30 Scene Ideas for Mystery Subplots

by Eva, in category Ideas

Mystery Writing Prompts

A mystery is an easy way to add interest to an otherwise simple story. These mystery writing prompts will make you curious to know more. And your readers too!

What Creates Mystery?

A few elements are vital to keeping a mystery story moving forward:

  1. Questions – A single question can be enough to sow doubt in a reader’s mind, and create a mystery where previously there was none.
  2. Answers – The dance between questions and answers is what keeps readers engaged in a mystery. Every answer creates a new question until the final dénouement resolves the last loose ends… Or does it? Here’s a worksheet to help you solve a mystery (your own or another writer’s).
  3. Suspense – Between the questions and the answers there’s… suspense.

The mystery genre often solidifies these elements around physical objects – a dead body, a murder weapon, a clue, a suspect, etc. – whereas a psychological thriller will focus on the internal, non-material aspects – a doubt about another character, the suspense created by a ringing telephone, the silence on the other end, etc.

Mystery Plots & Subplots

You can use these scene ideas in your mystery story, suspense story, adventure story, or thriller, and they can also come in handy for mystery subplots in any genre.

You could generate a whole plot from these mystery writing prompts alone, but if you need mystery story ideas, you might like to adapt one from this list of story ideas, or from this list of romance story ideas. Or you can consult a mystery plot generator!

Mystery Writing Prompts

Sometimes we can overcomplicate a story problem, or overestimate the amount of effort required to fix a plot. It doesn’t need to be that hard!

Randomly choose a few of these mystery writing prompts and draft a quick scene summary for each…

01A note is discovered.Who was the intended recipient?
02A character who was thought lost or who departed reappears.Why did they stay away until now?
03A new (contradictory) clue is discovered.Is it a red herring?
04An old clue is reevaluated.How has the evaluator’s perception changed?
05Suspicion shifts to another person.Why were they not previously suspected?
06The investigator examines the scene of the mystery.What seems out of place?
07A previously innocent or unrelated person is connected to the mystery.Why wasn’t their connection noticed earlier?
08The investigator explains their own interest in the mystery.Are they qualified to try and solve this?
09A character puts two and two together.What leads them to the connection?
10A character finds they’ve misread someone’s motivation.How were they misled?
11A character trails another character.Are they detected?
12A character is found dead.Who could have foreseen this?
13A character is abducted, or discovered to have been abducted.How does this help to deepen the mystery?
14A character defends another character.Do they know who’s guilty?
15A character plants a false clue.Who discovers the false clue?
16A character tries to obstruct the investigator.Who are they trying to protect?
17Someone sets a trap to catch the perpetrator.Do they have the right person?
18Someone solves the mystery.What do they do with this new information?
19A character is discovered to have a secret identity.Who are they really?
20A secret passage is discovered.Where does it lead?
21Someone is acting strangely.What would they normally do?
22A character is caught red-handed.How do they react?
23A character’s alibi falls through.Who let slip the truth?
24The investigator talks the mystery over with someone.Are they trustworthy?
25Someone confesses.Why were they lying?
26A character tries to destroy a clue.Can they be stopped in time?
27A character tries to escape.Do they succeed?
28The investigator interviews a suspect.What’s their first question?
29Two or more people meet secretly.Are they observed?
30The investigator explains the solution to the mystery.Did they leave something out?

 

P.S. If you’re enrolled in The One Page Novel course, don’t forget to refer to the mystery cheatsheet in the Genre Cheatsheet pack!

Don’t miss these writing prompts…

Worldbuilding ideasWriting ideas - 30 scenes for plot developmentCharacter Development100 Opening Scene Ideas

Character Arc Plot & Kurt Vonnegut’s Story Shapes

by Eva, in category Characters, Writing Worksheets

A character arc is a simple way to visualise your character’s progress through the story, whether it’s a binary comparison of their beginning and end states, or a point-by-point graph of their emotional ups and downs…

Character Arc Development & Kurt Vonnegut's Story Shapes

Last week we studied how characters change, and this week’s worksheet offers a simple method for visualising that change.

Character Arc Development & Kurt Vonnegut's Story Shapes

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

What is a Character Arc?

