Cozy Mystery Writer Support

Calla Lily

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Henery is currently holding bi-monthly (that's the word meaning every other month, right?) specific calls. I think this month it's historical cozies. Check their FB page.
 

mollydoublybarrely

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Hello all :)

I'm not sure if I fit here or not, but I'm sure I will find out. My Novella could be defined overall as a cozy. There is no blood or gore, a protagonist who is the amateur sleuth and a cast of middle class characters living in a town that could give Stepford a run for its money!

However, I break a few rules here and there where sex and violence are concerned, but I don't quite fit into full blown murder mystery...

May I join you?
 

elizabethp

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Hey, everyone! Glad to see this group. I've written several mysteries for Annie's new series and mine always involve murder. :)

The "hook" thing has seemed to really taken off in recent years and it's hard work to think of something that hasn't been done (to death). A lot of my interests have already been taken. (why didn't I write that? LOL).

I do enjoy cozies, except when they teeter into foolishness and contrived plots. I love them for their settings, relationships, and yes, interesting hooks.
 

heyjude

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:welcome: elizabethp! Yep, everything's been done. Just do it better. :) Easy peasy, right?
 

mfontneaux

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Newbie here with question

Hi, everyone. I'm new to the forum and to cozy writing. My question is more of a request. What reference books do you absolutely rely on for your cozy writing? I have tons of general writing books that help a lot, but mysteries are so different to plan than a romance.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. Most of what I'm finding online was published 15+ years ago. While I know some things don't change that much, some does.

Thanks. And I look forward to hanging out here.

Mary
 

GinJones

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There's "Writing and Selling Your Mystery" by Hallie Ephron, but as I recall (and it's been quite a while since I read it), it didn't really address cozies specifically, and much of the focus was on issues that are more important for, say, procedurals, where you can't just sort of say "the police did stuff while the protagonist went her own way," instead of getting detailed about the police actions.

I was never able to plot a coherent romance, but plotting mysteries comes (more or less) naturally to me. They seem to follow most standard plotting methods, although you may need to experiment with assorted ones to see which ones (or which parts of them) work for you.

I've used things like the Snowflake method, or a variation I call the Pizza Method, which sort of combines the basic Snowflake method (start with really brief elements of plot and characterization and premise, and then keep expanding each one) with some other ideas I've run across, including the Rule Of Seven, which I saw in guest post at John Scalzi's blog once, which forces me to have seven bits and pieces before I start writing -- a killer title, a premise, a subplot issue, a non-mystery goal for the sleuth (like, in Donna Andrews's books, the sleuth will be organizing a yard sale or a family reunion or something, while also solving the murder), a motif (an inside joke or some such thing) that runs through the story, and a compelling aspect of the antagonist.

I also found some of the stuff at Larry Brooks's storyfix.com to be useful. (Go to the oldest blog post and work your way forward.) I might quibble about where some of the plot points hit in a cozy occasionally, but mine are usually pretty close to where he says they should hit, although I might define them a little differently.

I think one of the best things to do is to define what a satisfying plot looks like FOR YOU, in terms that make sense TO YOU. It's a little different for everyone.

Take a look at your favorite cozy authors and see what percentage of the story you're at when 1) the body is found, 2) when there's an escalation, and 3) when the crisis occurs. Establish the turning points for the story, then look for where the various suspects were introduced.

For me, the dead body generally shows up at the end of the third chapter (which is fairly standard, although a lot of Donna Andrews's show up later, and some have it on the first page). My first act generally doesn't end there, but the turning point is when the protagonist decides to investigate. I make sure all my suspects are introduced in the second act, usually the first half of it. I like Larry Brooks's suggestion to have a point ... I forget where he places it, although it's in the second act, toward the end, I think; I have it in my outline template ... where the antagonist demonstrates his/her power (i.e., things get more difficult for the sleuth, and there might be an attempt on her life).

Then figure out what YOU like as a reader. Do you want the murder on page one or do you want a little bit about the community of characters first? How much escalation will there be? Figure those things out for what YOU consider a well-plotted novel (within the limitations of what you've observed other successful authors do), and then go with it! (Jack Bickham makes a similar suggestion in his book on Writing and Selling Your Novel -- figure out a novel structure that makes sense to you and that works for you, rather than blindly following a structure someone else imposes. It does require that you understand and be able to identify story elements in the stories you study first, though.)
 

mfontneaux

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Wow. Thank you so much. I'm trying not to overthink the whole thing, and this will help me a lot.

As for plotting romances, I wouldn't say I'm all that good at it, but after reading hundreds of them, I've kind of internalized how certain things go. I've read almost as many cozies and mysteries, but now I'm reading them more analytically. Hoping for the same result.

