|
||||||||||
|
Subscribe to the Absolute Write Newsletter and get the Agents! Agents! Agents! report free! Click here.
|
Win a 1-year subscription to Writer's Digest by subscribing to Absolute Markets-- all paying markets for your writing. Click here. |
|
| |||||||||||||
|
|
Plots
That Go Bump in the Night: Defining the Difference Between Mystery and
Psychological Suspense Who
says that crime doesn't pay? For
every writer who can craft a compelling mystery and bury clues with the panache
of Agatha Christie, there's a readership eager to play armchair detective and go
dig them up. There's also a hungry
following for authors who take skullduggery down a darker path to the genre of
psychological suspense. On
the surface, these two categories look a lot alike. A closer inspection,
however, reveals the particulars necessary to target your plot to the right
market. MYSTERIES My
own introduction to mysteries began when I became hooked on the adventures of
Carolyn Keene's plucky girl detective, Nancy Drew. If I didn't know better, I'd almost swear this fictional
heroine eventually grew up, changed her name to J.B. Fletcher, and moved from
River Heights to Cabot Cove, Maine. Why?
Because wherever either one went, (1) a crime was in the making and (2)
the local police had absolutely no clue how to solve it. Mysteries,
of course, aren't just about amateur sleuths being in the right place at the
right time. Do the following
protagonists sound familiar? Private investigators. It’s
a popular trend to have a character investigating a crime scene in one book
eventually wander off and starting building his or her own clientele in a
separate series. These spin-offs
revolve around tough-but-vulnerable, busy-but-usually-broke PIs in a
single-handed fight for truth in a gritty city.
Forensic coroners and insurance adjusters are also gaining ground as
beloved sustaining characters, as are a new breed of female heroines with a
passion for justice. POLICE
PROCEDURALS. These plots often find
their roots in actual front-page crime stories and rely heavily on the details
inherent in by-the-book law enforcement and investigation;
the lead characters are usually connected to a police department. Like
their counterparts in film and television, they are guaranteed to do their best
work within the 48 hours immediately following their being suspended or ordered ‘off
the case.’ ENGLISH
COZIES. Pour some tea, grab a scone
with clotted cream, and immerse yourself in manor-house intrigue that involves
titled guests (with dark secrets), snooty servants, expansive grounds (a maze is
always a nice, spooky touch), conveniently inclement weather and--Hello! What's
this?!--the phone lines have just been cut... SOME
DOS AND DON'TS The
#1 rule of mystery writing is accuracy. Detail
management is crucial to reader satisfaction, whether it's articulating the
effects of curare, explaining the hierarchy of The Mob, or tying up loose ends
after you say, "Book 'im." Hide
your best clues in plain view at the very beginning of the book.
Why? Your readers will be too involved learning names and getting into
the story's flow to pay as much attention as they will in later chapters after
the victims start adding up. Be
liberal with red herrings and keep your readers guessing all the way to the
denouement. A warning, though:
readers like to be tricked, not cheated. If
you pepper your plot with lots of false clues, make sure they're the kind that
can stand up to multiple (mis)interpretation on the reader's part.
Likewise, balance the red herrings with genuine clues that (1) seem much
too obvious to possibly be real and (2) are also subject to ambiguity.
Introduce
the initial crime as early as possible. I
once had an English teacher who insisted, "I want to see a dead body by the
end of Chapter 1." Good
advice. There's no time to waste in
grabbing the reader with something juicy to try and start solving. Keep
your murderer/thief/blackmailer visible throughout the entire plot.
Readers hate it when the felonious behavior all gets tacked to a minor
character who doesn't even appear until the final pages.
It's also important to give your villain a believable motive for his/her
behavior, whether that answer lays deep in childhood or in a more immediate
association with the various targets of wrath. Buy
yourself some seasoned accomplices: specifically, any of the selections in the
HOWDUNIT series published by Writer's Digest.
Whether your method of choice is poison, pistols, or a pool of piranhas,
these references provide the know-how to make your crime scene--and its
resolution--credible. (Not to
mention the effect it has on your spouse or roommates if you leave any of these
books laying around on the kitchen table!) If at
all possible, avoid the following clichés (which nevertheless continue to show
up no matter how much we groan): 1.
Conspirators who find it necessary to keep explaining the game-plan to each
other. (i.e, "As you know,
Reggie, we agreed that you were going to kidnap Vicki and make it look like a
bungled burglary while I distracted her husband Winston-- the brother of my
supposedly dead business partner-- with a round of canasta...") 2.
Arrogant murderers who not only feel compelled to explain themselves as they
hold the hero at gunpoint but recite all of it as if they are being paid by the
word. (i.e., "Before I kill
you, Inspector, you're probably wondering why I pretended to be Count DuBois at
the Embassy masquerade party last October 4th, or what I did with all the stolen
gold which, by now, you've assumed is on a steamer en route to South America..." PSYCHOLOGICAL
SUSPENSE In
defining the difference between mysteries and
psychological suspense, I'm reminded of a college professor's 3-point
summary of storytelling's evolution: Man vs. God, Man vs. Man, and Man vs.
