Tuesday 10 September 2013

Planning A Murder

How Would You Plan A Murder?




Planning the plot to a crime novel is just like planning a murder for an author. We have to know exactly where we are going to do it, who is going to be our victim, who is going to be our murderer and all that stuff. It’s not always easy, because amongst that we have a cornucopia of suspects all with 1 or 2 of the major 3,

1.      Means

2.      Motive

3.      Opportunity

While simultaneously ensuring that the main character has all 3, but only appears to have 1 or 2 of them. But then, what if more than one person commits the murder, or at least is an accessory to it? And things start to become a little complicated. Then how do we ensure the reader doesn’t guess what is going on until the last chapter? How do we keep the reader interested until that final moment?

Planning!


Yes of course, good story telling and use of language are excellent ways to ensure the reader is kept entertained, but if you don’t plan the murder down to every last detail, then it’s all going to fall apart. Unless...

I have recently heard about someone, not sure who, that writes murder mysteries without knowing who the murderer is until the story is almost finished. Then a murderer is picked at random and all the evidence explained around the conclusion. And what evidence doesn’t make sense is explained away as a red herring.

This style of writing may work, but I couldn’t do it. I’m the kind of person who has to plan everything way in advance so I know what is going to happen. Some people call me a control freak, I call it well prepared.

 

Which do you prefer? What’s the first thing you would do if planning a murder? What kind of murder would it be?
Read, follow, comment and enjoy. See you later :-)

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