A “character arc”, sometimes also called a “character development arc” or “emotional arc” is the sum of the changes that the character undergoes throughout the story, or series of stories. The “arc” itself is generally a metaphor, although it can be plotted like a graph. Usually, the main focus is on the difference between the beginning and end state of the character, so that the overall shape of the graph will resemble an arc, but charting the character’s changes in fortune up or down a scale can also be useful in determining…

  1. The emotional impact of the story (or narrative event) on the character
  2. The emotional impact of the story (or narrative event) on the reader
  3. The dynamic range of the story
  4. The rate of the character’s (internal or external) change
  5. The effective timing or pacing of a particular narrative event
  6. When and where to begin telling a story
  7. When and where to end a story

How to Plot a Character Arc

There are several different metrics that can be plotted on a character arc. In his humorous explanation of story shapes, Kurt Vonnegut labels his axes:

  • G – I = good fortune vs. ill fortune
  • B – E = beginning vs. end

Here is his chart for Cinderella.

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How Characters Change

by Eva, in category Characters, Writing Worksheets

How Characters Change - Writing Worksheet

At school you probably learned the distinction between “static” and “dynamic” characters. Static characters are usually defined as those who don’t change, or those who resist change. Dynamic characters, in contrast, are transformed by the story.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

The change that a character undergoes from the beginning through to the end of the story is also called the “character arc”, or “character development arc”. Often, a strong development arc is considered to be one in which the character makes an essential change, and improves their situation.

Characters change because:

  1. The experiences they undergo during the story alter their perception of the world, of other characters, and of themselves.
  2. The world is changing around them and they need to adapt.
  3. They travel to a new world and need to adapt to it.
  4. They’re growing older.

Characters remain unchanged because:

  1. They’ve reached a mental, emotional, or physical peak or plateau.
  2. For various reasons, the story has not required them to change. This might signal a weakness in the story plot.
  3. They’re resistant to change. This is often the defining trait of a tragic hero.

How Characters Change

Most stories describe a character’s transformation from one state to another, and over time, storytellers have developed plot formulas to help them understand how characters change and how this change can be related to an audience.

In general these formulas guide the character through the following steps:

  1. THE CHARACTER REACTS TO AN IMPETUS: The character receives an impetus to change. This trigger to action may be internal or external. In other words, the character may decide to leave their current state of being of their own accord, or another person or event can urge them to do so.
  2. THE CHARACTER ENTERS A NEW WORLD: The character comes in contact with new places, new people, new ideas, and new rules that make them rethink or doubt the ways of their state of being at the beginning of the story. This new world creates a sense of uncertainty that is necessary for unsettling the character’s old beliefs, in order that new perspectives can take their place.
  3. THE BEGINNING STATE IS PROVED TO BE UNSOUND: The uncertainty created by the character’s meeting new people and ideas is further eroded. The character sees the problem of their beginning state, and the direction in which they’ve been heading. Sometimes, especially in the “mythic mode”, the character undergoes a figurative death.
  4. THE CHARACTER UNDERGOES A PARADIGM SHIFT: A paradigm shift is a fundamental change is perspective that has repercussions for an entire belief system. Often this shift is a synthesis of the original state, and the lessons that the character has learned in the new world. It leads to an important insight that allows them to finally understand the direction in which the story is taking them. Some frameworks describe this as the moment when the character moves from being reactive to being proactive.
  5. THE CHARACTER EXPERIENCES LOSS OR FAILURE: Sometimes a devastating failure or seemingly-fatal defeat will further detach the character from their old state of being, or from the direction that they thought their story needed to go. This may be the death of a mentor, guide, or guardian, or it might be an event that seals the fate of a particular enterprise. The loss guarantees that the character can’t go back to the way things were, but it may also give them a sense that they have nothing more to lose.
  6. THE CHARACTER DISCOVERS WHAT THEY TRULY NEEDED: Finally, the character understands the new state of being that they are being led towards, and accepts the change. This usually involves a hidden part of their personality coming to light, and bringing them the necessary strength and certainty.

Consider how closely this summary follows a change you recently made yourself, or are hoping to make…

As readers we enjoy  following the logical unfolding of this progress in the character’s psyche – although this does not necessarily mean that we need to have access to the  character’s mind. If a step is skipped, or dealt with in an unconvincing way, we might feel that the writer has missed an important insight, or rushed ahead to a conclusion.

For more guidance, please refer to this post on plot formulas.

Plot formula cheatsheet

Internal vs. External Change

Internal changes are visible only to the character themselves, and to the narrator who has access to their thoughts and feelings.

External changes are visible to other characters, and to the narrator who has access to the character’s appearance, and behaviour.

