How to Write a Mystery Whodunit Novel

A Whodunit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the mystery genre in which the story is primarily focused on a puzzle, which is usually a murder. It contains a closed circle of suspects with means, motive and opportunity for the crime and a detective, either amateur or professional, who comes to investigate and, with the help of clues and his power of deduction, to discover the real perpetrator.

1) The crime must be believable and accurate. Credibility is very important in today's market.

2) The criminal has to suit the crime. If not, the reader will feel cheated.

3) The detective or sleuth needs to solve the crime by using believable and (mainly) honest forms of detection.

4) Ideally, the murder has to occur in the first 50 pages. This creates a purpose for the story.

5) Be fair with your readers - lead them to the solution of the crime methodically, one piece at a time. Use luck or chance very scarcely. A whodunit novel is all about the power of deduction.

6) The murderer should be showed early in the book. Do not make him appear out of thin air at the end of the book. (Remember that readers want to figure out who the killer is.)

7) Research your information very thoroughly. Do not assume anything.

8) Create the detective (or sleuth) with care. To readers today, the protagonist is as important as the story itself.

9) Incorporate plenty of surprises, twists and turns for the reader. Use plot devices, clues and red herrings. Things must not be what they seem.

10) Do not use the "least likely suspect" to be killer for every book. Vary your tactics.

11) Resolve all the subplots by the end of the novel. Do not leave anything hanging.

12) Come up with a clever ending. You wish to leave your reader fulfilled or shocked.

Before continuing to the more specific topics of this lens, I want to share with you my general tips to help get you started:

Tip 1:
Learn the most that you can about the craft of writing. Browse on the internet. There are numerous interesting websites from already published authors who want to share their knowledge.

Tip 2:
Consult 1, or preferably 2, how-to-write textbooks on writing. This helps you to discover the many important steps you need to do to achieve a written novel. Also, they help to guide you through the planning and writing process, and many other things that go in between. (This is what helped me the most to get on track in achieving my goal).

Tip 3:
While writing your 1st novel, experiment with as many tools, techniques and tricks as possible; learn what works best for you. Be open to new ideas. This is an important stage in your development as a writer.

Tip 4:
Read as many novels as you can. Analyse the book while reading. Think about what you like and why, or what you dislike and why. Learn how the authors uses clues, red herrings, and characters. As you discover the world of writing, you will not look at a novel the same way again!

Tip 5:
When writing your first novel, from the planning to the writing process, learn your strengths and weaknesses. Slowly and gradually concentrate in improving your weaknesses. By targeting your weaknesses, you will be more able to improve yourself more effectively and rapidly.

Tip 6:
Continue to learn. Stick to your writing schedule. Believe in yourself. And most importantly persist.

"Do not forget that a book does not write itself. You may surround yourself with the best tools, the best courses and the best coaches, but you still need to write the book. It takes some effort, hard work and persistence. Keep at it!"

What is interesting in writing a whodunit is that your story has an added component that most novels do not have: a murder. And I use this fact as the starting point for my novels.

"Plot the story from the murderer's
point of view, and write from the
detective's point of view."

That is what I really do! I start by finding a motive, a victim, or a killer. I look around in newspapers, TV, radio, or just what I have in mind for the initial idea. Sometimes, the idea just comes to you and you know that this is the starting point for your next story; you feel that there is something there to work on.

From there, I start searching for numerous possibilities by asking the classic questions:

Who? What? When? Why? Where? and How?

Think about your idea from several angles. Try to think like the murderer. Get into your antagonist's personality, searching for a motive and his past. Think about your victim, his family, and his past. Think about the murder scene.

And from there, things just unfold.

Was the murder accidental, on the spur of the moment? Or was it carefully planned? Was the killer seeking revenge? Would the killer prefer to kill his victim with his bare hands, or with a gun? What is the relationship between the murderer and the victim? How did the killer escape? What is his alibi?

I make a short outline of my killer, starting from his childhood and ending with the scene of the crime. I also make a timeline, planning his movements step-by-step from the moment he decides to kill his victim to the actual murder.

I then take the ending of the murderer's outline and look at the scene of the crime from the detective's point of view. I enumerate various possibilities for clues and suspects, weighting their purpose and their interest.

The trick is to put all of your ideas on paper, whatever they are. One train of thought will lead to another until you have found what you are looking for. And then suddenly an image will just click and make you say: "That's it!"

Of course, you won't use most of your ideas. But the important thing is to find the "great" idea, an idea that is ingenious, motivating and yours. And do not be surprised if your final idea is completely different than your original idea; it often happens to me.

Also, keep in mind that maybe your first try at brainstorming may not bring anything relevant, but do not give up. Pick something else the next day and repeat the procedure. For me, it takes a few weeks before having a satisfying outline. I can never figure out the many important elements of the story in just a few days, so do not make the mistake of expecting an outline in one day.

