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How to Describe a Magical Forest

By Isobel Coughlan

Do you need some thoughts on how to describe a magical forest? Get some inspiration from the following 10 words and examples!

1. Mysterious

Something strange and not understood .

“Emma weaved between the trees, but she still didn’t understand what was causing the magic in the mysterious forest.”

“The forest was simply mysterious . No one understood why it attracted magical creatures.”

How it Adds Description

“Mysterious” shows that the forest’s magical powers or ambiance are not completely understood. This might make your character very curious about the setting, as they want to uncover the truth behind the magical “mystery.” This could lead to adventures in the forest as your character explores.

Something or somewhere that’s full of activity or conversation because of something exciting .

“The magical forest was always buzzing thanks to its inhabitants. There was always a new spell being crafted between the trees.”

“As Johnny entered the forest, he realized it was buzzing with energy. He’d never seen such a magical place in his life.”

If you want to describe the feeling of the forest’s magic or the general presence of magical energy, you can use the word “buzzing.” This verb shows that the magic is so potent that it’s very noticeable when compared to non-magical locations. This might excite characters, but some may also find it scary, especially if they don’t understand it.

3. Enchanting

Somewhere very attractive or charming .

“The enchanting forest beckoned witches into the trees. You didn’t have to be an expert to understand that it was a magical place.”

“Eli found the forest enchanting . He couldn’t stop staring at the glowing trees and sparkling grass.”

“Enchanting” can be used to show that your fictional forest is very aesthetically attractive. This may reinforce why your character likes the place, and some might be in awe of the forest’s  “enchanting” appearance. Some characters might even get drawn in by the forest’s “enchanting” nature, even if the forest is filled with dark magic.

Somewhere very strange and odd.

“Alex thought the forest was more bizarre than attractive. He didn’t feel comfortable being surrounded by magic.”

“The wizard dreamed of the bizarre forest every night. He was certain that the magical place was calling his name.”

If you want to show that your magical forest has a strange side, you can use “bizarre.” This adjective shows that there’s something different or odd about the forest, and this might put your character on edge. They might not be able to relax in the forest until they know why it seems so “bizarre.”

5. Wonderful

Somewhere that’s pleasant and extremely good.

“Tinkerbell gasped when she flew into the wonderful forest. She felt so at home in the magical trees.”

“Peter thought the magical forest was truly wonderful . He decided he would return again next year.”

You can show how positive and likable your forest is through “wonderful.” This adjective shows that your character enjoys being in the forest, and this could lead to their mood being better or more exciting when in the forest.

6. Impressive

Something that impresses you due to size, skill, or degree.

“The fairy king knew his magical forest was impressive , and he used it to his advantage.”

“Edna tried to deny it, but her facial expression gave away the fact that she thought the forest was impressive .”

A magical forest is a very unique setting, and due to its rarity, many non-magical characters might find it “impressive.” This shows that it’s something out of the ordinary, and it might stop some characters in their tracks, especially if they’ve never seen anything magical before.

7. Powerful

Something that can influence events or control people.

“As soon as Geena stepped into the powerful forest, its magic took over her senses. For a second, she didn’t even know who she was anymore.”

“The forest was so powerful that Juan could feel its magic in his bones for months after his visit.”

If your fictional forest is home to particularly potent magic, you can call it “powerful.” This adjective shows that the magical forest has the ability to influence visitors, which might make some characters apprehensive about visiting. However, some curious characters might make a point of visiting the “powerful” forest to see the forest’s potent magic in person.

8. Majestic

Something very dignified and beautiful.

“All of the trees in the majestic forest were pearly white and glittered in the sun.”

“The elven queen enjoyed spending her afternoons practicing her spells in the majestic forest.”

A “majestic” magical forest might be more dignified or noble than other places, and therefore, upper-class or royal characters might gravitate to it. Poorer characters might dream of experiencing the “majestic” forest, and they might try to build their own magic skills or build their finances in order to be allowed in.

9. Formidable

Something that’s so powerful that it makes people scared or frightened.

“Kaleb was unsure about traveling through the formidable forest. He’d heard too many stories of wizards and dark magic in its grounds.”

“The formidable forest scared the peasants as the local witches practiced their hexes amidst the magical trees.”

“Formidable” shows that the magical forest might not be filled with good magic, and therefore, some characters are scared to enter. This could be because they fear the unknown, or maybe they’re scared of being hurt or cursed by the forest’s dark magic.

10. Shadowy

A place that’s filled with shadows or is very dark.

“The grand high witch lived amongst the tall trees in the shadowy forest.”

“Bella’s fear of magic came from the strange sounds that came from the shadowy forest. She could always hear cults chanting in tongues despite the thick vegetation.”

If you want to portray your magical forest as a dark place filled with evil magic, you can use “shadowy.” This adjective paints a gloomy image of the setting, and it shows your reader that the location looks different from typical forests. Characters may refuse to enter the “shadowy” forest because it’s too dark and hard to navigate.

• Writing Prompts

70 Mystery Writing Prompts That’ll Keep Your Readers Hooked

From whodunits to unsolved crimes, here are over 70 mystery writing prompts that will keep your readers hooked from beginning to end. 

The mystery genre is all about gathering clues and evidence to solve a crime or mystery of some sort. Common mysteries to solve may include murder, kidnappings, theft and any other unsolved crimes. The thing that makes a mystery story so appealing is that no one knows who the true culprit is until the very end of the story. And the big reveal at the end is always shocking to the reader. The secret to a good mystery lies in the plot twist . You have to be two steps ahead of your readers – Get inside the head of your readers and think, “Who would your readers think the main culprit is?” Then switch it around, and pick someone who is highly unlikely to be the real baddie.

You can pick a random prompt from our mystery writing prompts generator below to practice your plot twist skills on:

In a mystery novel, characters are a huge part of the mystery. Common characters may include:

• Street smart detective – They ask all the right questions, but are the answers to be trusted?
• Bent cop – Known for planting fake evidence at crime scenes.
• Mysterious guy – No one knows anything about them, and therefore they could be an easy suspect in the case.
• The scapegoat – The one everyone is blaming.
• The obvious suspect – All clues point to this person.
• The unobvious suspect – No real evidence against this person, but somehow they link to the crime in question.

When writing your mystery story think about the characters you would include carefully before diving in. We even recommend creating character profiles for each character, and maybe even a mind map to show their connection to the crime in question.

Take a look at this collection of the best mystery books for teens for some more ideas! Or this list of 156+ thriller writing prompts .

70 Mystery Writing Prompts

List of over 70 mystery writing prompts, from unsolved murder cases to items that vanished into thin air:

