How do mysteries work?

Hey there!

I’m a new writer who’s currently developing my first ever story. I’m writing a murder mystery story and wanted to know if any writers who have written mystery stories have any tips for me?

It can be directing tips, character tips, plot tips, villain tips etc… Generally any tip that you would be willing to share!

Thank you!

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Hey I don’t currently have any tips but I have a thread for authors!

Helpful Links for Authors :blob_hearts:

Hopefully this helps!

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Thanks! You have really useful tips and links!!!

see all joseph evans tutorials on youtube.

and dont be afraid to ask stupid qustions. though before you do try the search button(or joseph videos) to see if it already is answard.

and plan your entire story before you publish.

rather spend a couple of extra weeks makeing sure evrything is right in your story, then publish fast.

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So you’re writing a murder mystery story, great! Now here are some tips that I can help you out:

Mystery is all about solving the case, bringing the criminal to justice, finding people are that in the case that maybe can be victims as well.

So for your story have characters that are:

_ Ones who will solve the mystery.
_ Characters who are villain/criminal.
_ Characters that are witnesses to the victim.
_ Characters that are maybe related to the victim.
_ Have characters like lawyer, jury, etc.
_ Characters that are police, reporters, medical, etc.
_ Characters to ask questions at the police station to the suspect

Now you’re also going to need :

_Clues, like fingerprints, footprint, weapon, blood, etc.
_Crime Taps
_ Gadgets, or gear
_ Files like Criminal Records, etc.
_ Victim Identity
_ Searching for suspects, files, etc.
_ Cars for detectives.

All of this you can gain inspiration from watching crime shows, like Law & Order, CSI, etc.


Plan your story first like @line123462. So, plan your story first before you do anything. Once you finish that, may sure you break it down.

Let"s go:

  1. Characters that must have:
  • Personality
  • Hobbies
  • Likes/Dislikes
  • Roles ( bad guy or good guy)
  • Age
  • Character Development
  • Background Characters ( just don’t leave the scene empty with your main characters.)

Tip: Make your characters real, show their emotions, show their traits through dialogue and action, etc.

  1. Grammar/Punctuation:
  • (IMPORTANT, but ik some community members doesn’t have English as their native language which is okay.)
  1. Background Story - What happened in the past, show don’t tell.

  2. Good Plot - have a good plot to start off.

  3. Eye catching cover - Pretty cool cover to get your reader attention.

  4. Choices: ( at least have a choice in each episode/chapter)

  5. Backgrounds and Overlays:

  • Its really cool to know how to place your characters with backgrounds and overlays to fit the scene.

OPTIONAL: Life lessons, this is optional if you want to add a message to your readers about something or someone. ( this isn’t really a must have but could be good use.)

Now for shouldn’t:

  • Please don’t introduce your characters saying this is who and who and he/she is who and who and age, etc. That will just bore the reader.

  • Now, please don’t include CC if you have art scenes in your story, it doesn’t make any sense to have it In if your characters doesn’t look the same in the art scene.

hmm…im still thinking.

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To write a good mystery you need a clear idea of :

  • the motive( really think about what could make a person snap)
  • the murder itself (the way that the person was killed can tell you a lot about the killer and the way they think,make sure that the murder was well thought out by the killer - it will add more juice to the story)
  • focus on your main cast/suspects (make sure they all had an interesting relationship with the victim,that way it will be more interesting to try and figure out who did it and why,also try to lead the reader on by using their backstories to your advantage,because believe it or not people do act rather suspicious during an investigation)
  • the killer( don’t exaggerate with throwing hints about the killer,if everyone figures it out it won’t be interesting anymore,make sure to really get into the psyche of this character and how they were able to manipulate everyone around them)
  • the mc ( PLEASE THIS IS SO IMPORTANT the mc is the person we’re rooting for,the detective,the sherlock of the story,the one who is gonna figure it out : so plan her/him out carefully as well because this person has to be intelligent but also not too good at this,make her/him interesting as well and enjoyable to play as)
    -the ending/final showdown( don’t be afraid to make a dramatic ending,everyone loves a good plot twist,if the killer gets away with it or not is totally up to you,just make sure to tie everything up so you don’t have any loose ends/plot holes)
    hope this helps,good luck <3
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