investigation stories (and novels). The type of story I'm aiming for is in the vein

I don't know of any online resources, but I would offer a couple of my own suggestions:

1) Before you begin the story, you MUST know how the crime was actually committed. This is because stories of this type can require complex choreography to get the various characters into the correct positions. If you realize too late that you have to change the circumstances of the crime, you may be in for quite a bit of rewriting.

2) Begin with the actual crime, which should be fairly straightforward. Once that's done, you can the obfuscate what actually happened. Work backwards, in other words.

3) Make sure that facts that appear obvious during the setup may not be what they seem. Be sure all the characters - not just the villain - have plenty of secrets to uncover. Why was the upstairs maid in the garden at 3am, anyway?

4) Read lots of locked room mysteries. There are a couple of good collections that are widely avaible, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES AND IMPOSSIBLE CRIMES and THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PERFECT CRIMES AND IMPOSSIBLE MYSTERIES. An author you didn't mention is John Dickson Carr (aka Carter Dickson).

5) Remember, the plot isn't the story. A good story can sell a mediocre plot, and an ingenious solution can't save a bad story.

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: How do I avoid a â€œmid-story info dump?â€ I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader

: Re: Resources on plotting mystery stories I'm looking for books, essays and articles on plotting mystery/detective/investigation stories (and novels). The type of story I'm aiming for is in the vein

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: Verbosity: when's enough enough? In corporate life I've come across two general styles of writing: terse and cryptic or long and complete. In my own writing I tend to go too much in the

: How to handle foreign military ranks? Suppose you have a character who has a rank in a foreign military - say, Feldwebel Hans. That's the equivalent of a Sergeant. On one hand, having people

: Sympathetic portrayal of devout, rule-abiding characters I'm having trouble portraying religious, devout characters as protagonists or viewpoint characters. When I try, I get the sense that the reader

: How do I avoid a â€œmid-story info dump?â€ I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader

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: Re: Resources on plotting mystery stories I'm looking for books, essays and articles on plotting mystery/detective/investigation stories (and novels). The type of story I'm aiming for is in the vein

More posts by @Sarah872

: Verbosity: when's enough enough? In corporate life I've come across two general styles of writing: terse and cryptic or long and complete. In my own writing I tend to go too much in the

: How to handle foreign military ranks? Suppose you have a character who has a rank in a foreign military - say, Feldwebel Hans. That's the equivalent of a Sergeant. On one hand, having people

: Sympathetic portrayal of devout, rule-abiding characters I'm having trouble portraying religious, devout characters as protagonists or viewpoint characters. When I try, I get the sense that the reader

: How do I avoid a â€œmid-story info dump?â€ I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader

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: How do I avoid a â€œmid-story info dump?â€ I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader