tied
up into neat little bows. However, this must be done with finesse and
excitement or your reader will not shout but instead mumble, “I knew it! Dang.
This book is a piece of dried bird droppings.”
So
there’s your Thursday Tidbit. Whatcha think? Good addition to Writer Off the
Leash? Keep or scrap?
Posts
.png)
6 comments:
Oh eww, I highly detest boxed mashed potatoes. Especially when the flakes are still left in it. OK, onto a better subject. Airloom? Really? I'm so glad I didn't live back then and have quacks come up with silly inventions. OH wait, we still have that today. :)
Love the tidbit! I pride myself on trying to figure out the mystery ahead of time. But it doesn't always happen. lol
Love this new addition to your blog, Michelle! I say keep it! I love a good mystery now and then. I watch several whodunit shows and I love trying to figure out who the killer is before he/she is revealed. And when they reveal that it was someone that I had never considered, it causes me to replay the whole episode again in my head to figure out what I missed. The same with books, if you get thrown for a loop, you want to recall everything that you have read.....which means the books is good. I will be praying that your WIP turns out fantastic!
Can't wait to read your mystery!
So happy that you are working on this story again.. Can't wait to read it. But keep the mashed potatoes out of it - unless your whipping up a batch of Lefse...
Yes, keep the tidbit, I like it. I also like hearing about your current WIP. Contemporary mystery with retired sister-in-laws, can't wait to read more about it!
Susan & RD ~ I'm with ya, girls. No boxed mashed potatoes in my household!
Chaplain & Lis ~ Alrighty. That's 2 votes for, zero against. Tidbit Thursday will remain!
I like it! Those potatoes do sound gross, although I'm not one who hates Thursdays. I usually really like Thursdays. But this just makes them even better! :) Laughing at that Airloom thing. Sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland. I love mysteries. Haven't gotten to read a LOT of actual mystery novels, but I do love watching movies and shows. Anything Sherlock Holmes is awesome.
Post a Comment