• The richest man on Earth has a hidden vault filled with millions of dollars, expensive jewellery and gems. One night he goes to add to his collection of gems and notices a sentimental piece of jewellery missing.
• One-by-one random things keep on going missing in your house. First your watch, then a teapot. Who is taking them and why?
• One of your classmates mysteriously stops coming to school. It’s been nearly 2 weeks since you last saw them. What could have happened to them?
• A police officer finds a dead body at a barber’s shop in town. The cause of death was drowning. No one knows how the body got there and who did it.
• A person takes a game of snakes and ladders too literally. In random locations around the city, snakes and ladders have been placed. Where do those ladders go? Why are snakes placed in these random places? Can you solve this strange mystery?
• You wake up in a warehouse with no memory of how you got there. The warehouse office is filled with newspaper clippings of missing people from the past 20 years. Who is the kidnapper and why are you in this warehouse?
• Last night a series of supermarkets and warehouses across the city were robbed. The thief or thieves only steal toilet paper. Can you solve this case?
• Meet Benji, the cat detective. Benji is a feisty feline who is on a mission to capture the great tuna can thief. 
• At exactly 7.08 pm last night a scream was heard from 59 Pebble Lane. The neighbours knocked but no one was home. Later that night, the police arrived at approximately 2.13 am to find a cold dead body on the floor in a pool of spilt tea.
• You are a reporter for the Imagine Forest Times newspaper, you are writing an article on the missing bird eggs in the local forest.
• Imagine you are a security guard. It’s your first night shift at the local art Museum. The next morning a priceless painting goes missing, and you are blamed. You need to prove your innocence before you are sent to prison, but how?
• Write a time travel mystery story where the main character keeps going back in time to find out who really murdered their parents.
• You and your friends go to the fairground. You decide to ride the carousel. Round and round you go, and then the ride stops. When it stops you notice one of your friends is suddenly missing. Where did they go? (See our list of writing prompts about friendship for more ideas.)
• The main character in your story is caught red-handed with the missing jewel in their hand. But did they really steal this jewel?
• Write a diary from the perspective of a paranoid person who thinks their neighbour is stealing from them.
• Write down an action scene where the main character trails the secondary character to an abandoned warehouse. What do you think will happen next?
• Someone has been stealing mobile phones at your school. You think you know who it is, so you set up a try to catch the thief.
• A bent police officer has been planting false evidence at crime scenes for years. Who are they protecting and why?
• Write a script between two characters who are meeting in secret to discuss some new evidence in a murder trial.
• Imagine you are a detective interviewing a suspect in the crime of jewellery theft. Write down some questions that you might ask the suspect. If you have time, you can also write the possible answers from the suspect’s point of view.
• You discover a note in your bag. It says, “I know what YOU have done!” – Who can have left this note, and what are they talking about?
• Write a story about a young police officer who is solving the murder case of his best friend from high school. The twist is that this police officer turns out to be the murderer.
• For over 10 years, your twin sister was missing. But there she is – Suddenly walking in the middle of the street. Where has she been? What happened to her?
• Imagine you are an investigator examining the scene of a murder crime. What types of clues would you look out for? Can you make a list of at least 10 possible clues you might find?
• A police car is chasing a potential suspect in a murder trial. Halfway through the chase, the police car disappears. The suspect slows down their car, and wonders, “What happened? Why did they stop coming after me?”
• You come home from school one day and notice that your mother’s things are gone. Your first thought is that she left you and your father. But the truth is that she was kidnapped by someone.
• A mysterious person has stolen all your teddy bears and is holding them for ransom somewhere. Each day you get a cryptic riddle. If you can solve each riddle you will receive one teddy bear back each time. 
• It’s the year 3,000. Your main character is a lawyer for a robot. They must prove this robot’s innocence in a human murder trial. (See this list of sci-fi writing prompts for more inspiration.)
• Someone keeps stealing textbooks from your school. One day you go to school and see a huge statement art piece outside the school made from the stolen textbooks. Can you find out who did this?
• Cinderella has turned into a detective. She needs to solve the case of the stolen glass slippers. After all those glass slippers are super rare.
• The main character in your story must prove their innocence in a murder trial. How would they do this? What evidence would they need?
• The main character in your story discovers that their brother is the real killer. They then try to destroy all evidence linked to their brother to protect them.
• “Poppy! Poppy! Where are you, buddy?” Mindy searched for her pet Labrador everywhere. But she was nowhere to be seen. It turns out all the dogs in town have been missing since last night. What could have possibly happened to them?
• Someone has been leaving embarrassing photographs of various people all over town. Can you track down this person? Why are they posting these photos? 
• Write a mystery story titled, ‘Piece-by-Piece’ about a jigsaw puzzle thief who is stealing random puzzles pieces.
• You notice some muddy footprints leading into a thick forest at your local park. You follow this trail of footprints to a secret hatch in the woods. The door of the hatch has been left open. When you go inside you discover something shocking.
• Your dog digs up an old lunchbox in your backyard. Inside the lunchbox, you find a key, an address and some old newspaper clipping of missing people. You think you can solve this case of the missing people by just visiting that address. But things get a little more complicated…
• This is a mystery story about a boy named Billy who’s home alone and is playing with a toy truck when he finds a strange box. His mother, a lady with a past, is suspicious of this mysterious box, so she calls the police. Billy’s mother is a detective, and they find that the box is really a trap, and Billy is kidnapped.
• Write a crime mystery story about how a little girl’s dream of becoming a scientist led to her death. Why would anyone murder a young girl who wants to be a scientist? How did this happen?
• A small-town sheriff gets caught up in the biggest robbery in history. When over a million dollars just vanish into thin air, people are quick to blame the shifty-eyed sheriff from out of town. But is he really the culprit in this crime?
• When Sara was a young girl she was kidnapped by a strange man and woman who took care of her. But now Sara wants to know what happened to her real parents. Are they still alive? Are they still looking for her?
• The clock is ticking. Somewhere in the city, a group of hostages are locked up. With every hour that goes by, one hostage will be killed. The main character, a street-smart detective must solve the clues to find the location of these hostages in time.
• A police officer finds himself in a very unusual situation. It is just before 6 pm on a Friday night when police were called to a disturbance in the street. The call came from a man who was allegedly threatening a woman with a knife. The man was arrested at 6.05 pm and taken to the police station. However, it was later revealed that the woman left at home has been murdered by someone else, but who?
• A murder mystery party takes a dark turn when one of the guests is murdered for real.
• Write a mystery story titled, ‘Who Stole My Homework?’ The main character’s A* worthy English essay is stolen by someone, but who?
• Use this sentence as inspiration: Inspector Robins pulls out his notebook and writes down two words: Green fingers.
• “10 car windows broken in 10 days! What does it all mean? What does it mean?” Exclaimed Detective Riley.
• During a stop and search, a police officer finds a dead body in the boot of a car. But is the car driver really to blame?
• A lost bracelet ends up in your best friend’s locker at school, along with other precious items. Your best friend is wrongly accused of stealing these items.
• One girl must find her stolen prom dress before the prom. In the days leading up to the prom, more and more of her accessories for prom night are being stolen. Who is this thief?
• Write a mystery thriller titled, “Come and Get It”. It’s about an arrogant criminal who is stealing sentimental items from each police officer in the state, He leaves these items in random locations in the city, along with a note that says: Come and get it!
• Every night the car alarms for every car on your street turn on at exactly 2.03 am. why is this happening, and who is responsible?
• A mysterious hacker has hacked into the city’s power grid. They have the power to on and off electricity whenever they want. Can you catch them before they do any more damage?
• A secret admirer is leaving expensive gifts for your main character. At first, these gifts seem great, but then they soon take a dark twist (see our Valentine’s Day Prompts for more inspiration).
• Your main character is at their senior prom. Dancing the night away. Suddenly the lights go off. Pitch darkness for a minute. When the lights come on, your best friend is gone. And there’s a message in red paint on the wall: You’re next!
• Your teacher gives back your English assignment, and you got an F! Looking closer, you realise that this is not your assignment at all! The same starts happening in your other classes. Someone has been swapping your assignments – But who?
• For the past few days, you have been receiving anonymous emails from someone. The emails are telling you not to be friends with him. You don’t take any of these emails seriously until the police come knocking on your door.
• A family picnic at the park becomes unbearable when you open up the basket to discover every family members untold secrets.
• You are at a Chinese restaurant with your family. It’s time to open up the fortune cookies. When your mother opens up her fortune cookie, it says: “One of your children has been very naughty!”. Then your father opens his cookie up, it says: “Who’s been sneaking around behind mommy’s and daddy’s back?” All eyes at the table are on you. But what did you do?
• Your main character is a bent cop. Trying to manipulate the course of justice, and helping real criminals get away with murder. One day, someone plants evidence that gets this bent cop arrested for a murder they did not commit.
• Write down a scene between two characters. In this scene, the ‘real’ criminal is trying to convince a detective that someone else is guilty of the crime of stealing from a church.
• There are three potential suspects in the murder case of Phillip Green. You are the lead detective on this case. What questions would you ask these suspects to find the real murderer? Make a list of at least 10 questions you may ask.
• A health inspector arrives at a vegan restaurant to discover rotten vegetables, and raw, old meat. The owners know nothing about this and believe someone planted this as sabotage. Who can have sabotaged the vegan restaurant?
• Write a short mystery story for kids titled, ‘Why is the sky blue?’ One child’s curiosity about the sky leads them to discover a secret playground in the park.
• Your main character is a news reporter who is convinced that the killer of Rosie Moore is still out there. They know that the police have convicted the wrong person for this heinous crime. Can your main character find the real killer before the wrong person is sentenced to life in prison?
• Someone has been replacing all shampoos around town with a hair removal solution. When half the town’s hair starts falling out, it is up to you, a top detective to solve this crime.
• Write a mystery story set in the future where a secret cyber group called the ‘Merry Man’ are hacking the bank accounts of rich people and giving this money to the poor. Your main character is a police detective trying to hunt the members of this cyber group down.
• A mysterious person is playing a nasty game of hide and seek with you. They have kidnapped your friends and family members and hid them in various locations within the city. You have exactly 1 hour to find each person before something bad happens to them.
• Someone has left a note in your locker at school. The note reads: Help me, please! You ignore this note, but more notes start appearing in your notebooks, bag and even at home. Until eventually you get a package through the mail. You open this package and scream…
• Write an animal mystery tale about a dog who wants to find the original owner of a doll he found in the park.
• Can you solve this bonus mystery prompt: Someone has been stealing socks from the locals at night. Who could this be and why would they be doing this? (See video prompt below for more ideas.)

Did you find these mystery writing prompts useful when writing your own story? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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100 mystery writing prompts

November 25, 2023 by Richard Leave a Comment

Unexplained events, complex puzzles, suspicious characters, hidden clues… A compelling mystery grabs readers’ attention and whisks them away on an entertaining quest for the truth. But coming up with that next great premise can often be a mystery itself!

Luckily, I’ve gathered 100 mystery writing prompts to ignite your creativity. These story ideas present you with suspicious scenarios ranging from the supernatural to murder mysteries, unsolved crimes, family secrets, missing persons, treasure hunts, and more shadowy what-ifs ripe for exploration.

The prompts offer unique launch points to send an amateur sleuth or unwitting hero chasing leads, cracking codes, unraveling complex conspiracies, catching criminals, or solving historical puzzles. Settings that lend themselves well to mysteries make an appearance too – remote archeological sites, secret passages, eccentric strangers, abandoned asylums, hidden artifacts in attics, strange symbols, and bumps in the night.

With so many premise options, you’re sure uncover story twists and turns to challenge Sherlock himself! So grab your metaphorical magnifying glass and pick a plot that speaks to you. Where might these story ideas lead? The truth is out there in the pages you’ll write as you follow the clues to these 100 mystery writing prompts.  Happy sleuthing!