How Characters Change their World

Some characters, having undergone a change through the story, will end by changing the world around them. In the Hero’s Journey (or monomyth), this occurs when the character steals or wins the Elixir of Life – a symbolic substance that restores life – in the underworld, and brings it back to the Ordinary World in order to share it with others who have not been through the same journey.

As well as bringing life, the character may also change the world using the knowledge and wisdom they’ve gained through their experiences in the story.

Common Character Changes

Characters may change:

  1. The way they think and feel about a particular person or group of people.
    For example, they may come to realise that an enemy or opponent is no different from them.
  2. Their occupation or preoccupation.
    For example, they may change from being a warrior to a healer.
  3. A trait or set of traits they possess.
    For example, they may change from being disappointed to being determined.
  4. In status.
    For example, they may change from being a commoner to a member of the royalty.
  5. Their level of knowledge.
    For example, they may change from not knowing anything about magic, to being a master magician.
  6. Their level of ability.
    For example, they may change from being a terrible public speaker to one of the most articulate speakers in the world.

Not all change that characters undergo is positive, although in general negative change is the domain of failed heroes or antagonists. If you’re enrolled in The One Page Novel, you can read the lesson titled, Failed Heroes, Tragic Heroes, Antagonists, Villains, and Anti-Heroes for more guidance.

How to Use This Worksheet

If you’re using this worksheet while studying a story:

  1. Enter the story title at the top right.
  2. Enter the name of the character you’re studying at the top left.
  3. Enter their beginning and end states. In The One Page Novel method, these are the Stasis and Resolution states.
    1. What’s one word or phrase that describes the character at the beginning of the story? Note down this word or phrase in its internal and external aspects.
    2. What’s one word or phrase that describes the character at the end of the story? Note down this word or phrase in its internal and external aspects.
  4. Find references in the text to the 6 steps.
    1. Does the character demonstrate all of them?
    2. Does the character go through the steps in order?

If you’re using this worksheet while writing a story:

  1. Enter the story title at the top right.
  2. Enter the name of the character you’re writing at the top left.
  3. Enter the character’s end state. Refer to this plot workshop for more guidance.
    1. What’s one word or phrase that describes the character at the end of the story? Note down this word or phrase in its internal and external aspects.
  4. Turn the end state into its opposite to create the beginning state.
    1. Note down this word or phrase in its internal and external aspects.
  5. Brainstorm scene ideas for each step of the process of change. Alternatively, you could draft a short summary for each step, taking into account the internal and external aspects of the character’s journey.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WORKSHEET (PDF)

Neil Gaiman Writing Masterclass

How Characters Change & Why

discovering new reads…

by Eva, in category Another Writer's Diary, Books

The Magician - Rider Waite Tarot

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to any podcasts, but when I received an email announcing that my favourite quarterly had started up the Slightly Foxed Podcast, I decided it was time for old habits and new reads.

If you’re unfamiliar with Slightly Foxed, it’s a very down-to-earth publication that is all about the delight of reading, and of discovering new (often “unpopular” or obscure) books.

“We’re not snobbish about this. We believe that reading is a pleasurable activity and there are some books you need at particular times in your life, and they’re for pleasure, for comfort, diversion, inspiration.”

The quarterly itself, and now the podcast, are excellent sources for discovering books that fall in the cracks between the latest popular novels, and the classics. I remember reading the article on Georgette Heyer that finally convinced me to pick up one of those lovely editions that I kept seeing in Galloway’s, back when I was far too much of a literary snob even to entertain the notion of reading romance. What a lucky thing I did!

On Chronic Re-reading

One of my resolutions for this year is to read more fiction. While I sample widely of non-fiction, I’ve realised that recently I’ve fallen into the cosy habit of re-reading my favourites (His Dark Materials, Ivanhoe, North and South, Cadfael), and of only taking on books that I’m certain I’ll like.

These days I rarely even read any fiction published in the 20th century, let alone the 21st!

To test my resolve, I picked up the ugliest book on my Dad’s bookshelf – a copy of Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination. In all honesty, classic sci-fi is well within the bounds of my comfort zone, but… it’s a step in the right (temporal) direction!

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The Underworld and How to Use it in Your Story

by Eva, in category Mythology

Writing the Underworld

The underworld is perhaps the most important motif in mythology and literature – tied up with ideas about life, the afterlife, belief, culture, storytelling, and the psyche, it’s the setting of humanity’s reckoning with the ephemeral nature of mortality.