Do not hesitate to use numerous techniques during this process, such as brainstorming, speedwriting, mapping and visualisation.

As questions get answered, the story takes form bit-by-bit and from there I can easily develop my antagonist, the victim, the suspects, etc. So, in a short time I have a good outline for my story and I am ready to write my 1st draft.

Always ask yourself: What if? Why?
Just by asking these questions, numerous ideas will come to you.
Do not forget to write them down.

"Writing your 1st draft is a crucial step in finishing your 1st novel. Write it from beginning to end, without stopping to edit or to revise. Do not linger to write perfect prose and great dialogue. Keep it simple, as the story unfolds in your head. Take notes of changes in a notebook to keep for later."

A few years ago, I decided to get serious about writing mysteries. And, consequently, as many writers do, I started to carry around my little notebook to write down my ideas.

Soon after, I realized that this process was not enough for me and I decided to go a little further.

You see, I classify my ideas into categories. Each category has its own file. Instead of keeping my ideas all mixed-up in notebooks, I prefer to write each idea individually on a piece of paper. And once in a while, I sort them out by subject and place in the correct file.

I have a file for "murder scenes", "methods of killing", "clues", "motives", "dialogue", "finance", "law", "miscellaneous", and many others. It may seem like a lot of work, especially at first, but I have found it very useful over the years. Actually, it is quite simple, really.

I do not take notes on obvious things, such as "killing someone with a knife". I write down interesting and original things that I would not usually think about. I also take note of things that I do not really know a lot about, such as finance. When I hear some catchy phrase, I write it down.

When it comes time to plan for my next book, I take out a few files, put them on my desk and rummage through them. And voila, in no time, I have found interesting subplots, original clues and thrilling twists and turns for my story.

They are also handy when I get stuck while writing a story. Instead of taking me days to find an idea to get the story back on track, I just leaf through my files and find an idea in no time.

All in all, I find it a very convenient system.

Readers today demand novels to be accurate and realistic. So, if you are not sure about a certain information or procedure, it would be very important to research this information from reliable sources, such as textbooks, up-to-date manuals, experts, or even the internet.

Consult manuals or textbooks written by well-known authors or experts of the subject in question. Take the time to look at reviews and comments, especially those from experts of the specific field or from other authors. If many reviewers state the information is reliable and trustworthy, then the chances are that it is.

Please be very careful when researching information on the internet. Choose your websites carefully. Even if the site seems reliable, it could possibly not be accurate. Try to choose websites from well-known organisations, such as the FBI, or websites made from professionals. If you are not sure of the source, try to find the information on another reliable website (or other source) before ascertaining its accuracy.

Go to the library to consult academic books or encyclopedias.

Also, do not be shy of asking experts directly, especially when it comes to complex questions. Many experts would be glad to share their knowledge with you. As a bonus, you could ask questions directly (something that is not possible with a textbook).

"Do not hesitate to search the internet for advice on writing.
Try to learn the most that you can about the craft of writing. The more you are informed, the better. You will be better equipped and increase your chances of success. Learn the basics, learn the many ways to do things and try them out. Learn what works best for you. And do not forget to believe in yourself."

Mystery novels are interesting in so many ways, and one of the reasons is that they require some knowledge of different fields, such as crime investigation, forensics, poisons, and police procedure.

Visit my lens "Useful Resources for the Mystery Writer" for the list of my favourite resource books.

Come take a look!

1) Writing World - Mystery Writing Section

2) Writer's Village University

3) Mystery Writers of America

4) Crime Writers of Canada

From Wikipedia: "A plot device is an element introduced into the story solely to advance or resolve the plot of the story."

Here below is a list of common plot devices specific to the mystery genre.

- The least likely suspect

- The most obvious suspect

- Playing with time of death

- The perfect alibi

- A crime that happened in the past resurfaces

- Using disguise or impersonation

- The locked room problem

- Having a mastermind criminal

- True identities are concealed

- "No one ever notices a servant..."

- The primary clue is hidden in plain sight

- The missing element

- A chance remark

- The unreliable character that says true

- And many more...

Keep them in mind when planning your story. It may come in handy.

You can also complete your own list of plot devices and refer to it when planning your next novel or experiencing writer's block.

"When you got the basics of writing covered and learned from a few sources, it is time to write that novel. Do not spend too much time learning and researching. You will learn a lot from writing your 1st novel. It may take some time, but tell yourself that this is an important stage of your writing career. Learn what works for you and use the tools and techniques that you have acquired. Write your novel and polish it step-by-step."

Of course, a whodunit mystery would not be possible without clues or red herrings. It is one of the major parts of the story. Each clue has its own purpose and must be chosen wisely. Some of these clues will probably be red herrings.

I have found a very interesting website that discuss this subject very thoroughly:

Fishing and Farming: Red Herrings & Planting Clues - by Scott Mortensen

Do not hesitate to take a look!

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