Himself. It is the last of these
conflicts--Man vs. Himself--which is a key element of psychological suspense, a
category that falls to the right of Mystery but to the left of full-scale
Horror. Whereas the hero or heroine of a conventional mystery is a pursuer,
seeking to unmask the villain by story's end, the protagonist in a psychological
suspense is usually the pursued, taking a darker journey in which
flesh-and-blood adversaries take wicked advantage of internal fears and
imagination. Both genres are
replete with plenty of dangers from external forces; it's a fragile psyche,
though, that makes such forces all the more frightening to the hero in a novel
of mind-manipulating suspense. HOW
TO MESS WITH A READER'S MIND Although
many of the following plot devices can be found in other genres, they represent
a key component in crafting a thrill-packed scenario that will leave readers
breathless. Psychological suspense
also lends itself well to stage and film--Vertigo,
Guilty as Sin, MARATHON MAN, Cape Fear-- something to keep in mind if
you plan to expand your publishing horizons! 1. Phobias.
A common theme is to have your main character deeply afraid of something. Whether real or imagined, the pervasive threat of
heights, snakes or drowning is the weakness that he or she will
ultimately be forced to deal with big-time before the plot is over.
Flashbacks are essential in filling in the blanks of the protagonist's
life and, thus, provide a frame of reference for the current sense of danger and
vulnerability. The best phobia to
ascribe to your lead character? Whatever personally gives you, the author, a bad
case of the willies! It's not
enough to just "write what you know;" you also need to "write
what you feel." 2. Recurring
Nightmares/History Repeating Itself. In both of these themes, the
protagonist is haunted by some terrible occurrence from the past.
Perhaps it's the unsolved murder of a friend or relative and the
accompanying dread that the killer has not only been watching from the shadows
all these years but intends to return to the scene of the crime.
Or maybe your character is consumed with guilt for not having reacted
quickly enough to an emergency; i.e., the inability to save someone from a
burning building or a moment of casual neglect that resulted in a child's
kidnapping. In the present-day story, he or she must rise above the
paralyzing fear of reliving that terrifying moment in order to achieve some
level of redemption. 3.
Credibility/Alienation. If you
were seated on an airplane next to a man who had just been released from a
mental hospital and he told you there was a furry monster dancing on the wing,
would you believe him? Of course
not! A character whose sanity,
morals or judgment have ever been called into question is a prime candidate for
calculated mind-games. Like the curse of Cassandra, the protagonist's insistent
truths fall on deaf ears, fulfilling the villain's agenda to destroy all
credibility and, in tandem, create isolation. The escalating sense of panic that
ensues in trying to find someone to listen before it's too late is a guaranteed,
pulse-pounding read. 4. The
Prey. While a mystery novel
might spread out the mayhem over a variety of random victims, the antagonist in
a psychological suspense is usually only stalking one person/household or a
particular "type" in order to exact vengeance or gain an edge (i.e.,
jealousy about the victim's popularity, eliminating the competition for an
inheritance). Additionally, the
cat-and-mouse slow torture of the victim's mind seems to bring more sadistic
pleasure than an actual kill. Toward
this end, profilers will sometimes figure into a storyline as supporting
characters, attempting to second-guess why such twisted schemes are going on in
the villain's head. 5. Prior
Knowledge/Association. It has
often been said that our worst enemy is someone who was once a friend; those
with whom we share the most intimate relationships would seem least likely to
ever make the list of "The Top Ten People Who Might Be Trying to Kill
Me." Yet time again we're
shocked when the killer turns out to be the adoring husband, the perky
babysitter, the kindly neighbor. The
insider knowledge these people possess-- whether from a past liaison or a
current position of trust-- gives them the power to not only strike at their
victims' insecurities but also be first on the scene to extend the false comfort
of 'protection.' Because the
protagonist has become unraveled enough by now not to discern any coincidence,
he or she steps ever deeper into the trap. SOME
LAST WORDS ABOUT HOMEWORK While
a psychology class or two aren't required for writing either genre, they
certainly wouldn't hurt, affording you an overview of why people act-- and
react-- as they do. Another option
is to engage professional experts and spin your hypothetical plot for review and
professional revision. (People are
passionate about their area of expertise, especially if you can also promise an
acknowledgment of their contribution!) As
always, whichever genre you choose in which to tell a tale of jeopardy, it's
important to familiarize yourself first with what has already been written, as
well as who publishes it. Additionally,
membership in organizations such as Mystery Writers of America isn't just a
valuable network in terms of contacts and contest information, but also a good
source of energy and support from fellow 'partners in crime.' Paying
attention to detail, whether clinically or artistically painting the backdrop
for your plot, is essential to the success of your project.
If you strive to heighten the reader's sensitivities to the unfolding
drama you are creating, make certain you've created a page-turning thriller that
will cause a definitive, can't-put-it-down-even-though-it's-3 a.m.- reaction. Otherwise, a gaffe here or an incongruity there could wind up
making your literary effort the unfortunate victim...and your storytelling the
prime suspect. Former
actress and director Christina Hamlett is the published author of 17 books, 98
plays and musicals, and over 250 magazine and newspaper articles.
Her website can be found at www.absolutewrite.com/site/christina.htm.
|
Sponsored links 
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer! How to find a book publisher |
Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007
Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
|
