: 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

@Holmes449

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The two biggest insights I've had into plotting a mystery are:

Think about the mystery as two stories: the crime and the detection. Obviously, these are tightly intertwined, but I've found that thinking of them as discrete stories helps spark better ideas. If you just plot the detection story, then every aspect of the crime ends up being a straight justification for the detection plot. By plotting the crime independently, you get a richer story to unravel, which makes the detection story better, even if the entire crime plot happens before page 1.
Give almost every character a secret--any secret. When everyone has information they are trying not to reveal, it's easier to make them look like suspects, even when they had nothing to do with the crime. Conversations and interrogations get more interesting as they detective and the suspect dance around each other, and conflict.

I blogged about these insights in more detail a few years ago, but the blog was lost. :-(

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