• A wealthy family’s prized show dog goes missing before a big competition, and you’re hired to find it.
• You find a secret trap door in the floor of your bedroom that leads to a series of underground tunnels. Where do they go?
• A popular local bakery is ransacked overnight. The thief left everything except the secret recipe for their famous chocolate chip cookies.
• You inherit a beautiful antique music box from your eccentric great aunt. But it only plays an ominous tune that you’ve never heard before. What is the meaning behind the song?
• You move into a new house and regularly hear creaking floorboards and other noises at night. One day you wake up to find a strange symbol carved into your front door.
• A archaeologist vanishes while searching for the lost tomb of an ancient king said to be protected by a deadly curse.
• Flowers start mysteriously appearing on the grave of someone who passed away years ago. No one knows who’s leaving them there.
• You’re hiking and come across what looks like human bones buried in a shallow grave in the woods. What happened here?
• The power goes out at the library right before closing. When it comes back on, the rare book you were researching is missing from its climate controlled case.
• An important businessmen doesn’t show up for a big meeting. Hours later, his car is found abandoned on an isolated dirt road.
• You wake up on the morning of your 18th birthday to find an old amulet on your nightstand. No one in your family knows where it came from.
• A frail old woman begs you to retrieve her stolen poodle. But when you find the poodle, it leads you somewhere unexpected.
• Every night precisely at 3:33 am, your sleep is interrupted by the sound of footsteps creaking up your attic stairs. But you live alone.
• A teenager goes missing after school. The only clue left behind is a coded message scribbled in his notebook. Can you crack it?
• You’re exploring the woods behind your house when you find a torn, bloody t-shirt hanging from a tree branch. What happened here?
• An antique dealer vanishes from his shop overnight. The only things missing are a few pieces of old nautical equipment.
• You discover a cryptex – an ancient puzzle box that can only be unlocked with a complex series of clues. Where will they lead you?
• Strange symbols have been appearing overnight on sidewalks all over your hometown. The graffiti seems to be spreading. But what does it mean?
• An elderly man asks you to find his wife who went missing years ago. But records show the man was never married.
• A ring engraved with a mysterious insignia arrives in your mailbox with no note or return address. How did it get there? What group does it represent?
• You wake up tied to a chair in an abandoned warehouse with no memory of how you got there. A mysterious voice over the intercom says you have one hour to escape…or else.
• A masked man drops a encoded flash drive into your bag at the library. When you decode it, you uncover plans for a major heist taking place tonight.
• You start getting anonymous letters in the mail that seem to indicate someone is stalking you and knows your routine. Who could it be?
• A young ski resort heiress goes missing on the slopes. The only trace left behind are her snowboarding goggles resting in a tree. You find them.
• Your eccentric aunt dies and leaves you a storage locker full of her possessions. But hidden among them is a valuable stolen painting that criminals are still hunting for.
• Teenagers have been disappearing from your hometown at an alarming rate over the past year. The police have no leads. But you find a connection between the missing persons and start gathering clues.
• A woman swears someone has been getting into her locked house while she’s away, but nothing is ever stolen. You set up cameras and catch the person red-handed. Who are they and why are they doing this?
• An abandoned car is found in the woods containing a screaming man trapped in the trunk. He has amnesia and can’t remember how he got there or who put him there.
• You inherit a house that belonged to your great grandfather who passed away. Inside is a complex model train set-up in the basement. Then you notice the trains seem to run on a sinister schedule.
• On a school field trip, you and your friends sneak away to explore an off-limits area. There you find an elaborately carved stone whose markings have been worn away by time.
• A beloved local bakery owner goes missing. The only clue is a half-eaten pastry left behind with a mysterious symbol frosted on top.
• You wake up in a strange room next to a woman you’ve never seen before. Neither of you have any memory of how you got there.
• For generations, teenagers have been dared to spend the night in your town’s old abandoned asylum on Halloween night. But this year, some teens who took the dare never came back out…
• A secret admirer has been leaving you small tokens of affection around your favorite places in town. The final gift is a locket that you discover belongs to a woman who went missing years ago…
• You find a dusty old trunk in your attic full of strange artifacts – maps, notebooks, and a journal written in code. The first entry dates back over 100 years.
• A mysterious loner moves into the abandoned mansion down your street. One night, you witness strange occult rituals being performed in the solarium.
• Several major corporations have been hit with elaborate cyber heists lately. The only clue is a small pixelated symbol left behind on each company’s servers afterwards.
• A new mounted fish trophy arrives at the taxidermist shop where you work. But hidden inside the fish is a waterproof bag stuffed with uncut diamonds. Who does it belong to?
• Your grandfather gifts you his elaborate model train set before passing away. But as you build and operate it, the trains seem to move and interact as if controlled by a sinister intelligence.
• You volunteer at the archives in your ancestor’s castle overseas. But you keep finding inconsistencies in the records that make you suspect there are mysteries still hidden within the sprawling estate.
• You dig up an old class assignment from middle school to reminisce and find a cryptic note scrawled in the margins that seems to predict future events in your life so far with uncanny accuracy.
• Rocks with strange symbols painted on them keep appearing in your garden each night. The symbols match cave paintings you recently saw on a spelunking trip. What do they mean?
• A prisoner risks his life to pass you a complex cipher through the jail’s visiting room glass. He claims to have been framed and that decoding it could reveal the real criminal.
• A masked ball at an old Victorian mansion takes a sinister turn when the guests are locked inside and robbed by a thief in disguise on the prowl.
• As a new hire at the NSA, your first assignment is watching a Russian diplomat suspected of sending coded messages disguised as love letters to his “fiancé” overseas.
• You inherit an ancient mechanical astrolabe that seems to predict future events and disasters. But foreseeing some tragedies only ends up causing them when you try to intervene.
• Cleaning out your grandmother’s attic, you find a strange wooden box with arcane symbols. Inside is just a stack of old letters written in German and an old photograph of four men.
• You arrive to work at the bank to find the vault empty and your coworkers drugged. Surveillance footage shows the seemingly impossible burglary unfold. Where did they go?
• Exploring a cave as a scout, you stumble upon a native burial site and ancient petroglyphs depicting strange rituals. Days later, town residents start sleepwalking into the hills.
• A puzzle maker vanishes, leaving behind an intricate locked box said to contain all his greatest designs and secrets. Can you solve the puzzles and find the key?
• You accidentally hit a button on your new antique typewriter and it types a mysterious response warning you not to investigate further. When you look at the paper, all the ink has vanished.
• Renovating your home, you find a trapdoor under decades of dust leading into a bunker containing surveillance equipment still mysteriously active and watching you.
• You wake up in an abandoned psychiatric hospital strapped to a gurney. A voice over the intercom says you have one hour to escape your bonds or the poison gas will turn on.
• A museum thief escapes right before your night shift begins. You notice an odd discrepancy on the museum blueprints that leads you to the hidden painting.
• A magician performing on your cruise ship goes overboard during a storm. But the body that washes ashore the next morning clearly drowned days ago.
• A stranger slips you a thumb drive and tells you to wait one week before opening the only file on it. Finally viewing it, you see plans for an impossible diamond heist taking place tonight.
• For generations, your family has passed down the tale of a hidden fortune somewhere on the old estate grounds. A recent clue indicates the eccentric ancestor’s claims may be true after all.
• You notice all of your houseplants have been subtly rearranged overnight. Then you find a strange coding system etched into their pots. It seems someone is trying to send you a secret message.
• A retired detective swears he hears strange clicking noises coming from his study at night where he kept his case files. You help set up cameras and capture a coded transmission being sent through the vent.
• Exploring the woods behind your new cottage, you find an old campsite and photographs of people who don’t seem to have aged in 50 years. A few still live in your town under different names.
• Your strange new neighbors only seem to enter and exit their house at specific intervals during the night. One evening you glimpse two figures in old-fashioned gas masks looking back out at you.
• You pick up a cheap boat at a police auction of seized vehicles. But a hidden compartment inside leads you into the tangled dealings of a modern day pirate crew.
• Hiking through the hills near your town, you stumble upon the wreckage of a small plane. The pilot’s remains are still at the controls, but his personal effects suggest he died over 60 years ago.
• You are selected to decipher your eccentric aunt’s odd journal after she passes away. following a treasure map hidden in the text leads you to some large uncut gemstones and a dangerous secret.
• Clearing out your parent’s old boxes from childhood, you find your mother’s diary which contains many detailed references to an imaginary friend named Clara. But you also find scattered hospital records for a Clara Ellington, a girl your mom’s age who died under mysterious circumstances.
• For decades, your rural town has held a macabre living chess game with townsfolk acting out a life size match every 10 years. When you find diaries detailing the game’s origins, you uncover the unsettling ritual’s true purpose.
• You decide to write to the prisoner convicted of swindling your eccentric aunt out of her fortune years ago. His cryptic responses make you suspect he may have been framed or was protecting someone else.
• A coded message arrives in your mailbox with your address written out in intricate symbols. It leads you to begin deciphering a conspiracy painted in graffiti across town linking major events in the past century.
• Attending a magic act, you are randomly invited on stage to inspect a spooky box. But after displaying your “ordinary” item to the crowd, the magician can no longer open the container. Backstage, he begs for your help.
• You notice a human-shaped dirt imprint in your yard, as if a body has been freshly buried and exhumed. Then you start finding strange microscopic chips and plastic shards in the grass roots. What’s going on?
• Exploring the old abandoned asylum, you find patient rooms strangely preserved. An old photograph shows your father as one of the mysterious doctors there before it closed down. But he died years before your birth…
• Using a metal detector on the beach, you find a tarnished locket half buried in the sand. Inside the locket is a faded picture of a couple from decades past along with a lock of hair and a grainy imprint of numbers.
• For decades, ships have been sinking with unusual precision along the old trade routes. Historical naval documents contain many references to rumors of a rogue submarine captain who turned mercenary.
• Cleaning the attic, you find your late uncle’s chest of prized magic tricks and props. Hidden inside a false bottom is a weathered map leading to a spot in the wilderness marked “X.”
• You choose a small, uninhabited island for your vacation getaway. But exploring your temporary home, you notice strange patterns of seashells by the water and heaps of bone fragments in the distant rocky caves.
• Your grandfather passes down his beaten-up 1973 Pontiac Firebird that has been in the family for generations. Rummaging through the trunk, you find tattered roadmaps leading you across the country to track his mysterious route.
• A coded message is slipped under your door with a time, date, and map coordinates. Arriving at the location, you find a shovel and dirt pile but no instructions. Do you start digging?
• Your new house seems perfect except for the vintage creepy portrait in your bedroom. You eventually notice the subject’s eyes seem to follow you. Then they blink.
• For decades, a serial arsonist has been operating across your region. The fires always destroy old abandoned properties on significant dates. You find a pattern hidden in past police reports.
• Entering your basement, you’re surprised to find a stranger placing items around a strange intricate symbol on the floor. He tells you he awaits the Sign and swiftly departs.
• You inherit your uncle’s massive library of books on the occult. Hidden in one volume is an old dossier documenting an obscure secret society and detailing their examination rituals to gain membership and mysterious secrets.
• You’re hired to investigate a 17th century shipwreck and find the captain’s log washed ashore. It describes a tiny island appearing where none should exist. Charting a course, you head to the same coordinates.
• Cleaning out your new home, you find strange antique uncanny in the walls and floors. Studying the patterns and mechanisms reveals they form a bizarre scavenger hunt across town devised by the previous owner.
• A scholar spends decades trying unsuccessfully to solve an ancient riddle leading to Alexander the Great’s lost tomb. He finally mails it to you before passing away. Do you take up the challenge?
• You come across an old LP record titled simply “For D.S.” Dated 1949, the recording contains only the rattling of a factory machine. In the dead air, you detect a hidden coded message about espionage.
• Your grandfather’s closest friend pulls you aside after the funeral and says he must pass along an old wrong your grandfather regretted. He gives you a name, key, and bank account number, telling you that you’ll know what to fix.
• A watchmaker has a heart attack and dies while working on an unusual custom piece – a watch that runs backward. His notes reference a client named Octavio who paid handsomely for it in untraceable antiquities.
• While browsing in a strange antique shop, the elderly owner tells you an odd jewelry box has been waiting for someone like you. Upon opening it, you find objects arranged to point toward landmarks in your hometown.
• Exploring your attic, you find an old trunk belonging to your great uncle who traveled the world. Inside is just one item – an intricate elephant idol holding a valuable jeweled stone in its trunk with clues leading to another relic.
• You arrive early for an interview and spot the CEO doing something suspicious. To keep you silent, he asks you to discreetly handle a sensitive matter for him, promising it will lead to your dream job. Do you comply?
• As a new hire at a cryonics firm, you discover the frozen head of an infamous mobster in storage. Divining the clues in his file leads you to the crime syndicate still operating today under a new front.
• The family lawyerhandling your wealthy aunt’s will reveals she secretly changed it just before dying, leaving everything to her gardener who vanished quickly after. The maid reports seeing suspicious doctors frequent the house.
• You find an old sea chest hidden in your grandfather’s attic containing his captain’s uniform and charts showing the route to a mysterious uncharted island. At the center, he marked a large red “X.”
• During city excavation, workers unearth a complex network of concrete tunnels and rooms hidden under your neighborhood for decades. Studying the bunker more closely finds it hides an encrypted secret.
• Your grandfather’s wartime role as a code-breaker comes to light after finding his journals. Following the coded maps and messages, you stumble upon something he buried many years ago and hid from the rest of the family.
• An archaeologist friend invites you on a trek into the jungle to locate a newly discovered Mayan temple site. But you arrive to find the excavation crew dead and primordial secrets awakening in the depths.
• A stranger at the county fair reads your fortune, telling you that you will soon come upon eternal life. Days later, a pharma CEO approaches you to trial a new pill that stops aging but also erases memories.
• An odd box arrives in the mail addressed to your deceased grandmother. Inside is just an old key, a ticket stub, and a note with longitude and latitude coordinates. Charting them leads to a remote island.
• Exploring your uncle’s cabin after his death, you find a locked trapdoor leading underground. It contains elaborate models of towns spread across a vast map with strange markings indicating an unspecified threat.
• You come upon a car crash in the woods. The driver is barely breathing and clutching a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. He rasps out a code before passing away, leaving you with the case and key. What’s inside? What now?

