Solving the Mystery What is a Mystery Genre
- Slides: 9
Solving the Mystery
What is a Mystery? • Genre of writing which includes characters attempting to identify the unknown. • What is the unknown? • A crime: murder, kidnapping, an attack, theft • An action: the identification of a long lost relative, locating lost treasure
Key Elements 1. The Crime/The Action - this is the center of the mystery - the crime needs to be interesting, grab our attention, and effect all characters
Key Elements 2. Narrator - not a suspect (someone who may have committed the crime) - Sherman Holmes, Sherlock Holmes - The narrator walks us through the story. We see the action through his eyes
Key Elements 3. The Suspects - two or more people - all are interesting - all are suspicious - all have motives - a reason to commit the crime/do the action
Key Elements 4. The Location - the location matters - location influences the story - helps create mood - great for including details which make your reader think
Key Elements 4. Dialogue - your narrator needs to speak with each suspect - Dialogue is a great place for motive to be present
Key Elements 5. The Red Herring - “A clue or suspect that is intended to be misleading or distracting” - it makes you think you know the answer to the mystery - by including great details in your writing, red herrings become more effective.
Key Elements 6. The Answer - the answer should make the reader groan. - The answer is usually hinted at with clues in your writing. - When you’re finished reading, you should say, “UGH I should have KNOWN that!” - it needs to make sense. If you throw out an answer that was never hinted at, your readers will hate you and your mystery is terrible.
