Stemming from the success of “Sixteen,” I have had several requests for the next topic here to focus on mystery or thriller writing. Truth be told, my two Wattpad stories, Sixteen and Slow Motion, are the first stories I’ve ever written that had mystery or suspense as a genre or sub genre. I suppose that I have learned a thing or two along the way writing them so far though, so I will proceed with dispensing my meager knowledge to you all. Mystery writers please feel free to chime in with comments, corrections, opinions or random jokes about jaywalking chickens.

Presentation:

I have found, especially true for Wattpad stories, that proper presentation is half the battle – if not more. Before posting your story for the first time make sure that you have put effort into the title, the book cover and the story description.

When you think of titles, think about word association. Either pull out a word or element from the story to feature or come up with a title that makes you think of the theme of the story. There is absolutely no reason to make your title a full sentence, an alarming Wattpad trend that really needs to die out. Short and attention grabbing, these are your goals.

It helps greatly if you have your book cover ready to go when you post your very first upload. I’m not certain that one book cover over another is going to make much difference in your fan base, but not posting one at all kind of sends the message that your book isn’t ready for readers yet. If you’re not a super star when it comes to photo editing, visit the Book Cover club in the forums where you will find tons of wattpadians ready and willing to help you out.

This brings us to the most important part of your story presentation – the description. When you are browsing through the book store, library or Amazon.com looking for something to read – think about how many books you pick up then quickly put back down based on the story description? When I see a story on Wattpad without a description I pass it right up. The story description should give readers a brief idea of the plot without giving the story away. One to two short paragraphs is enough, and absolutely make sure that your spelling and grammar is up to par here. If a reader sees the description is full of errors, caps lock overload and text speak, they will probably not choose to read the story. If the description gives away the whole plot and ending of the book, there is no reason to read the story.

So, what makes me think these three things are important? One reason is just based on my own personal preferences when choosing stories to read and knowing what helps me decide to read a story. The other reason is my experience with Sixteen – I posted just the title, cover and description in an effort to let my current fans know what I had up my sleeve for my next story. Based on these three elements alone this story that was really only these three elements without a single chapter written or posted yet tripled my fan base and landed the story at the top of several “what’s hot” lists. People were anxiously waiting for the story to start – and I knew then that how you presented your story was very important!

Planning:

I’ve heard many people talk about how they write a story and it seems that the majority of young writers are more of the “fly by the seat of your pants” types. Starting with a character or an idea they just start writing and see where it goes. This is fantastic for creativity and very open ended, possibly leading to exciting things. However, if you are writing a story that includes mystery, suspense or any type of “twist” ending – you’re going to need to put some effort into story planning.

When writing a complicated plot or a story building to an unexpected ending, not having a plan from the beginning can lead to huge plot holes and endings that don’t actually make much sense. Think of the shock value you can deliver if after figuring out your mystery or being presented with a twist in the ending, the reader can look back and see little hints that were dropped along the way or have an “ah ha” moment about events leading to the conclusion that they had wondered about all along.

For mystery writing you need to know the ending, before you can write the beginning. That’s my motto and I’m sticking to it. You don’t need to know every single detail but an outline with some of the twists and turns thought through up front is going to make your story a lot more believable in the end. (Not thinking ahead is going to lead to inconsistencies or major rewrites!)

Building Suspense:

Descriptive writing skills can be used to build suspense; pulling the reader into the situation and making them feel like they are right there with the characters. Also, sometimes it’s what you don’t say at all that builds the suspense. For example, describing in detail something that goes bump in the night without ever reveling what exactly it is, just the terror it generates.

There is a reason it’s referred to as “building” suspense, since small steps inching towards darkness are much more frightening than one sudden leap into the unknown. If my character is walking down the street and a man suddenly grabs her from behind – reading that situation is not actually very frightening. However, two or three paragraphs worth of the main character hearing footsteps building behind her, getting that creepy feeling that someone is following, etc – much more impact.

Characters and POV:

Mystery stories tend to have a lot of side characters. There is a lot going on and many characters to talk about. This usually leads to third person POV. The author can tell the story as it happens to everyone and give the reader a lot of information from which to construct their own little theories about what’s going on. However, depending on the plot and situation in your story, a first person narrative could do a really good job at building suspense as many facts will be unknown to that character and nothing is more terrifying than the great unknown. Stories with a smaller cast or that are centered on one location or where the suspense is being built by the character’s limited information work great as first person. Stories with a lot of characters or a wider span of locations and events usually work better as third person.

If your story does have a lot of characters, try to focus on a smaller group of main characters and give the side characters less attention. Make sure your character names do not distract from the story or make the character list hard to memorize.

The End:

Make sure that the ending of your story is “fair.” Readers love a good twist ending but they will feel cheated if the ending doesn’t make sense, couldn’t make sense, or it so left-field that they had no opportunity at all to figure it out on their own along the way.

For example – if your story was a murder mystery with a “who done it” theme, then in the very last chapter you make the murderer a brand new character that was never introduced until right that moment, that’s cheating. If the apocalypse is approaching and your merry band of misfits trying to thwart the big bad war mongering demon fails in the last chapter but that’s ok because a rainbow colored unicorn appears out of thin air and grants them one wish which they use to restore the natural order of things, that’s cheating. If a character you decided to kill off along the way ends up being central to the ending of your story so you find some cheesy reason for their miraculous recovery (like soap operas do) then you’re cheating. You get the idea. The ending has to make sense, not leave giant plot holes in its wake, and it has to be fair.

That about sums up my personal experiences and opinions on the matter of mystery writing. I hope that it has done you more good than harm. As always, your votes and comments are much appreciated! Until we meet again, here is a mystery story I think you should check out!

The Entertainment by SheaRyhai

http://www.wattpad.com/1386155-chapter-1-1-black-out

"Secrets are just another part of Salina White's new life. Ever since she changed her name in order to get revenge for her Dad's death, she's had to do things on her own. But when fate suddenly places her on the path to fame and success, she'll learn that more then a name can be changed. Secrets are meant for the painful revealing. Will Salina get her revenge first? Or will she be twisted up in a world full of more lies and secrets than even she can keep track of."