We hope these 100 mystery writing prompts have helped you create something amazing. We have many other writing prompts on our site you may enjoy. Please leave us a comment if you have any questions or concerns or if you want to share your creation.

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About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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67 Thrilling And Chilling Mystery Writing Prompts

You’re a huge fan of riveting mystery plots.

You’ve read some of the best mystery fiction ever written (some well-known, some not), and you just know you could create a mystery that would keep your readers enthralled to the shocking end. 

Think how gratifying it’ll feel to hear readers raving that you kept them guessing until the final reveal! 

All you need right now are some high-quality murder mystery ideas like the ones in this post. Read on to find the seed of your new bestseller .

May it lead to many others. 

67 Mystery Writing Prompts 

Look through the following mystery story ideas and make a note of those that get your mind working in strange and vaguely uncomfortable ways. You know better than anyone the prompts that speak to you louder than others. 

If you get a chill as you’re developing the idea, chances are good, your reader will, too. 

1. You’re a memoir writer with a complicated love life. An estranged cousin calls asking if you’ll help her write a “tell-all” memoir . Then she disappears.

2. You’re a private investigator looking into the murder of a philanthropist’s reclusive wife. Two people confess, each swearing they acted alone. You suspect another.

3. You’re the assistant to the creator of the first empathic AI, who disappears just as the first psychopath AI blows away the competition at a global tech convention. 

4. Your candle shop wins a prestigious award. Last year’s winner is angry and slanders you and your products. You find their body behind your store, covered in wax. 

5. You research your genealogy and find that several people from different branches all died in the same mysterious location — of unknown causes.

6. A well-known motivational speaker is about to give a TED talk when they take a drink from a fresh water bottle and collapse. Their assistant disappears.

7. She’s always been faithful to her husband. So, who’s been trying to frame her for adultery? And what does her husband’s dead lawyer have to do with it?

8. You’re lost in the woods, no thanks to a poorly-planned nature hike, when you find the hatch to an underground bunker. A picture on the wall stops you cold.

9. Someone is stealing items from the graves of historical figures buried in the New Orleans cemeteries near your home. What does your latest Etsy purchase have to do with that?

10. Every eligible woman was eager to claim his attention at the ball, but only one would add his name to her dance card — and something else to her collection. 

11. A grandfather you never met has left you an unusual item in his will with a warning: “Don’t underestimate this gift. It’s always been meant for you.” 

12. You’re a witness to the opening of an Egyptian sarcophagus that’s only just been discovered in a buried tomb. Resting on the mummy’s chest is an old camera.

13. A few minutes after you buy a friend’s older smartphone from them (for a bargain), you get a phone call from someone who’s tracking your every move. 

14. Your business computer has just been hacked by a pro, who happens to be a resident in the local nursing home — and the father of last night’s date. 

15. You’re on a solitary walk through the woods near your new home, and you find a set of fresh footprints leading deeper in, possibly toward the lake. You follow them. 

16. You’re on your way home from a vacation when an airport official tells you your passport must be a fake. Your country of origin doesn’t exist. 

17. You take a short walk out in the snow and come back to find a fresh, icy handprint on the glass by your door. There are no footprints leading to it. 

18. You visit a tea shop, and a woman pulls you aside and convinces you to buy a special blend she’s created, warning you to only drink one cup a day — and only at night. 

19. While looking for the cabin retreat you signed up for, you get lost and end up at a cabin that resembles what you expected. They welcome you. 

20. Every night, a new house of worship in your town is ransacked. Each time, the thieves steal a hidden sacred object but leave more expensive things untouched.

21. A rogue doctor overseas has created a life-saving vaccine for a deadly pandemic but disappears before he can share it. 

22. You’re a seasoned detective looking over a murder scene at your ex-wife’s residence. So far, her dog is the prime suspect. 

23. The winner of the beauty pageant is the last person everyone expected. Then she wins the lottery jackpot and wakes up with a dead guy in her closet. 

24. You’ve agreed to deliver a package to a recluse living in a neglected manor in exchange for $100,000,000. They never told you he’d want you to stay. 

25. The night before you head home from college, someone calls you from the home phone and leaves a disturbing message. Now, no one’s answering the phone. 

26. You think you know the identity of your “Secret Santa” until you see the most recent gift: a gem your suspect could not have afforded (and wouldn’t have given). 

27. After the “prophecy,” he changed her name and never expected her to spell out the name “Petra” with her wooden blocks. The near-drowning was not an accident.

28. At night, she sleeps with a different stone beneath her pillow. This morning, she woke to feel as if she’d spent the night running. She wasn’t wrong. 

29. The murder victims all had admitted to the same phobia. And all of them died just as they’d overcome it. Now, the hypnotist who’d helped them was missing. 

More Related Articles:

66 Horror Writing Prompts That Are Freaky As Hell

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55 Of The Best Young Adult Creative Writing Prompts

30. You arrived early for a job interview and have noticed two candidates walking into a room but not leaving it. The secretary who calls you in is visibly shaking.

31. You visit a practicing witch who happens to be the prime suspect in a murder. Only she wasn’t even in town when it happened. And she’s your sister. 

32. The winning pie was the murder weapon. And the pie plate looked identical to your mother’s favorite — the one that had disappeared after she died. 

33. A woman claiming to be your sister warns you not to get in touch with your birth parents. She leaves a duffel bag with you and, within a day, disappears.

34. A marriage counselor arranges a scavenger hunt for a struggling couple, based on their history. Someone changes the clues, though, and one of them ends up dead.

35. You go to a friend’s wake and see a different body in the casket. Hers is nowhere to be found. And there’s a note under the corpse’s right hand — addressed to you. 

36. A woman returns a lost wallet and becomes the target of a stalker. An item from the wallet (one she’d considered keeping) ends up in her mailbox. 

37. Members of a notorious fraternity are found dead and partially “dismembered.” Their leader has the most reason to fear and goes to you for help and protection.

38. You’re reading a book given to you by a quiet but friendly classmate who lives down the hall when you realize it’s about you. And you die in the end.

39. You subscribe to a candle of the month club recommended by a new colleague, and your first candle reveals a ring that once belonged to a local murder victim. 

40. A desperate housewife fakes her own death, then ends up in the trunk of her husband’s car, wearing a dress that cost twice as much. 

41. A talented musician who performs at a local coffeehouse is found wiped of his memory when his faithful dog leads a police officer to him. 

42. A group of carefully selected teens returns home from a conference to find their parents have all disappeared, leaving identical typewritten notes. 

43. An orphanage with a reputation for finding good families for every child in their charge finds itself under a microscope when one teen returns with a horrific tale.

44. A stranger uses magic to hide his true intentions as he grooms a new target — the young daughter of a rising politician — to do the unthinkable. 

45. You return home and notice strange behavior among the townspeople and an even stranger weekly ritual. You investigate and make an enemy.

46. Bored with your small-town life, you happily accept an offer of a month-long internship at a London bookshop. You get there and find the owner dead. 

47. You run a cafe and have just hired a troubled teen. Unfortunately, her reputation raises the ire of some locals, who point the finger when a customer ends up dead.

48. You take a job at a local bakeshop run by identical twin sisters, one of whom wants to start a business of her own. One of them dies, leaving you a note.

49. Every member of this community took vows of non-violence and silence, so when one is found dead in the herb garden, you and your deaf partner investigate.

50. Random objects in your home go missing, replaced by strange, typewritten poems . You wake up to find one of these poems resting on your pillow.. 

51. A bouquet of flowers arrives each week from an unknown admirer. Each flower means something, and those meanings have taken a dark turn. 

52. Whenever you order from your favorite Chinese restaurant, the fortune cookie’s message sounds eerily personal and prescient. There’s a reason. 

53. When you’re feeling low, your new best friend knows just what tea to brew to make you feel better. It turns out she can also help you remember things long forgotten. 

54. You could swear you’re being followed, but when you turn, no one’s there. Once you’re home with your doors and windows locked, they’re closer to you than ever. 

55. You’re a cop investigating the murderer of a homeless person, but your new partner, who grew up here, seems determined to trip you up at every turn. 

56. When a local bartender is found dead, his curious neighbor finds a secret door propped open by his corpse. The door leads to an underground world of trouble. 

57. You overhear a murder confession and hide where you can see the penitent when the door opens. You recognize the face and barely manage to keep quiet. 

