6 Things to Keep in Mind While Writing a Murder Mystery 

Writing a murder mystery can be an equally thrilling and nervous endeavour. What makes murder mysteries a popular genre in books is its ability to involve the reader as a detective – something that is not possible in real life. A good murder mystery would engage the reader in solving its twists, almost giving the feeling of playing a game. If you are new to writing and want to try your hand at writing a murder mystery, the following tips can be of help to you. 

1. Start With Your Characters 

What is their role in the story? What is their motive? What about their backstory? In addition to their specific traits, think of these questions while developing a character sheet for each of the characters. Generally, a murder mystery will include one or more murder victims, a few potential suspects and the protagonist who solves the mystery behind the crime. This main character need not necessarily be a detective. What makes your main character stand out is their unique way of seeing things and how they use their intelligence. Sometimes, they have their complicated past as well. 

2. Develop a Plot that Will Keep Your Reader Guessing

One of the best ways to create suspense from the beginning while writing a murder mystery is to start with the crime. Once you have figured out the basic facts about the crime, start plotting the story in reverse. Begin by creating a list of potential suspects. Give each one of them a reason to commit the crime. Identify the clues they will leave behind and the murder weapon used. Figure out how each scene pans out and how it will move the plot forward. Make sure that there’s enough room for clues, twists, and red herrings to keep the readers guessing till the end. Come up with a detailed outline of the key moments and note down the small details that the readers would overlook. This way, you will be enabled to keep track of all the elements and cohesively narrate the story.

3. Start with a Hook

If you are a mystery lover, you would know that a good mystery will always start with a bang. The ideal way to achieve this is by starting with an engaging scene, full of tension. As mentioned earlier, you might want to start with a death or the scenes that follow after the death, with characters struggling to piece together the incident. You need to make sure that you set the tone and introduce the characters in a memorable way that the readers would be eager to continue reading. 

4. Show, Don’t Tell 

While writing a murder mystery, it’s crucial to keep in mind this golden rule- show, don’t tell. You might be tempted to lay all the cards on the table from the very beginning. But, that’s not the way to keep the readers engaged. Let the mystery be revealed to both the reader and the main character at the same time. You need to maintain that balance. If your protagonist is way ahead of the reader, there are high chance that your reader will feel cheated or frustrated. On the other hand, if it’s the reader who happens to be ahead of the main character, the readers will feel bored of waiting for the protagonist to catch up.

5. Add a Shocking Twist

It’s that one big reveal that makes a murder mystery unforgettable. If you wish to write an engaging murder mystery, keep in mind that the twist needs to be unexpected and organic to the story. Here are a few methods you can follow to write twists that would leave the readers reeling. 

Leave all the cues of suspicion early on in the story. By the time you reach the shocking twist, the readers should feel suspicious about every potential suspect. 

Make sure the clues that will lead the reader to the killer are there, but well hidden. It shouldn’t be made obvious and the readers need to put some effort into getting to the truth.

Do not hesitate to go against expectations. Just when the reader thinks that they have figured it all, throw them another curveball. Go ahead and let your imagination run wild. 

6. Keep the Clues and Red Herrings Subtle

All the great murder mysteries have one thing in common- that they drop just enough clues and red herrings. You need to lay out plenty of clues and traps in between to keep the readers guessing throughout the novel. That being said, you should learn how to strike the right balance. When you leave too many clues, it will be easier for the reader to find the truth. This way, they will lose interest in reading further. If the twist is easy to guess, then you should get the reader excited as to how the main character solves the mystery. On the other hand, leaving too few clues can make the reader feel frustrated. They can also get irritated when some of the information is only known to the main character, keeping them in the dark. The key here is to provide just enough information to enable the reader to piece the puzzle together. Here are a few ways you can do this.

Using red herrings can be a great way to throw off the scent. However, using them way too many times can become frustrating. One or two well-placed red herrings are enough to leave your readers confused. 

Leave small clues in a way that they will most probably be overlooked. You should plant these hints throughout the story in a way that will make sense to the reader in hindsight.

Also Read: Murder on My Mind

While planning the twist, you need to keep in mind you should balance between providing enough details and giving away too much information. If it’s too apparent, that will take away the fun of reading the story. And, when it’s too hard to find out, the readers will feel cheated when they reach the end. 

If you are looking forward to writing an engrossing murder mystery, you need to add an unexpected twist and capture the reader’s attention from the very beginning. Character development is another important element of a good murder mystery. Make the characters memorable by giving them unique traits and backstories. Read a lot of murder mysteries and do enough research before starting to write one.