Write Your Own: Mystery

BOOK: Write Your Own: Mystery
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Write your own… Fantasy

Available as:
Paperback:
9781844583249

Ebook:
9781843652311

To Teddy – who likes a good mystery

First published in Great Britain in 2004 by

PAVILION CHILDREN'S BOOKS
10 Southcombe Street, London, W14 ORA
An imprint of Anova Books Company Ltd

www.anovabooks.com

Text © Anova Books Company Ltd, 2004
Volume © Anova Books Company Ltd, 2004

First ebook publication 2012

Paperback ISBN: 978–1–84458–325–6
eBook ISBN: 978–1–84365–235–9

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

CONTENTS

PUZZLING PLOTS
Thinking about mystery

WRITERS AT WORK
Creating your own mystery

TRICKS OF THE TRADE
How to mystify your readers!

PUTTING PEN TO PAPER
Map out your mystery

EDITING AND PUBLISHING
Polishing your tale

GLOSSARY

INDEX

PUZZLING PLOTS

THINKING ABOUT
MYSTERY

Outside it was dark, the moon covered by filmy clouds. Amy shivered as she walked down towards the bottom of the lane. She was just passing the old church hall when she noticed a light, flickering in the window. She tugged Sam away from a tree that he had been sniffing.

Amy knew that the church hall was never used on a Tuesday evening. She had walked past the hall every Tuesday for at least four years and there had never been anybody there before. She crouched down and pulled Sam close to her. She could just see the light – it was a lantern and someone was waving it back and forth as if they were signalling something. Suddenly, the lantern went out and she heard the distinct sound of breaking glass …

What is going on in the old church hall? Is someone in danger? Does this sort of story make you want to keep reading? Do you enjoy watching films full of clues and suspense that are only solved at the end? If you like puzzling plots and cliffhangers, how about trying to write one yourself? This book will help you write a really gripping mystery.

WHAT IS A MYSTERY?

Mystery stories are packed with scares, suspense and fast-paced action that keep you right on the edge of your seat. A mystery story may be:

  a detective mystery or ‘whodunnit' 
In these stories a private eye or detective is usually working against time to solve an impossible robbery or curious crime!

  An adventure mystery
In these, a great adventure is wrapped around a mystery. Perhaps the main characters see a strange light in a vacant house and they set about solving the mystery with many thrills and spills on the way!

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