58. You’re looking through a deceased relative’s possessions and planning to donate most of it until you find a note she left you — about stolen evidence. 

59. You wake up to the sound of a blizzard, and you’re dressed in someone else’s winter clothes, wondering how you got there — and what happened to your date?

60. You turn a corner in your new neighborhood, and someone stops in front of you, looks you up and down, presses a key into your hand, and says, “I’ll be back for this.”

61. You didn’t know you had a doppelganger until you came face to face with her at the new coffee shop on the corner. She’s not nearly as surprised as you are.

62. You’re stress-shopping early Black Friday sales when you notice the cameras seem to be following your every move. The manager nervously invites you into his office. 

63. Five fellow college students have been murdered in the same week. Each had stolen something on a dare. One of them mailed their stolen item to you. 

64. You’re decorating for Christmas, and you find a book that belonged to your ex. A note falls out of it addressed to someone who died shortly before he left. 

65. Self-care hasn’t been a priority for you lately, but you accept an invitation to a weekend spa retreat. You didn’t expect your host to be the boss who fired you. 

66. You’re a photographer looking over wedding pictures when you notice a figure with a blurry face that appears in every shot. His face is turned toward the groom.

67. You’re telling your children a story about a babysitting job that went terribly wrong. But you’re not telling them everything. And there will be consequences. 

How will you use these mystery writing prompts?

When it comes to storytelling, only a small share of the magic is in the gift of an inspiring prompt. The rest of it lies in you. 

Begin by choosing one of these prompts and freewriting for a few minutes — or for as long as you like. Paint a picture for yourself, and describe everything your senses tell you. 

Whether you lean toward horror or romantic suspense story ideas, you’ll find a way to make each chosen story prompt your own. 

May each adventure teach you something new.  

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30 Scene Ideas for Mystery Subplots

A mystery is an easy way to add interest to an otherwise simple story. These mystery writing prompts will make you curious to know more. And your readers too!

What Creates Mystery?

A few elements are vital to keeping a mystery story moving forward:

• Questions – A single question can be enough to sow doubt in a reader’s mind, and create a mystery where previously there was none.
• Answers – The dance between questions and answers is what keeps readers engaged in a mystery. Every answer creates a new question until the final dénouement resolves the last loose ends… Or does it? Here’s a worksheet to help you solve a mystery (your own or another writer’s).
• Suspense – Between the questions and the answers there’s… suspense .

The mystery genre often solidifies these elements around physical objects – a dead body, a murder weapon, a clue, a suspect, etc. – whereas a psychological thriller will focus on the internal, non-material aspects – a doubt about another character, the suspense created by a ringing telephone, the silence on the other end, etc.

Mystery Plots & Subplots

You can use these scene ideas in your mystery story, suspense story, adventure story, or thriller, and they can also come in handy for mystery subplots in any genre.

You could generate a whole plot from these mystery writing prompts alone, but if you need mystery story ideas, you might like to adapt one from this list of  story ideas , or from this list of  romance story ideas . Or you can consult a mystery plot generator !

Mystery Writing Prompts

Sometimes we can overcomplicate a story problem, or overestimate the amount of effort required to fix a plot. It doesn’t need to be that hard!

Randomly choose a few of these mystery writing prompts and draft a quick scene summary for each…

P.S. If you’re enrolled in The One Page Novel course , don’t forget to refer to the mystery cheatsheet in the Genre Cheatsheet pack!

Don’t miss these writing prompts…

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How to Create a Setting for Mystery—Let’s Crack This Case

All the best mysteries have two things in common: unforgettable sleuths and immersive settings. In fact, if you think of your favorite mystery protagonist, I’m willing to bet you can’t picture them without the surrounding world that makes them who they are.

Sherlock Holmes’s Victorian London. Shawn Spencer’s deceptively sunny Santa Barbara. Darren Matthews’s East Texas. A great mystery setting is vivid and unforgettable.

It’s also a powerful tool for revealing character, building suspense , heightening conflict, illuminating themes, and much more. If you’re interested in writing mysteries that stick with readers forever, you’ll have to master the fine art of setting. 

Let’s get started now with tips on:

• Creating an engaging setting for your mystery novel
• Learning how to improve your own setting by reading successful mysteries
• Researching your story’s location and time period
• Treating your setting like another character in the novel
• Describing your fictional world
• Using the setting to enhance other aspects of your mystery

First, let’s clarify what a good mystery setting involves.

Elements of a Good Mystery Setting

What makes a mystery setting work? What elements need to be in place in order for your readers to feel the thrills and chills you’re going for?

Here are the key elements of your mystery novel’s world:

Strong atmosphere - Atmosphere is the character of a place—the way it makes people feel. And what fun is a mystery setting that doesn’t tingle the spine or carry a sense of foreboding? 

If you’re not sure how to tap into atmosphere and make your reader feel it in their bones, stick with me. We’ll cover it.

Location - This is the element we tend to think of first when we start talking about setting. Where does this story physically take place?

In a mystery novel, your choice of location influences the atmosphere. It can also create obstacles for your main character, provide unique opportunities for crime, and symbolize the deeper themes of your story.

Time period - When does your mystery story take place? Setting your novel in the past means you’ll have to do additional research. It also means you’ll need to consider the cultural, political, and technological context of that point in history.

Climate - What kind of weather does your main character have to navigate in this world? How does that weather affect the atmosphere? Does it present any challenges for your protagonist?

Cultural context - What are the cultural norms of your main character’s world? Are there any tensions or power dynamics that are relevant to your mystery story? Does your sleuth fit in here, or are they struggling to solve mysteries in a place where they’re considered an outsider?

Clearly, there’s a lot to think about when you’re trying to write a mystery setting. Don’t sweat it. We’ll take this step by step.

Creating an Engaging Setting for Your Mystery Novel

Let’s start by setting up the basic blueprint for your story’s world.

Choosing the Right Location

Your first order of business is to determine where this murder mystery is going to take place. There’s no right answer. Any place can feel sinister once you get a writer involved. Nevertheless, you want to think this through.

Here are some things to consider as you select the location for your mystery novel.

Your subgenre will clue you in to what your readers expect in terms of setting. Cozy mysteries tend to take place in seemingly harmless places: quiet villages, bakeries, bookshops, and the like. The joy of the subgenre comes from the dastardly hidden within the quaint.

If you’re writing noir, you’re probably looking at something darker and harsher—lots of concrete and shadows. A caper could carry your characters all around the world. So could a thriller . 

We’re back to that question of how you want your reader to feel reading your mystery story. 

Are you going for playful and quirky with a thrilling undercurrent of intrigue? Then you might want a sleepy village filled with colorful characters and historical buildings. Are you going for gritty and suspenseful? Then you might want a dark, hard-to-navigate space like a sprawling city.

If you get stuck, make a list of locations that you associate with the feeling you’re trying to convey. What sparks your interest?

Obstacles 

Ideally, some aspects of the location will throw obstacles in your main character’s path. This could be things like:

• Dangerous situations like pursuing a perp into an abandoned warehouse or navigating treacherous mountain trails
• Easy opportunities to dispose of evidence, like a giant body of water
• Resource issues, like an inability to access forensic technology, find a competent crime-solving partner, or gain respect in a powerful police force
• Difficulty connecting with the locals if your main character is in a fish-out-of-water situation
• Too many red herrings if the crime took place in a setting where the crime rate is high or everyone has a connection to the victim 

Crime 

How does the crime itself integrate with the location? Is it delightfully shocking that a murder mystery would happen here? Or does it feel almost inevitable—so much so that the main character has a hard time getting anyone to care about the crime? Does the location give you plenty of opportunities to establish red herrings and false suspects? 

Think through the relationship between where your story takes place and the way both the crime and investigation unfold.

Once you’ve nailed down a location, you’re ready to think about ways to make it come alive.

Creating a Sense of Atmosphere and Mood

We’re talking about scene description here, and let me tell you, it takes a light touch when it comes to mystery writing.

Your audience is here for the story . They want to pick up clues, get creeped out, and try to help your main character solve this thing. They don’t want three pages discussing every creaky floorboard and loose screw.

This means you need to master the fine art of picking details that get the job done fast. 

Start by identifying what you want your reader to feel in the scene. Is it a sense of danger? Urgency? Momentary relief?

Think about what sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes evoke those feelings in you. If it helps, think of a location where you’ve felt the way you want your reader to feel. Are there any details you can bring into your scene description or adapt for your setting?  

The important thing is to show, not tell. That means you help the reader experience the moment rather than telling them how they should feel about it. It’s a cardinal rule for writing mysteries as well as every other genre. In fact, we made some worksheets to help you practice it.

Developing Sense of Suspense: The Role of Foreshadowing

Just as your setting can inspire some great red herrings, it can also help you hint at the chaos to come.

Foreshadowing happens when something in your mystery story indicates that something is coming—something good or bad, but usually bad. It can be very on-the-nose, like a character saying, “Something bad is coming.” (Be more artful about it than that, though.) 

It can also be something in the environment that feels foreboding. The lights flicker in the abandoned museum where the sleuth is searching for the perp. Or an unnatural silence blankets the town the morning the body is discovered.

Establishing Cultural and Historical Context

It might seem like a murder mystery is the one story where the cultural context doesn’t matter. I mean, murder is happening. Don’t your characters have bigger things to worry about than navigating cultural dynamics?

The fact is, culture influences the way we deal with everything, including homicide. All successful mystery novels reflect the norms, values, and assumptions that define their settings.

Sometimes it’s simply a matter of creating obstacles for the main character. Perhaps there’s a culture of fear in the community that makes witnesses reluctant to talk. Maybe the main character can’t get locals to communicate because they’re seen as an outsider.

For some mysteries, cultural and historical contexts are the most defining aspects of the setting. Attica Locke’s Highway 59 series confronts both the history and present reality of white supremacy in East Texas as Black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews investigates the murders that happen there. 

Whether you seek to examine society or just use it to add depth to your world, it’s important to consider this context when writing your own mystery novel. 

