: Re: How to turn an unknown detail in the story into a mystery instead of a lacking detail? I mean, how to make so that an undefined information in the plot be considered a mystery, i.e. an intentional

In combination with "lampshading" the unsolved mystery in dialogue, as mentioned in the answers by Jay and Dale Hartley Emery, you can demonstrate that your unanswered question is intentional by putting it right at the beginning or right at the end of the story, i.e. at the parts of the story where readers know that the writer is most likely to have carefully planned every detail.

I can't think of an example, but I know my interest has often been piqued by a story starting with something like, "We never did find out how the Duchess disposed of the severed head..."

Putting the unsolved mystery at the end works well in both the book and the film of The Day of the Jackal. From memory, almost the last scene of the film ends with someone asking, after discovering that the eponymous Jackal could not have been the man they were tracking, "Then who the hell was he?" Somehow it adds to the memorability of the Jackal's character that we never do find out his true identity.

Load Full (0)

: How to handle characters being funny in a dire situation without ruining the mood There's one thing I always find impressive and moving when I see it in accounts of historical events or depicted

@Carla500

Load Full 7 Comments

: Stuck at outlining a script I have an idea, and it seemed like I had a somewhat clear understanding of the story, it's theme and most of the major plot points, but no matter how long I

@Carla500

Load Full 0 Comments

: How do your users read and use the manual? If they use it as a textbook, where 95% of the readers start at the beginning and progress through to the end in linear fashion, then put all

@Carla500

Load Full 0 Comments

: Re: How to turn an unknown detail in the story into a mystery instead of a lacking detail? I mean, how to make so that an undefined information in the plot be considered a mystery, i.e. an intentional

More posts by @Carla500

: How to handle characters being funny in a dire situation without ruining the mood There's one thing I always find impressive and moving when I see it in accounts of historical events or depicted

: Stuck at outlining a script I have an idea, and it seemed like I had a somewhat clear understanding of the story, it's theme and most of the major plot points, but no matter how long I

: How do your users read and use the manual? If they use it as a textbook, where 95% of the readers start at the beginning and progress through to the end in linear fashion, then put all

: Questions to do with fiction or nonfiction tomes, print or digital, either professionally or self-published.

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top