11.23: The Element of Mystery
Mystery may well be the most common element in use, at least in some form or another, across the many bookshelf genres comprising “fiction.” We discuss the driving force of elemental mystery, how to evoke those feelings in the reader, and the importance of being able to write mystery effectively.
Liner Notes: we mentioned Episode 7.10 in which Mary and Dan interviewed David Brin.
Credits: This episode was recorded by Daniel Thompson, and mastered by Alex Jackson.
Homework: Create a crime scene where you know what’s been done, and who has done it. List the clues that would be present. Then begin removing the ones that characters would not notice. This becomes your framework for a mystery, which you’re essentially outlining in reverse.
Thing of the week: Mrs Roosevelt’s Confidante, by Susan Elijah McNeil, narrated by Susan Duerden.
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