If your story takes place in the past, be sure to do your research so you understand not just what the world looked like in your time period, but also what it felt like to live in that era. On that note…

Tapping Into the Time Period

When does your mystery novel take place? The answer to this determines many of your story’s details, including:

• How your characters dress and communicate
• The technology available to your detective
• How the community feels about engaging with law enforcement
• What it would take to pull off the crime in question
• How characters view their world, themselves, and others

We’ll talk more about how to research your story’s time period in a bit. For now, just know that it matters. Even if your story is set in the present, think about which aspects of our current world should play a role in your novel.

The norms of a time period can even help you set up a few red herrings. For example, suppose a young lady in a Regency Era mystery story can’t supply an alibi when her lady’s maid reveals that she was not in her room at the time of the crime, as previously stated. It’s eventually revealed that the young woman was attending a political rally in disguise—a move that could destroy her family’s reputation in the community.

Now that you’ve got a solid understanding of the setting elements that make for a great mystery novel, let’s take a look how it’s done in these successful mysteries:

Examples of Successful Mystery Settings

In order to write a good mystery novel, you need to read a lot of mysteries. Current bestsellers will help you pick up on current trends and audience interests. Beloved classics will reveal timeless tropes and plot structure. 

All great mysteries will show you how to write engaging sleuths, dazzling plots , and—of course—worlds that draw the reader in. Here are some solid books to read for examples of well-executed (*cough*) mystery settings.

Cooper’s Chase Retirement Village, Present – Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club Series

If you’re writing a cozy mystery, this series is one to check out. In the tradition of all cozies, these books are set in a place you wouldn’t associate with murder: a comfortable retirement home.

What makes Osman’s mystery novels unique, however, is the extent to which he leans into the trope of the geriatric amateur sleuth. Not only does this series include an entire gang of senior detectives, it also has a few suspects and spies of a certain age.

Rural Ireland, Present – The Searcher

In this Tana French novel, the main character, Cal, retires from the Chicago police force and retreats to rural Ireland for peace and solitude. When he gets roped into the search for a missing child, his beautiful surroundings start to feel more sinister.

This is an excellent mystery story to read if you want to study shifting atmospheres and learn how to use the environment to create a sense of danger. It’s also good for examining cultural settings and the treacherous business of being an outsider. 

Chicago, 1944 – Clark and Division

This mystery follows a young woman investigating the death of her sister after her family’s release from a Japanese internment camp, casting a light on a corner of history that gets limited attention in pop culture.

If you’re interested in learning about blending a compelling mystery with a weighty historical and cultural context, this is it. Plus, author Naomi Hirahara studied and collected oral histories on Japanese internment for a previous nonfiction book, so Clark and Division is a solid example of a thoroughly researched historical mystery.

Pemberley, 1803 – Death Comes to Pemberley

Writers are nothing if not artistic borrowers, and that includes mystery authors like P.D. James. This murder mystery is set at Pemberley, the fictional estate Jane Austen fans will recognize from Pride and Prejudice .

By writing a whodunit in this setting, James taps into a world that’s already beloved and funnels it into an entirely new genre. The familiar becomes fresh and the fresh is somehow familiar. 

Los Angeles, Present – Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Series

As this series lands in the crime fiction branch of the mystery genre, it’s not at all shocking that it would take place in a major city—the popular setting choice for gritty deeds and a cynical main character.

But Los Angeles specifically is a great choice for the protagonist, Detective Harry Bosch, who works by the philosophy that “Everybody counts or nobody counts.” As L.A. is known for being a place where people are either somebodies are nobodies, it’s satisfying to watch Bosch doggedly pursue justice for all victims.

The Importance of Research in Creating a Mystery Setting

By now, you have the basic idea of what makes for a good mystery setting. Time to get into the details of how to bring the world of your story to life for your reader.

The first step: research.

What to Research

The amount of research you have to do depends on how familiar you are with the time and place in which your novel takes place. But here are some things you’ll probably want to know about your setting before you start writing:

• Landscape and climate
• Architecture
• Cultural values
• Dominant religious beliefs or political affiliations
• Relationships between cultural groups, economic classes, etc.
• Power structures
• Technology used by regular people
• Fashion, entertainment, and pop culture
• Threatening forces like extreme weather, wild predators, mob presence, etc.
• Local crime history
• Available forensic technology
• Police presence, including the size of the force and their relationship with the community

As you brainstorm and write your mystery, you’ll discover other gaps you need to fill in. But the list above should get you started.

Research Strategies

So how exactly are you supposed to find all this information?

We’ve actually written an entire article on the fine art of researching historical fiction, and many of the strategies in it can apply to researching a present-day location, too. Either way, here’s a quick list of places to look to find information about your mystery’s setting:

Internet - Make sure sources are credible and you’ve got the most current information.

Library - In addition to books and periodicals, your local library might have photo, video, and audio archives, as well as maps. Librarians love research questions, so don’t be shy about asking for help. 

Experts - Is there someone who would know about a particular aspect of your story’s setting? Someone who really knows the time period or can clarify what it’s really like to work in a police department?

The actual place - Can you visit the setting of your mystery novel? Spend a weekend in the town or tour the courthouse that features prominently in your story? 

Museums - Do you have access to a museum that features items or art from the world of your mystery story? Go check it out.

Pop culture - If you plan to write a mystery that takes place in the past, immerse yourself in the pop culture of the time. Listen to the music, watch the movies (if they existed), and even dabble in the kind of recreation that was popular at the time if that experience would help you understand your characters better.

And don’t forget to bookmark this article. You’ll need it for evidence of your authorly ambitions when federal law enforcement inquires about your concerning search history. (Just kidding. Probably.)

Setting as a Character in a Mystery Story

Now for a very artsy matter that’s bound to come up on author panels and NPR interviews when your mystery novel becomes a bestseller. 

How is your setting almost like a character in the story?

I have mixed feelings about this question, because what people are usually saying when they ask it is:

• “This setting has a clear personality of its own.”
• “I want to spend more time in this world.”
• “This place felt real and deeply human to me.”
• “The setting has an obvious influence on your characters’ decisions, conflicts, and sense of identity.”

All those things describe a well-crafted setting. There’s no need to call it by a different name. At the same time, describing anything in human terms changes the way we look at it, so if it helps to think of the world of your mystery as another character, go for it.

When you’re writing mysteries, you usually want to think of the setting as an antagonist . What would it look like if your world was actively interfering with the main character’s goals? 

Maybe this is an antagonist who hides secrets in dark alleyways or eerie bogs, protects the guilty within corrupt power structures, misleads with constant red herrings, or threatens your sleuth with dangerous elements.

Go ahead and give your world a personality. Think about who it would be if it were a character. Then write yourself a living, breathing setting that will impress all the fancy people who interview you.

Using the Setting to Write a Compelling Opening Scene

Your audience reads mysteries because they want to feel the kind of thrills you can only get from a good whodunit. So if you want to rope them in on page one, you have to give them the atmosphere they’re looking for.

Our friend Doug has already put together a great article on writing a solid opening scene. But here’s a quick rundown of how to make your setting shine in those crucial first pages.

Set the mood - Remember all that stuff we said about creating an atmosphere? Now is the time to put those skills to work.

Highlight the obstacles - What aspects of this world are likely to work against your main character as the story progresses? Give the reader a glimpse of that dangerous terrain or tight-lipped culture in the first scene. 

Create a sense of character - How does your main character relate to the setting? Is it familiar or unfamiliar? What about the other characters?

Foreshadow danger - You can accomplish this just by shining a light on the challenges that exist within your setting. You can also take the more symbolic route and let the atmosphere suggest that trouble is coming.

Using the Setting to Enhance Other Elements in Your Story

We’ve already covered this topic in bits and pieces over the course of this article. So consider this a quick reference for when you want to make sure your setting is truly pulling its weight in your novel.

Here are some of the most important ways the world can interact with other elements of a mystery story.

The setting informs and reveals who the characters are, including their:

• Norms and taboos
• Relationships to one another
• Interests and hobbies
• Ability to investigate a crime
• Ability to defend themselves in an investigation

In mysteries, the setting often contributes to both internal and external conflict.

For external conflict , you’re looking at things like:

• The resources available to your main character as they attempt to solve the mystery
• How crimes are concealed in this society and/or physical space
• The level of physical danger your detective must accept in order to do their job
• What it takes to get witnesses and sources to trust your main character
• Red herrings

For internal conflict , the setting can contribute to things like:

• The main character’s dilemma between the importance of their goal and the dangers of the situation
• Any social or cultural risks the witnesses might face by coming forward with the information they have
• Your detective’s strong sense of justice while having to work within a corrupt system

A good mystery demands a setting that contributes to the overall puzzle. When building the world of your story, think about things like:

• How a criminal could conceal their crime in this setting
• What aspect of the setting could potentially give them away
• If there are any accidental red herrings built into this world
• What opportunities there might be to heighten tension by trapping your sleuth in a dangerous location
• How the culture of the world might promote secrecy or distrust of the detective
• The cleverest way to dispose of a body

Think about whether your setting can convey something more than just, “This place has secrets .” 

We talked about the way the setting of L.A. highlights Harry Bosch’s personal philosophy by constantly challenging it.

And in The Searcher , Cal retreats to the quiet beauty of rural Ireland in an attempt to flee the corruption and family drama he’s unable to fix back home. As the atmosphere shifts from quaint to sinister, Cal is forced to confront the fact that you can’t escape pain anymore than you can erase it.

What can your setting do to support the theme of your mystery story?

For more on highlighting a theme, check out this article .

Want More Clues on Writing a Mystery?

I hope you’re feeling more equipped to write a mystery. Of course, there’s a lot more to learn when it comes to this particular genre. If you could use help any other area of your mystery writing, check out:

How to Write a Mystery That Tingles the Spine

How to Build Suspense in Thrillers

Creating Mystery Characters

And may I emphatically recommend using Dabble to plan, draft, and revise your novel? The fully customizable Story Notes make worldbuilding a breeze (or at least worldorganizing), and the Plot Grid is an absolute lifesaver when it comes to writing mysteries. This feature helps you keep track of everything , from alibis to red herrings.

Want a chance to inspect Dabble before you commit? You got it. You can access a 14-day free trial at this link , no credit card information needed.

Abi Wurdeman is the author of Cross-Section of a Human Heart: A Memoir of Early Adulthood, as well as the novella, Holiday Gifts for Insufferable People. She also writes for film and television with her brother and writing partner, Phil Wurdeman. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. When she’s not writing, Abi is most likely hiking, reading, or texting her mother pictures of her houseplants to ask why they look like that.

