MYSTERY

1. MYSTERY By: Truly Rylander and Ava Greer

2. GENRE DEFINITION Mystery is a genre focused on the investigation of crime. It is a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime.

3. COMMON FEATURES • Usually written in 3rd person • Detailed description linked to clues and evidence • Clues are included by: 1. inferences in dialogue 2. relationships and meetings between characters 3. characters’ implied motives

4. MYSTERY EXCERPT “She bent to pick it up and saw that she held in her hand a kind of poppet. Made from dark purple material with a bold floral pattern, it had been fashioned into the likeness of a female with black curly yarn used for hair. A big, ugly black hatpin pierced the figure’s heart. A Voodoo doll!” -Scent of Murder By Caroline Dow

5. MYSTERY EXCERPT “Everybody wants to know how I did it. When I try to explain that Captain Billy Murdock told me how, they just stare and tap their heads. I guess thats because everybody knows Captain Billy died way back in 1800. When I tell them Sinbad and me did it to help old Mrs. Teska, they what kind of help is that? She’s disappeared.” -Sinbad and Me Kin Platt

6. TIPS 1. In mystery writing, plot is everything.Plot has to come first, above everything else. Make sure each plot point is plausible. 2. Introduce both the detective and the culprit early on.As the main character, your detective must obviously appear early in the book. As for the culprit, your reader will feel cheated if the antagonist, or villain, enters too late in the book to be a viable suspect in their minds. 3. Introduce the crime within the first three chapters of your mystery novel.The crime and the ensuing questions are what hook your reader. As with any fiction, you want to do that as soon as possible. 4. The crime should be sufficiently violent -- preferably a murder.For many readers, only murder really justifies the effort of reading a 300-page book while suitably testing your detective's powers. 5. The crime should be believable.

7. TIPS CONTINUED... 6. The detective should solve the case using only rational and scientific methods. 7. The culprit must be capable of committing the crime.Your reader must believe your villain's motivation and the villain must be capable of the crime, both physically and emotionally. 8. In mystery writing, don't try to fool your reader.It takes the fun out. Don't use improbable disguises, twins, accidental solutions, or supernatural solutions. 9. Do your research.Get all essential details right. 10. Wait as long as possible to reveal the culprit. They're reading to find out, or figure out. If you answer this too early in the book, the reader will have no reason to continue reading.

8. HISTORY OF MYSTERY The first mystery- written by Edgar Allan Poe in the early 1840’s, Edgar promoted the idea of a detective job.(The murders in the Rue Morgue) Cozy mysteries- Prominent in England during the 1920s and '30s,generally acknowledged as the classic style of mystery writing.(Murder at the Vicarage and The Queen's Square) Hard-boiled fiction: is the United States' foremost contribution to the mystery genre,1920s with the rise of pulp magazine.(The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep) Police Procedurals: Main characteristic of these types of stories are their realistic portrayal of police methods in the solving of crime.(Sadie When She Died and The New Centurions)

9. INTERESTING FACTS • Edgar Allan Poe wrote the first successful detective story. • By the 1920s British mysteries had become extremely popular, particularly the cozy, a style of mystery usually featuring "a small village setting, a hero with faintly aristocratic family • Sherlock holmes personality was copied from other mysteries such as The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

10. ACTIVITY For this activity, you will write a poem or short story Your poem or short story will be inspired by a prompt that you will choose by rolling a pair of dice(:

11. ACTIVITY CONTINUED... 1.The Secret Room Tearing down a wall to build an addition to our home, I discovered a small narrow room hidden between the walls for decades and what was in it gave me the shock of my life. 2.The Thing in the Pond For years, I've visited a pond in the woods near our house. Recently I saw something more than sand, rocks and a few fish and turtles. Something much, much more... 3.The Prank Caller We thought the odd phone calls were just pranks by some local kids. Until the caller asked me something really scary. 'Did anybody ever find where you buried the body?' 4.The Letter from Yesterday The envelope that came in the mail looked really elegant and I was hoping that it was an invitation to a party. It was an invitation. For a party dated, July 30, 1927. 5.The Silent Boy We were all playing in our fort by the creek. A tall thin boy with dark eyes and long hair appeared silently from the woods. He came out every day for two weeks but he never said a word. Until one day... 6.The Creature My cat likes to bring home an odd assortment of creatures. Not that he kills them. I think they are his friends. One day the cat brought home something I have never seen before in my life and I doubt that I ever will again.

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/.../features.doc en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_fiction http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/hound/tg_mystery.html http://www.pinterest.com/wormwood80/mystery-writing-prompts/ http://www.mysterynet.com/genres/ http://voices.yahoo.com/7-mystery-writing-prompts-8815477.html http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/genrefiction/tp/mysteryrules.htm