As writers, we can use the motif of the underworld in two aspects:

  1. The underworld as world of adventure
  2. The underworld as world of the dead

Why write the underworld?

  1. Create an internal or external site for the change your character undergoes, and the wisdom they extract from their experiences in the story.
  2. Explore your character’s unconscious, and how the archetypes of the collective unconscious manifest in their life.
  3. Explore your character’s reaction to the unknown in themselves or in the world.
  4. Explore your characters’ reaction to the nature of death, and to the idea of their own death.
  5. Explore your characters’ relationships with the dead (both those they knew in life, and those they did not).
  6. Create an “underground” “sub-culture” that resists or subverts the ways of the ordinary world.
  7. Create the home world of the antagonist.
  8. Remove the character from the home world in order to challenge and change them.
  9. Develop the rules, customs, and aims of your story culture; in particular, how their perception of death shapes their perception of life.
  10. Explore the boundaries of the upper world.
  11. Deepen your story world by portraying its inverted, mirror, or dark side.
  12. Tap into a rich literary tradition.

When to write the underworld?

  1. The underworld as world of adventure is usually entered soon after the character begins their engagement in the story. In the Hero’s Journey, this is in response to the Call to Adventure, when the character crosses the Threshold of Adventure and leaves the Ordinary World behind. The rest of the story takes place in this symbolic underworld, until the character crosses the Threshold once again and returns home.
  2. A literal descent into the underworld is likely to take place much later in the story. In the Odyssey, the voyage to the land of the dead happens in Book 11, almost halfway into the 24-book poem.
  3. A journey to the world of the dead is best undertaken when the character reaches a mental, emotional, or physical standstill in the story. Their work with the world of the living has progressed as far as it can, and in order to seek deeper truths, uncover secrets about themselves or their world, or achieve greater mastery, they need to overcome more difficult challenges.
  4. A journey to the world of the dead is the ultimate challenge a character can overcome, which is why those who succeed in returning are revered in myths around the world. You can prepare your character for the journey by having them first undergo adventures that take them to locations symbolic of the underworld.
  5. In the One Page Novel, the character enters the World of Adventure in the Quest, and emerges back into the Ordinary World in the Power (thus the two stages can be plotted as mirror opposites). However, a literal trip to the world of the dead might best be undertaken when the character is deeper in the underworld, particularly during the Shift and Defeat. The Shift suggests an overturning or inversion, and no location better symbolises a sense of loss and Defeat than the depths of Hell.

How to prepare for the Underworld?

  1. In order to be ready for the underworld as World of Adventure, the character must acknowledge and respond to the Call to Adventure. This may be either…
    1. An external motivator (something or someone else), or,
    2. An internal motivator (the character themselves),

    and their response may be…

    1. Willing (they are convinced of the need to respond), or,
    2. Unwilling (they are forced to respond).
  2. In order to prepare to enter the underworld as World of the Dead, the character should be at a point in the story where…
    1. They have experience of previous symbolic descents to the underworld.
    2. They have tried their mental and physical powers and have achieved some success.
    3. They have a very strong motivation for undertaking the journey, and this motivation manifests both internally and externally.
  3. Additionally, the character may prepare in the same way they would when entering any dangerous situation. They may…
    1. Pack essentials such as food, drink, clothes, shelter, power supplies, etc.
    2. Bring protection such as bodyguards, talismans, or powerful creatures.
    3. Leave instructions behind with a trusted companion as to what should be done if they haven’t returned by a set date, as Inanna does in Sumerian myth.
    4. Complete a mini quest to win or collect a protective item, as Aeneas, who was told to obtain the golden bough.
    5. Settle their affairs, such as their duties to their people, or their responsibilities to their dependants.
    6. Say goodbye to loved ones.

What to do in the Underworld?

The character’s task(s) in the underworld may be to:

  1. Try to bring a loved one back to the world of the living.
  2. Commune with a loved one or a stranger who has died in order to:
    1. Seek consolation.
    2. Apologise.
    3. Discover arcane or forbidden knowledge.
    4. Learn a secret about themselves.
  3. Parlay or plead with the gods on behalf of their world.
  4. Retrieve a valuable item or creature (perhaps as part of a mini quest).
  5. Bring comfort, or free the dead.
  6. Challenge their powers and abilities.
  7. Accompany someone who has recently died.
  8. Face the shadow self.
  9. Sacrifice themselves or someone else, perhaps as replacement for one of the dead.

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