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Incredible Mystery Story Ideas: 65 Creative Mystery Writing Prompts

• March 9, 2022

There are few things as satisfying as fleshing out a fantastic idea. It’s a great creative writing exercise . Many writers use short writing prompts as inspiration for story starters.

What makes a good prompt? It’s relatively simple: a good prompt has a who and a what. You don’t necessarily need a where or when, but they can be included to form a more specific mystery plot.

But what if you can’t think of anything? Here are 65 mystery writing prompts to get you started. Any of these ideas can be turned into a short story or a mystery novel!

Mystery Story Ideas And Mystery Writing Prompts

Mystery story starters.

Below are starters to help you in conceptualizing, imagining, and creating a new mystery story:

• The fast-paced city you currently reside in turns out to be moving irregularly one day. People wander around slowly, cashiers swipe items slowly, and cars seem to be slower than your walking pace. Everything slows down except you.
• A man visited his best friend’s house, only to find a scrapbook with pictures where his face has been intentionally erased.
• A woman has arrived home after work one night, only to noticed that there is not one other light in her apartment building that is on except for hers. Where did the other people go? And who is inside her apartment?
• A group of teenagers were looking for an adventure, they end up at an abandoned house; a series of screams followed their entrance.
• A man was browsing his emails one night, when a new email pops up saying: “Someone will knock on your door; no matter what it takes, secure the door.”
• A person is detained for a crime and believes that they are innocent but their DNA is on the murder weapon and the clothes of the dead body. As a detective, you have to find ways to prove their innocence.
• A woman’s grandfather passed away and left his last will. However, on the day before its reading, the attorney was nowhere to be found and has disappeared without a trace.
• An 80-year-old woman is convinced that you were her teacher in 1950 and added that you were her favorite. However, you were born in 1994.
• A man wakes up and everything feels like  deja vu . Is it because of the wrong choice he made the night before?

Historical Story Ideas and writing prompts

The following prompts include mysteries in the ancient world.

• As the head archaeologist on the dig, you get the honor of opening up the sarcophagus. What a surprise it is to find a cell phone in a thousand-year-old tomb.
• An ancient artifact arrives at the museum you work at. Your mentor is tasked with dating and placing the piece. When you come in the next day, you find your mentor murdered and the artifact missing.
• A man who struck it rich in the gold rush suddenly disappears, leaving nothing but a cryptic note.
• A sharp-tongued guard and the mayor’s aid team up in WWII Germany and try to find the true killer of the mayor. Plot twist: it’s the guard.
• A defense attorney and the high school-aged son of the murder victim team up together to find the murderer, only to realize it’s actually a suicide.
• The main character is a mafia member in 1920’s New York who has to get away with murder.
• A story set in the 1900’s where the entire police force is complacent in the crime.

Classic Murder Mystery Plot Ideas

• A new boy arrives in your small town just in time for something to go terribly wrong at the yearly homecoming parade, resulting in at least one death. As chaos depends on your high school, one has to ask, “Who is responsible?”
• A dead body turns up at your apartment. The local police chief of your small town is convinced you are responsible, and he’s determined to find the evidence to arrest you.
• A woman is missing and presumed dead. As a private detective, you aren’t limited by the law the same way police officers are. You’re stumped, that is, until the next-door neighbor is killed, and you were the last person to see her alive. Well, besides the murderer.
• Even as an experienced detective, you’re still surprised when someone confesses to a murder they’re convinced they committed, mostly because you know they didn’t do it. Or did they?
• A relationship ends, and the following day the man is found dead.
• A recording of a confession of murder is dropped off at your station. As the head detective, you’re tasked with finding out who the victim is and who the killer is.
• A hardboiled PI and a stranded bridesmaid enter the underbelly of society after a mass grave is discovered. 
• A baker who consistently stumbles into trouble is the main suspect in a murder investigation.
• A story starts with, “I was twenty-one when I first met my killer.”
• The detective is atoning for murdering a man in his youth.
• A murderous hitchhiker must be caught before he strikes again, but it’s the 70’s and everyone hitchhikes.
• A housekeeper that is a hoarder finds a decayed body in her home under a pile of things.

Mystical/Magical writing prompts

• Your best friend goes missing, and in the chaos that ensues, you find out she’s a practicing witch. Does this have anything to do with her disappearance?
• You follow the detective as he solves the murder, only to find out he’s narrating how his own death occurred.
• You find a secret door in an abandoned manor you’re exploring. Upon opening it, you step back in time. Who put the door there and why? Why is the house abandoned?
• Murder victims keep turning up surrounded by strange symbols. They look like ritual killings but end up being something entirely different.
• You buried your sister years ago, yet here she is at your doorstep. Which one was the imposter, and which one is your real sister?
• You’re haunted by your lover’s ghost (literally), and you have to find out who killed them.
• A haunted house is sold in the suburbs. The protagonist can hear the ghosts, and they’re begging her to solve their murders.
• A lost wallet appears in front of you on the sidewalk, and when you pick it up, you’re transported back in time and must solve the missing person’s case before you can return.
• A flight vanishes mid-air, lost in another dimension.

General writing prompts

• Someone is proposed to. The only problem is, where is their current spouse?
• Your best friend stops by to say hi. The only problem is they’ve been missing for the better part of five years. They have no recollection of any missing time at all.
• Secret Santa starts off with a bang when the first present is a mangled hand. Unfortunately, as the rest of the presents are unwrapped, the manager’s body emerges, piece by piece.
• The family is together for the first time in a decade, all to read grandpa’s will and see who gets what. No one was prepared for the winner to take all approach that grandpa took towards catching his murderer.
• A reporter investigating policy corruption disappears.
• A house fire and a burglary next door appear unconnected, but a mysterious note implies otherwise.
• An heiress is missing and doesn’t want to be found. Is finding her the right thing to do?
• A forensic scientist and a babysitter are drawn into a decades-old cold case. Is the killer even alive anymore?
• A serial killer that’s never been caught aids in the investigation of a different serial killer.
• A manipulative janitor finds a missing child in the basement of the school he works for. How did he get there?
• A hardboiled PI with a double identity must keep his secret safe, as he is thrust into the spotlight.
• A whodunit story about drug trafficking that starts with a live alligator being thrown through the farmhouse window.
• A story where every witness is lying about everything but one fact and when those facts are combined the truth can be found.
• A story where the key suspect is a hallucination.
• A story where the protagonist is the murder victim.
• A story idea where the detective solved the crime but is suffering amnesia.
• Evidence arrives at the detective’s door that may reopen a decade-long cold case.
• The husband is in denial that his wife is missing at all and keeps trying to give evidence that she’s still around.
• A story is set in a prison where the killer is already caught, but no one knows it.
• A priest’s dead body is found by his congregation.
• A story where the murder scene and mystery are told through a child who doesn’t understand everything.
• A story where two characters who are never in the same scene together turn out to be the same person.
• The FBI agent is completely incompetent yet somehow stumbles across the truth.
• A story where a minor character is actually the killer.
• A story where one of the characters has a secret that everyone knows exists but is never revealed.
• A story where the protagonist fails, and the killer gets away (for now).
• A story that simultaneously takes place in two different timelines.
• A story where the protagonist’s main objective is revenge, and he’ll take down anyone who gets in his way, regardless of who they are.
• They’re racing the clock to find someone buried alive.
• A story where a blue-collar crime spans four decades and two generations.
• A story that is non-linear and involves a spy searching for a murder weapon.
• A story where the protagonist is a sociopath, but the reader doesn’t know. They may or may not be the actual villain.
• A story where the key witness is a compulsive liar.
• Write a story that is a retelling of a Shakespearean tragedy.
• A journalist is wrongfully accused of murder and thrown in jail. From there, he must find a way to solve the crime and bring the actual murderer to justice.
• A story where the serial killer had been put to death a decade ago, but it is now back.
• A story where someone overhears something they aren’t supposed to and is kidnapped. The detective has to find them.

Using These Prompts as Plot Ideas

There is no right or wrong way to use these mystery writing prompts, whether you write them exactly as suggested or you alter them as you see fit. 

The purpose isn’t to come up with a perfect piece that follows the prompt exactly, but rather to get your brain flowing so you can write more within the mystery genre.

Depending on the amount of time you have and the length of the piece you decide to write, you can easily work through a prompt a day. Choosing a prompt is as easy or as complicated as you make it. You can randomly choose one, or you can sort through them to find the perfect prompt.

Once you have the right prompt , the length of the story has to be determined. You can write a snippet, a short story , you can write a full-length novel or begin a small series of mystery novels. It’s entirely up to you.

It’s always helpful to have prompts lying around, whether the prompt is from your own mind that you scribbled down or if it was from someone else because prompts help you get the creativity started.

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Reader – writer – curated resources – & more, 50 mystery plot ideas and writing prompts.

by Bryn Donovan

Hi, everyone! You know how I love working on story ideas and creative writing exercises, and I’ve been reading a lot of mystery novels lately — mostly cozy mysteries, not gritty crime novels, although I might enjoy those, too. That inspired me to write this list of prompts — and pieces of plots — for mystery stories.

The basic mystery plot formula is pretty simple. Early on, a dead body turns up, a valuable item goes missing, or a puzzle begs to be solved. The reader knows that by the end of the book, questions will have been answered, which is a comforting element in even the most gruesome murder mysteries.

The originality and charm, of course, is mostly in the execution. Ten different writers could take the same writing prompt here and write ten vastly different stories, so there’s no reason to worry about whether it’s okay to get inspiration from here.

You can also use this list as an idea generator for free writing. If you’re like me and you have a hard time keeping your writing habit when life gets hectic, grabbing a journal, going to a coffee shop or library, and writing to an idea starter can be a wonderful break. Whether you stumble across a story idea you love in the process, or you just get your creative writing juices flowing again, it’s so worth it.

Although I had mystery novels in mind, some of these could become a subplot in a different fiction genre, from fantasy and romance (especially romantic suspense), to historical fiction and young adult novels.

See the list at:

50 mystery plot ideas and writing prompts, if you enjoyed this article, why not share it with all your friends, online connections and groups - go on - you know you want to, 4 thoughts on “ 50 mystery plot ideas and writing prompts ”.

