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 The
Mini-Mystery
Mysteries have all the elements of fiction that students love: interesting
characters, a good puzzle (that's not too hard to solve), and
lots of exciting suspense (to keep your interest).
Do:
- Brainstorm mystery topics, such as a theft, disappearance,
odd occurrence, falsehood, fraud, mysterious stranger, and so on.
- Brainstorm "what ifs" for the main character to encounter,
such as "What if he was trapped alone in a dark room?"
- Write or think about intriguing opening lines, such as "Outside the
classroom window, Susan saw something strange land in the baseball field."
- Think about how you used a random opening line in the
Story Starter activity - remember how you developed a story just from
that?
Here's how to write your own Mini-Mystery:
1. Start with the main character.
If you need help, the
best way to create a main character is to base it on yourself! Pick out a few of
your own physical characteristics and personality traits that
would work well for the protagonist. Here are some characteristics to consider:
- Describe your body size and shape, your hair and eye color,
and any other physical characteristic that is unique to you. For example your
main character might be tall and slim, with short brown hair, green eyes, lots
of freckles, and dimpled cheeks.
- Dress your character in your favorite clothes. For example,
you might have him wear baggy jeans and a logo T-shirt, or have her wear khaki
pants and a tank top.
- List your favorite subjects in school, especially
your strongest ones. For example, your character could be good in math, which
helps her figure out a puzzle. Or your character could be a great soccer
player, which makes him good at running away from bad guys.
- List the things you're not so good at and include them in your
character's makeup. For example, if you're not good at science, maybe your
character does chemistry experiments that are always going wrong. If you're
not so good at paying attention in school, maybe your character misses
something important.
- Make this believable. Reread it. Have a peer
read it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
2. Put your character in an interesting setting.
The easiest way to create a setting is to use a place you know well, such as
home or school. For example, you could describe your bedroom, filled with sports
equipment or games, and find something mysterious hidden among these items. Or
you could set the story at school and discover something missing from the
classroom. Here are some ways to help you describe the classroom setting:
- Name something your character sees, such as her messy desk,
the science charts on the wall, or the clock that never seems to move fast
enough. In that messy desk, your character might find a clue?
- Name something your character hears, such as the ticking of
the clock, the clicking of the teacher's pen, or the whispers of the kids
sitting behind you. Maybe the whispers are about something mysterious in the
classroom closet?
- Name something your character smells, such as the bologna
sandwich in her desk or the perfume coming from the teacher. Inside that
sandwich there might be a strange note?
- Name something your character feels, such as the breeze coming
from the open classroom window, or your hair being pulled by the student
behind you. Maybe there's something outside the window that seems puzzling?
- Name something your character tastes, such as gum that's lost
its flavor, or chalk dust from all the scribblings on the blackboard. That gum
could come in handy when you need to hide a note under your desk?
- Make this believable. Reread it. Have a peer
read it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
3. Create an intriguing mystery with a puzzle to
solve.
Your character needs something mysterious to happen so he can
solve the puzzle. For example, the note in the bologna sandwich might be a clue
about the missing lunchboxes in the classroom closet. Or the whisperers behind
you might be talking about the strange thing outside the window. Here are some
puzzles to get you thinking:
- Something has been stolen from the classroom.
- Something is missing from your desk.
- Something strange is found on the playground.
- Someone has disappeared from the school.
- Someone is sending you strange notes.
- Something is wrong with the teacher--she's acting weird.
- Something is hidden in the classroom closet.
- Make this believable. Reread it. Have a peer
read it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
4. Build up the tension to keep the story
exciting.
There are several good ways to build tension and keep up the
suspense. Try one of these:
- Have the main character try to solve the puzzle, get close,
then fail a couple of times before he finally finds the correct solution.
- Have the main character get into trouble and have a hard time
getting out of it.
- Have the main character's weakness interfere with solving the
puzzle, such as a fear of the dark.
- Have several more things become stolen or lost.
- Have more mysterious notes arrive with more clues.
- Have the adults not believe the main character when he's
trying to tell them about the mystery, so he has to solve it himself or with
his friends.
- Make this believable. Reread it. Have a peer
read it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
5. Include some thrilling cliffhangers to
keep the story entertaining.
At the end of a scene, have the main character
get into some trouble that won't be easy to resolve. Here are some examples to
try:
- The main character is alone in a dangerous place.
- The main character has to face the bad guy.
- No one believes the main character and he's in trouble.
- The main character is trapped somewhere.
- The main character is about to be hurt in some way.
- The main character is going to lose something important if he
can't get out of jeopardy.
- Make this believable. Reread it. Have a peer
read it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
6. Resolve the mystery with a satisfying
conclusion.
Wrap up the story with the solution
to the puzzle and have the main character be a hero or change in a positive way.
For example:
- The main character saves someone.
- The main character figures out the puzzle and saves the day.
- The main character saves herself and is changed by her
courage.
- The main character reveals something surprising about the
puzzle that no one expected.
- The main character overcomes obstacles, such as his fears, to
solve the puzzle.
- The main character proves himself when he's really in trouble.
- Make this believable. Reread it. Have a peer
read it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
The nitty gritty:
- This short story must be 1000 words in length,
minimum.
- Remember, you need to show development of and will be graded on the following
Literary
Elements:
- Characterization
- Protagonist
- Antagonist (do you want to add one?)
- Setting
- Puzzle/mystery (conflict)
- Tension (rising action)
- Cliffhanger, (climax) leading into falling action
- Resolution
- Save it as mini mystery to your
folder.
- Make your overall short story believable. Reread it. Have a peer read
it. Be honest - will the reader suspend his/her disbelief?
Source: http://www.fictionteachers.com/fictionclass/mystery.html
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