WHODUNIT?! How to Write Suspects in a Mystery Novel

[@oldscribe6153]

Pure writerly information with absolutely no fluff. Brilliant.

[@BethanyVotaw]

This is so cohesive and well thought out! You have such a talent for teaching!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Aw, thank you so much, Bethany! :)

[@wendysplace3867]

OH...I'm so glad that I ran into this video. I'm a little late viewing it but I just started a murder mystery and thanks for including items that I over looked.

[@JoeyPaulOnline]

I loved this, been writing mysteries for years and love dropping the red herrings and such!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks, Joey! Same here - mysteries are the most fun to plot. :)

[@BayleyMae]

YUP. This is exactly what I needed to day! Thank you Michelle! I'm currently working on brainstorming my NaNo project, a murder mystery, and this was soooo helpful!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Oh wow, great timing! So happy this helped, Bayley! :D

[@alexkunce2006]

Three years later, I'm watching this working on my NaNo mystery. Haha!

[@PaulArvidson]

Wowser Michelle! Where have you been all my life? Great advice. Off to make a chart!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Glad it was helpful, Paul!! Thank you for watching! :)

[@PickaGodandPray]

I cannot wait for the summit and to learn more! This video is absolutely fabulous and your breakdown of the mystery genre!! The chat is such an amazing idea and I love how you always have imagery and plotting advice!!!! Thank you for creating these videos, taking the time to film and edit! I appreciate these videos and look forward to them every week!!!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thank you so much, Jojo! I'm so excited that you'll be at the summit. It's going to be so fun!

[@edweirdworld1249]

This isn't supposed to be my takeaway from this video, but seeing the stills that you used made me sad all over again about Alan Rickman's passing. The oldest shirt I have is a Harry Potter shirt from hot topic that I bought in probably 2005 that just has Snape on it. I couldn't tell you why, but he was one of my first serious crushes.... After Robert Smith from The Cure... I think I may have a type.... ANYWAY, this video came at the perfect time because I am looking to introduce a little mystery into the center of the plot of the fantasy that I am planning to write next month.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Oh same here - pics of AR always make me sad. He was so wonderful. I watch Die Hard every Christmas - his villains are the best, hands down. Hooray for fantasies with mystery plots!!!! That's what I'm doing too. So fun. :)

[@fridgeghost4017]

I am so excited summit and seeing your part in it! And this was perfectly timed for my project. Snape really was a fantastically done character in terms of is he the bad guy or isn't he. That chart is such a good idea and, yeah, I'm probably going to implement it lol

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks so much, FG! Snape is endlessly fascinating, isn't he? So glad the chart is helpful!!

[@fridgeghost4017]

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor it's such a great way to keep track and it can be tied to specific scenes and chapters which is fantastic

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

@@fridgeghost4017 Exactly! I've found it very handy :)

[@mrRambleGamble]

0:55 "the villain is only someone we met in the latter half." That's what really annoyed me about Knives Out

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

UPDATE! Watch me plan a mystery novel WITHOUT plotting: skl.sh/3G60GNM

[@samanthasessoms7916]

Hi Michelle! I LOVED your talk at the summit. I was wondering if there was a way to get the PDF freebie you mentioned in the summit video, as the freebies they had us sign up for are the 4 PDF newsletter leaders on your website (which are AMAZING too!), and I was super interested in the mystery-writing focused one you mentioned. :)

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

@@samanthasessoms7916 Thanks so much, Samantha! I'd be happy to send it to you - just email me at schustermanworkshop at gmail :)

[@samanthasessoms7916]

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Oh, thank you!!! I appreciate it so much! Off to email you now :)

[@noelleb-v]

It's no free anymore :(

[@juniper7153]

This was super helpful! I am writing a murder mystery called Murder on Summer Street where the detective is the actual killer

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Oooh love it!!

[@ayukiholmes5514]

Ah, that was awesome~ I suppose it would apply to any adult, young adult and middle grade novel... Question, though: how do you go about doing a whodunnit in the villian's POV, like Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" ? Does this method apply the same principal? If not, then what's the difference? Anyways, signed up already for the forum and cannot wait for the presentations 😁

[@kanashiiookami6537]

Are you thinking the villains POV where you let the reader be in the know that he's the villain, or in the POV that hides this fact from the reader? (I've never read that book or author btw, hence asking, in case you're wondering why I don't reference the reference😅)

[@ayukiholmes5514]

It is in the villain's POV where the reader is aware of this fact... and do read it! It's an interesting mystery where the novel was based on this! I think Agatha got criticism from this mystery novel club thing (don't know the proper name for this) where she "broke" the standard detective/ protagonist - sidekick - villian formula by writing that novel, which to me, is not a biggie. [SPOILER ALERT] She made a sidekick to the detective as a main villian and confessed to said detective. It was briliant since it was from the villain's point of view and omitted facts deliberately to confuse and made the reader believe that he was one of the protagonists until the big reveal [END SPOILER] But yeah, like that because I have a seperate project where the protag is technically a "criminal" and of course he does crimes, not in the way that he conducts them.

