YOU CAN WRITE A MYSTERY: LESSON NINE

LESSON NINE: THE END (PART TWO)

YOUR FINAL LESSON 

Face Personal Problem

In the beginning, your protagonist had a personal problem that was somewhat debilitating. This is the place where he faces and overcome his fear of this area of his life. Although Ron is a secondary character in the Harry Potter series, he has a huge fear of spiders. He is called upon to rise above this personal fear to help Harry escape from the giant spiders in the forest. He doesn’t lose his fear, but he does face it.

Confront Major Problem

No more delays, the time has arrived to confront the major challenge your protagonist set out to solve from the beginning. He needs to come up with a plan or strategy to make it happen. I wrote a book set in 1946 about a boy who lives with his grandparents in Hawaii. When his grandparents disappear and his best friend is arrested as a leper, he sets out to find his birth parents on a neighboring island. He has several adventures, learns some difficult truths, but never gives up his search for his parents. Not even when it means risking his own death.

Go All Out to Fight the Foe

The protagonist sets his plan into action. Everything is on the line and there’s no backing down. He’s willing to risk it all. Marvin, the dragon boy, has devised a plan to rescue his brother from the evil sorcerer’s dungeon. He’s enlisted the help of some other characters he’s met during the course of the story. Plus he will rely on the help of his dragon to fly him to the tower

YOU CAN WRITE A MYSTERY: LESSON EIGHT

LESSON EIGHT: THE END (PART ONE)

The End takes up the last 1/4 of the story. The whole book has been leading up to this moment when the protagonist faces off with the antagonist. You don’t want to rush it or leave out the final physical and emotional steps taken by your hero. It should be the dramatic fulfillment of your main character’s quest.

Point of No Return

At the beginning of the end, your protagonist should feel that he has reached the point of no retreat. He’s changed and will never be the same. He’s set things in motion that can’t be erased or undone. He has to move forward even though everything he’s worked for up to this point feels doomed to fail. Frodo continues to climb Mount Doom even though he fears he’s fated to fail.

Blackest Moment

Something happens to convince your protagonist his task is doomed. There’s no chance of success. He emotionally gives up, but continues to work toward his goal even though he expects failure. This is called the blackest moment. This could be the moment when a mother who’s scrambled to earn the money necessary for her child’s operation, learns that the condition has advanced and it’s too late.  The doctor refuses to perform the surgery because there is only a one in a billion chance it might succeed. The mother won’t take no. She hunts for another doctor who will operate even though she knows her son’s condition is hopeless.

Moral Decision

The protagonist has a moral decision to make in what seems like a no-win situation.

YOU CAN WRITE A MYSTERY: LESSON SEVEN

LESSON SEVEN: PROTAGONIST ACTION PLAN

Protagonist Forms a Plan of Action

The three little pigs leave home. They want independence. They each build a house and plan to live long, happy and secure lives on their own. The third little pig is our protagonist.

The Plan Goes Wrong

The wolf arrives. He’s our antagonist.  He blows down the straw and stick houses. The two pigs are forced to move in with their brother in his brick house and they’re all stuck living together again.

Protagonist Makes New Plans

The third pig makes plans to get rid of the wolf and his guests. He forces his bothers do all the housework so they will want to leave while he plots to trick the wolf into taking a trip to the Bahamas.

Depending on the length of your story, these scenes will repeat. In the shortest story this should happen at least three times. The action, tension and stakes should escalate as the plot progresses.

In addition, your hero should have a MID-POINT EPIPHANY. I like to call it the "Ah ha!" moment.

YOU CAN WRITE A MYSTERY: LESSON SIX

LESSON FIVE: THE MIDDLE

The middle section of the story is the most challenging to write. It is half of your story. In this section the protagonist sets out to accomplish his goal. He makes plans to get what he wants. At the same time, the antagonist is doing the same thing.

Neither should get what they want . . . both should be frustrated, which will complicate the story plot. Each situation should escalate from the previous.

THIS BRINGS YOU BACK TO PLOTTING WHAT'S COMING NEXT.

 PROTAGONIST ACCEPTS THE MAIN STORY CHALLENGE

This section starts when the protagonist accepts the story's main challenge, either willingly or having been forced into it. This challenge (problem) will drive the story.

YOU CAN WRITE A MYSTERY: LESSON FOUR

LESSON FOUR: BOOK JACKET DESCRIPTION

Okay, now that you have an idea of why you’re writing this book, who you’re writing it for and what kind of story you want it to be. You know who the main players are and what's at stake. This is a great time to write the book jacket description. Pretend you’ve finished the manuscript and want to sell it. What would appear on the back cover to make a reader want to buy it?

This exercise forces you to focus. It helps to make sure your “story idea” has enough drama to appeal to readers. It also subconsciously validates your project. Makes it real.

Most book jacket descriptions include information about your protagonist, the setting, the genre, a teaser and a strong hint of what’s at stake. It does not reveal the entire plot or lay out the ending. Read a few.

Using the information from the previous exercises, write a book jacket description for your book. This is also a good time to choose a working title, even if it’s just the name of your main character.

YOU CAN WRITE A MYSTERY: LESSON THREE

LESSON THREE: YOUR PROTAGONIST

It's time to spend a little time on your protagonist (fancy name for your hero/detective/sleuth). He or she will be the driving force of your story. A compelling protagonist will be more than just a detective. She needs to be a real person, with real problems to work out in addition to solving the story's mystery. I start with a quick brainstorm list of facts (that usually change before I'm finished).

NAME  AGE  FAMILY  PETS  TOWN  PROFESSION  FRIENDS ENEMIES

SECRETS PET-PEEVES   HOME   ETC. ETC. ETC.  ETC.  . . .

I also try to answer the following questions.

1. Why is it important for my protagonist to solve the crime?

2. How is the crime connected to them?

3. If she doesn't solve the crime, how will it affect her future life?

Everything that I write down at this point is usually in flux. It changes and morphs as I explore all my options. This means that I am careful not to overwork my character in the planning stage. I've learned the hard way, that sometimes once I start writing, my preconceived protagonist will refuse to fit into the tight mold I've set. To avoid this pitfall, this is when I do what I call my Last Look exercise.