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Carolyn Mulford

Carolyn Mulford

Carolyn Mulford
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Monthly Archives: October 2013

Ten Common Mistakes New Mystery Writers Make

Carolyn Mulford Posted on October 22, 2013 by CarolynOctober 22, 2013

All writers differ, but those writing their first (and maybe second or third) mystery usually make at least two or three of ten common mistakes. I base this list on what I’ve observed in reading other writers’ works in progress and what they’ve said about my manuscripts.

The mistakes vary in the manuscript’s different sections: two to three opening chapters, twenty to thirty middle chapters, and three to five final chapters.

The opening chapters

The hardest and most important section to perfect is the opening. Most agents and editors tell us they won’t read beyond the third page (some not beyond the first paragraph) if the story doesn’t grab them. From what I’ve heard, a majority of readers will give the writer until the end of the first chapter. If you can’t move the professional or the casual reader past the opening chapters, your exciting middle chapters and dynamic ending won’t matter. Watch out for these problems in your opening chapters.

1.   A lengthy backstory

Start your story with a crucial event or action, not your biographical notes on the protagonist. Find the corpse or foreshadow the murder in the first chapter.

Give the necessary backstory in phrases or sentences, not paragraphs or pages. Let actions reveal character and aptitudes. Show your protagonist through others’ eyes.

Set the tone and voice of the entire book in your first chapter.

2.   Long descriptions of the setting or the characters

Find the telling details that put the reader in the time and place.

Give thumbnails of the main characters or settings and add information as needed.

3.   A prologue revealing a dramatic point late in the book

If an event is critical, make it part of chapter one.

If your beginning lacks action or suspense, write a new one.

4.   Multiple characters

Introduce your protagonist immediately so readers identify with that person.

Limit characters to those whom you would remember at a networking event.

The middle chapters

We tend to spend so much time rewriting the opening that we neglect the much longer middle, the heart of the investigation and of character development. By this stage, readers tend to put the book down at the end of a chapter. Each chapter must motivate them to pick up the book again. Writers’ most common mistakes involve pacing.

5.   A lack of action

Something must happen in every chapter. Check that by writing a headline for each chapter.

Continue conflict—in solving the crime, in reaching the protagonist’s goals, in personal and professional interactions.

6.   Clues or characterizations that reveal too much

Present three or four viable suspects and speculate on at least two motives.

Use gray rather than black and white in portraying suspects.

7.   Indistinguishable characters

Give each named character a memorable characteristic—appearance, mannerism, speech pattern, etc.

Make each person’s speech distinctive—vocabulary, grammar, syntax, rhythm.

The final chapters

Those last chapters must evoke emotion and stimulate the intellect. If readers feel cheated because previous chapters haven’t prepared them for the conclusion, confused because the solution lacks clarity, or dissatisfied because characters act out of character, they won’t recommend your book to others or read your next book. Readers’ frustration often comes from the following mistakes.

8.   The first indication of the villain and the motive

Give the reader the facts to solve the crime, but don’t make those obvious.

Plant clues and red herrings throughout the book. Don’t bunch them at the end.

9.   Illogical, coincidental, or incredible solutions

Surprise but satisfy with your solution. You want readers to say, “Oh, yes. Now I get it.”

In fiction, readers expect to receive all the answers. They also expect justice.

10. Villain reveals all

If the bad guy has to explain why and how, rework your plot.

Wrap up all the loose ends, starting with the subplots. (If you’re writing a series, a loose end or two may help propel the reader into your next book).

Avoiding all ten of these mistakes doesn’t mean the author has produced a good manuscript. Making several of them guarantees the manuscript requires a lot of rewriting.

 

 

 

Posted in Mysteries, Writing

Latest Postings


Memories Sparked The Feedsack Dress

Carolyn Mulford Posted on March 1, 2021 by CarolynMarch 1, 2021

When I began writing The Feedsack Dress almost 50 years ago, I asked my mother and two sisters to talk about their memories of 1949. I’d chosen that year for the novel because my recollections and my research identified it as a time of transition for the country, our rural Missouri community, and our family. Our discussion evoked many forgotten details and produced a major plot point. We gathered around the kitchen table at my parents’ farm on a hot summer day. To my surprise, each of us remembered not only different movies and music but also different versions of events, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historicals, News, The Feedsack Dress | 2 Replies

Earthquakes on My Mind

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 16, 2020 by CarolynDecember 16, 2020

2020 has been a horrible year. I hope it doesn’t end like another bad year, 1811. That year, rains brought mud and flood to Upper Louisiana. The nightly appearance of the devil-tailed Great Comet prompted rumors of destruction. The brilliant Tecumseh campaigned for tribes on both sides of the Mississippi to unite to beat back the encroaching Americans. The adolescent United States crept closer to the War of 1812. Then a natural disaster struck the middle of the newly expanded United States. In early morning on December 16, a series of earthquakes, aftershocks, and tremors began, interrupting New Madrid’s French … Continue reading →

Posted in Thunder Beneath My Feet

Summer Before Air Conditioning

Carolyn Mulford Posted on July 19, 2019 by CarolynJuly 19, 2019

Air conditioning keeps me comfortable during the current heat wave, but I remember how we tried to cool off when nothing but the movie theater was air conditioned. July and August approximated hell when I was a kid. No day was so hot that we wouldn’t work in the fields and the garden. Only the persistent breeze made the heat and humidity bearable. The steamy days heated the house, making it equally miserable. When we got electricity, fans helped a little. During the day the coolest place to be was in the shade of a big elm. (Sadly Dutch elm … Continue reading →

Posted in The Feedsack Dress

Mixing Memories and Research

Carolyn Mulford Posted on July 16, 2019 by CarolynJuly 18, 2019

When I started writing The Feedsack Dress, my own memories of farm life and the ninth grade guided the plot, but I needed facts about life in 1949. I looked for them in the same places I would have if I were writing an article. At the library I wore out my eyes scrolling through microfilm copies of the Kirksville Daily Express and two great photo magazines, Life and Look. These answered such questions as the styles of dresses or skirts and blouses a fashionable ninth grader wore to school and how much they cost. Few girls wore jeans or … Continue reading →

Posted in The Feedsack Dress

About The Feedsack Dress Blog

Carolyn Mulford Posted on July 16, 2019 by CarolynJuly 18, 2019

When The Feedsack Dress came out in 2007, I started a blog on Typepad that focused on life during the late 1940s and early 1950s. I stopped posting there in 2012, but you can still link to The Feedsack Kids. I’m posting some new blogs and my favorite old ones here.

Continue reading →
Posted in The Feedsack Dress

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