:)
 

ESHanson

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Hi, folks--

I'm working on what will probably end up being a cozy mystery. Any ideas on how to kill off a character in the midst of a hot air balloon rally? I'd like the balloon itself to be a feature.

Thanks!
 

mfontneaux

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I've been mulling this over.

They could "accidentally" fall from the basket.
They could be involved in an explosion of one of the burners that heat the balloon air.
Someone could stab, strangle or otherwise murder the person while a distraction has everyone else's attention. Quiet forms of killing would work best in this instance.
The basket of a balloon could be rigged/sabotaged and fall off in flight.
A sniper could shoot the balloon once it's in the air. Depending on the rifle's power and the balloon's height, I'm sure it could be done. And the sniper wouldn't necessarily have to be part of the crowd.

Those are a few of the ideas I had. Hope they help.
 

juniper

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including the Rule Of Seven, which I saw in guest post at John Scalzi's blog once, which forces me to have seven bits and pieces before I start writing -- a killer title, a premise, a subplot issue, a non-mystery goal for the sleuth (like, in Donna Andrews's books, the sleuth will be organizing a yard sale or a family reunion or something, while also solving the murder), a motif (an inside joke or some such thing) that runs through the story, and a compelling aspect of the antagonist.

That looks interesting - do you remember who wrote the guest post? I've been doing some googling trying to find it, but no luck.
 

lexxi

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Thanks for the link, BfloGal, and for bumping up the thread.

In some ways my work in progress does not fit the cozy criteria; in other ways it does. Let's say my ideal readership would overlap with typical cozy readership but would not be identical.

Recently I read some advice that in cozies the victim tends to be dislikable, so there are lots of suspects and also readers don't get too upset at his/her death.

Do others here find that that works for you?

I wouldn't say that that fits my current WIP. The victim is neither especially likable nor unlikable. She's mainly a victim a random chance.

In fact, I want to make most of my suspects including the killer likable to various degrees -- no villains, just flawed human beings.

The central theme is about trust and second chances. But I worry that the world as I depict it is more forgiving life, focusing on people who can climb out of poverty or addiction into the stable middle class world my protagonist still mostly takes for granted.

Will that approach be overly optimistic and unrealistic for too many readers?
 

BfloGal

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Recently I read some advice that in cozies the victim tends to be dislikable, so there are lots of suspects and also readers don't get too upset at his/her death.

Do others here find that that works for you?...

The central theme is about trust and second chances. But I worry that the world as I depict it is more forgiving life, focusing on people who can climb out of poverty or addiction into the stable middle class world my protagonist still mostly takes for granted.

Will that approach be overly optimistic and unrealistic for too many readers?

While cozy victims tend to be dislikable, that's not a universal statement. A likable victim, however, makes the tone more somber, so if you were planning light and humorous, it might be difficult to pull off. (Even then, not impossible.)

And as long as you're not beating the reader over the head with your theme, I think what you're describing would work fine, even in a cozy. I've used a theme in each of mine...not that anyone noticed.
 

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Hi!

I've entered the cozy waters after writing YA and romance (still do) and I am loving the genre. I've got a first draft that I think is pretty solid and fits the cozy model. (fingers crossed) I'm wondering if there are a lot of different publisher-specific requirements? I read somewhere that Berkley Prime Crime came up with the hobby and recipe cozies. Basically, when you write a cozy are you targeting it to a specific publisher, or for a wide submission list?
 

Polenth

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I guess you're thinking like Harlequin having lines with very specific requirements? Cozies don't usually work like that. Things like hobbies and professions can be good hooks for marketing, and the genre obviously has its tropes, but that's not really the same thing as there being one publisher dominating the market with strict guidelines.
 

BfloGal

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Hi!

I read somewhere that Berkley Prime Crime came up with the hobby and recipe cozies. Basically, when you write a cozy are you targeting it to a specific publisher, or for a wide submission list?

The only restriction I can think of is a publisher might not like it if it's too close to another series. But I think the structure's much the same, only some houses are a little more liberal as to what they'll call a cozy. Most require an agent for submission (exception Henery), so they would probably guide you as to where they thought it best fit.
 

Marilyn18

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Hello:
I write cozy mysteries. I am just now finding you. I hope there are still a bunch of you on here. I will take my time and read some of the posts but to date I have written three. Not published yet but really enjoying the process.
Marilyn
 

Laura S

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I'm sad to see this thread is pretty quiet right now. I'm a cozy writer who just joined AW and had hoped to connect with others who wrote cozies.

Beverly, if you're still around in here, LOVE the covers and the titles. :)