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Great question, Ayuki! Like K said, t depends on whether the protagonist is telling the reader he's the villain or keeping it a secret. I suppose you could use the chart to track the other suspects so that the protagonist could find the most ideal patsy. But either way, this would make a great video topic!

[@judyshinohara]

Hello! I like your videos and I like your hair. I’ve never seen someone who has exactly the same hair texture as me. :)

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Aw thank you so much, Judith! That's so cool. I so regret all the time I spent in high school/college trying to straighten it. Nothing wrong with curls! :)

[@kanashiiookami6537]

Yep, even though technically these things should have been obvious to me (being raised on mysteries) it's definitely helpful for them to be laid out and explained. I have read quite a few mysteries where only the bad guy was inherently bad and everybody else was just mistakenly suspect with zero actual secrets that had any bearing on them needing to sneak around and get caught sneaking. Now I have a good few characters to plot secrets for.... Gotta admit, though, it made me happy to hear you reference Snape. (All time favourite character) Though my first time reading the books I refused to believe he was actually bad. (Maybe because I understood his character more than the others because his are the types I like to write) But yeah, she definitely did the mystery parts of those books (and near every other part) great. Because unlike most mysteries I've read where they make the bad guys to be nothing but bad, hers you can understand why they did what they did and what motivated them. You may not agree with what they did, or their motivation, but the fact that every character has such depth makes everything more believable. (Like Draco when you realise he's only the way he is because his father expects it, and more than likely Crabbe and Goyle aren't so much his friends or henchmen, but there to keep him in his place and from befriending muggles and muggle sympathizers as they and their families are raised off of loyalty to Voldemort, meaning even if he wanted to he couldn't befriend Harry after he made it into Gryffindor...but if Harry had made it into Slytherin it could have made up for him being half-blood....or at least that's my idea.) Anyway, thank you for the video because once again it has gotten me thinking from a different point of view for my characters and story. So I definitely can't wait for the Summit. ❤ (it may take a while, but I am determined to have actual mystery to the mysteries I want to write!😁)

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Oooh I LOVE your thoughts about Draco - especially about how C & G were there to "keep him in his place..." I remember having that thought when I first read book 7, but I'd kind of forgotten about it. Gotta love bad guys with depth. And if you can empathize with them and even see why they're doing what they're doing, all the better. (To me, this is why Black Panther had so much more depth than most Avengers movies - I spent half the movie going "well, Killmonger has a point...") So excited to see you at the summit! And it's so cool that you're writing mysteries. :D

[@kanashiiookami6537]

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor I think when you're raised with mysteries, writing them is inevitable. Doing it well, though, is another matter. The thing about HP is that the mystery draws you in, but the characters make you stay and keep you coming back to reread it and relive it, even though there is no longer any mystery to it. That is the type of mystery (and story) I endeavour to write. That's why I love characters and creating ones with depth, because a mystery, or even a story regardless of genre, won't keep you after the first read if the characters are flat. (And depending on how flat the characters are and how basic the plot is, you may not even stay for half the book.) Anyway, I hope your week goes well, and I hope you get all the kinks out of your Coney Island plot in time for next month. (I know I'm feeling the pressure, but I so want to see if I can do it.😁)

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

@@kanashiiookami6537 Saaaame here! That's the kind of series I want to write. Easier said than done, right? ;) Hope you're having a great week too! And that your prepping and plotting are going great.

[@reginaduke7451]

Excellent!!! :D Loved it!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thanks so much, Regina! :)

[@reginaduke7451]

@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor Just trying to conquer a computer issue. Book at 98.6K and my keyboard is going wonky!!! ARGH But my new MacAir has arrived. Let’s see how many days it takes me to get it all set up. LOL

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

@@reginaduke7451 omg how frustrating! But YAY new Air! I hope the set up goes quickly!

[@CaitlinAsche]

This was cute and helpful! Thanks for this!

[@MichelleSchustermanAuthor]

Thank YOU, Caitlin! :)

[@RasDaKaiGaming]

I've got a weird story that's a web series that in episode 4 becomes a whodunit kind of situation. Ive been laying breadcrumbs about who the suspect is so it won't be the biggest surprise lol. Theres so much going on in the series I do wonder if it's too much or if it's the right amount of awesomeness and change in each episode lol

[@Intelligencia]

Nice work.

[@oj2368]

0:43 Randy Meeks?

[@docstockandbarrel]

👍🏻