• Pingback: 50 Mystery Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts! — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog – sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris
• Pingback: 50 Mystery Plot Ideas and Writing Prompts! — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog – I Suck at Writing

To rattle off 50 plot ideas. Now that’s a mind that runs nonstop. 😀 Thanks for sharing, Ape. Fun post.

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Dec 02, 2020

How to Write a Mystery: The 6 Secret Steps Revealed

About the author.

Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Martin Cavannagh

Head of Content at Reedsy, Martin has spent over eight years helping writers turn their ambitions into reality. As a voice in the indie publishing space, he has written for a number of outlets and spoken at conferences, including the 2024 Writers Summit at the London Book Fair.

A great mystery novel will draw in readers with compelling characters, tricky twists, and a clever trail of clues. Of course, the secret to writing a hit like Gone Girl isn’t going to fall into your lap. But in this post we’ll help you strap on your deerstalker, grab your magnifying glass, and crack the code of great mystery architecture!

1. Investigate the subgenres of mystery

You may already know what sort of mystery you want to write. However, it still pays to read plenty of mystery books to get a good grasp on the mystery genre before you start ! When it comes to mystery and murder mystery subgenres, here are the usual suspects:

Cozy mysteries

Cozy mysteries often take place in small towns, frequently featuring charming bakeries and handsome mayors. Though the crime is normally murder, there’s no gore, no severed heads in boxes, and no lotion in the basket. As a result, there are rarely any traumatized witnesses or family members in these murder mysteries — making cozies perfect for a gentle fireside read .  Example : the Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie.

Recommended reads

• A Guide to Cozy Mysteries [blog post]
• And Then There Were None: The 10 Best Agatha Christie Books [blog post]

Police procedurals

Police procedurals commonly center on a police investigation (betcha didn’t see that one coming). They feature realistic law enforcement work, such as witness interrogation and forensic science, and require a great deal of research to convince seasoned readers of their authenticity.  Example : Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series.

Noir detective novels

Most associate “noir” with black-and-white films of cynical gumshoes and femme fatales — but did you know that dark, gritty noir novels came first? Their flawed characters and complex plots are renowned for leaving readers in the grey. ( Did the investigator do the right thing? Was the culprit really evil?) The crime may be solved by the end, but the mystery itself is rarely so open-and-shut.  Example : The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain.

Prefer your detectives a little more clean-cut? Check out our guide to reading the Sherlock Holmes books !

A suspense mystery is all about high stakes and unexpected twists — elements that make it nearly impossible to stop reading. The mystery builds throughout the narrative, clues are painstakingly planted to divulge just the right amount of information, and things are constantly edging towards a dramatic, often shocking climax.  Example : Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl .

• The 50 Best Suspense Books of All Time [blog post]

Which genre (or subgenre) am I writing?

Find out which genre your book belongs to. It only takes a minute!

2. Commit to a crime before you write

While some authors like to write without an outline, improvisation doesn’t lend itself well to the mystery genre. To  keep your readers engaged and in suspense , you’ll need to drip feed information bit by bit — which means you’ll need to know your crime and its culprit inside out before you put pen to paper.

Consider not only who committed the crime, but how they pulled it off, and why. Is there anything unusual about their methods, or any specific details you can include that will add texture to your story — say, the lingering smell left behind by a specific real-world poison, or the unusual wounds created by an unconventional weapon? Would anyone else have witnessed the crime — or thought they witnessed it — and if so, how might your criminal keep them silent?

By mapping out and researching your crime, you can think about telltale clues that may have been left behind, and when best to reveal these clues to your readers to keep them hooked. Just make sure you clear your browser history afterwards.

3. Research and pick your setting with purpose

Where your book is set  is the backbone of mystery; it fosters the right atmosphere and typically plays a significant role in the plot. But according to crime fiction editor Allister Thompson , far too many mysteries are set in the same old places. “The world doesn’t need another crime novel set in New York,” he says, “or in London if you're British, or in Toronto if you’re from Canada.”

Instead of an overused urban setting, why not set your murder mystery someplace unique? “Not only does it give you more interesting material, it also gives you a really good marketing angle,” Allister says. “The distinct cultural mix and geography of Albuquerque, for example, was a huge part of Breaking Bad’ s hook.”

For more tips from Allister, check out this Reedsy Live on mystery writing mistakes and how to avoid them.

This all requires research to execute well. Local news sites should give you an idea of what matters to an area’s residents, the problems they face, and what’s interesting about their community. You’ll come to understand what might actually unfold in a setting like this one, adding depth and authenticity to your mystery.

4. Carve out an intriguing cast of characters

Mysteries are largely about human intrigue, and to pull that off, you’ll need to assemble an interesting cast of characters . Dedicate time to fleshing out your victim, perpetrator, suspects, and sleuth, and you’ll have a much easier time getting readers invested in cracking the case. 

To ensure you know your characters inside out, try filling out a character profile — check out our free one below. 

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

Create a memorable sleuth

Your sleuth, whether they’re a nosy neighbor or a chief inspector, serves as the eyes and ears of your novel — so it’s important that the reader cares about them from the start! 

To do this, establish some baseline stakes by determining your sleuth’s motive. What’s stopping them from saying “I guess we’ll never know” and walking away? Would an innocent person be jailed? Will the killer strike again? Or is your sleuth’s motive less selfless, maybe a promotion or a cash reward?

Your sleuth doesn’t have to be a quirky mega-genius a la Sherlock Holmes, but even your “everyman” amateur detective should still be a well-rounded and unique character . Give them idiosyncrasies, interests, and a life outside of the crime, including perhaps a history or connection to the victim that makes them especially invested — “ this time, it’s personal… ”

Profile your perp

To write a killer culprit, you’ll first need to get their motive right. Your entire plot hinges on this character and their reason for committing a crime, so it has to be thoroughly believable! 

Unless you’re dealing with a serial killer (in which case their motive might be more nebulous and unhinged), figuring out your culprit’s motive should always involve the question: What does the killer stand to gain or lose ? More often than not, the answer will involve money, passion, or both — or perhaps the oft-pilfered title of “best village baker”, if you’re writing a cozy. 

Explore the dynamics between the victim and suspects

For there to even be a mystery, your culprit can’t be the only possible criminal. To keep readers hunting for the truth, try to show your other suspects having any two of the following:

• means (did they have access to a weapon?), 
• motive (how would they have benefited from the crime?), 
• and opportunity (were they close to the crime scene?). 

It’s then the job of the sleuth (and the reader in tandem) to dig out whether they have all three — and even if so, whether they actually did it. 

To muddy the waters, explore your victim’s relationship to all the suspects, not just the culprit. A morally grey victim, with a messy past and complex relationships, will allow for more intrigue in your murder mystery. Readers are presented with multiple possibilities, and will have to rule them out in turn as new information comes to light, just like a real detective.

If you want to develop amazing characters to populate your mystery, why not check out our free 10-day course on the subject?

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5. Build tension throughout the story

The central pillar of any good mystery is the push-and-pull between question and answer. As the author, it’s your job to draw the reader’s attention to the right things at precisely the right moment. 

The best way to ensure this is to nail your story shape ! By expertly planning your novel’s shift from the unknown to the known, you’ll produce the gripping rise in action that all great mystery novels possess. Here’s how to do just that.

Looking for inspiration for your next mystery story? Look no further than our mystery plot generator !

Hit 'em with a hook

Every story should begin  with a great first line, but mysteries are particularly fertile ground for first-rate hooks. Many authors open with the crime. The opening line of Darker than Amber , for example, is brief, unexpected, and action-focused:

“We were about to give up and call it a night when somebody dropped the girl off the bridge.” — John D. MacDonald, Darker than Amber

There’s no one “right way” to open your mystery novel. But to make sure it’ll capture readers' attention, try to write an opening that a) jolts readers into paying attention, b) leads them to ask further questions, and c) introduces some stakes (conflict, danger, etc.).

Pull out the red string and connect your clues

You’ve successfully enticed readers with your hook! Now, to keep them engaged, you’ll need to structure your plot around the clues to your mystery’s solution. 

This moment takes place when the pivotal clue turns up, or when your sleuth realizes the significance of a forgotten lead. What happens at that point leads to your novel's ending.

Give your sleuth time to think

While you may want to make your story as action-packed as possible, it's also important to slow down at times.  As well as including those action-oriented info-finding scenes (think: examining the crime scene for physical clues, talking to suspects to glean their alibis), you'll want to include more cerebral scenes that show them thinking or talking through their theory of the case, says Reedsy mystery editor Anne Brewer .

"These types of scenes give you an opportunity to sign post to the reader where the investigation is going (you can even employ misdirection here by having the sleuth make mistakes and get things wrong sometimes), as well as show off their special skills that make them a good investigator."

Consider red herrings

Because they lead the reader down the garden path and away from the truth, you might think red herrings would cause frustration. But when done well, they’re part of the fun, and that’s why they’re a tried-and-true trope of murder mystery. 

By upping the tension and escalating the pace, even if it’s towards a dead end, red herrings conjure the signature push-and-pull of the mystery genre. (Not to mention, they keep readers from guessing the answers too soon!)

For a classic mystery bait-and-switch, you might consider:

• a character who appears complicit, but isn’t;
• an object that seems more important than it is ( cleverly subverting Chekhov’s Gun !); or
• a misleading clue that was planted by the culprit.

Finally, remember that when it comes to the ending of your mystery, it’s important to play fair. Don’t suddenly introduce an evil twin as the final twist without setting it up earlier! The ultimate conclusion should be both unexpected  and  earned if you want to satisfy readers, says Reedsy editor Alyssa Matesic . "You don't want to hint too obviously at the twist (such as who the killer is), because then the reader might put the pieces together prematurely and the reveal scene will feel lackluster and anticlimactic. At the same time, you don't want the twist to feel like it comes out of left field, because then you'll lose the reader's trust. You need to leave just enough breadcrumbs throughout the story so the reader feels like the twist has been right under their nose the whole time."

6. Revise your mystery (with the help of experts)

Once you’ve finished your first draft , you should absolutely celebrate with party poppers and champagne… but then it’s time to transform it into a truly standout mystery! After taking the time to perform a thorough self-edit , summon the courage to send your manuscript out into the world — the world of beta readers, that is. 

Beta readers

Beta readers are the invaluable people who read your draft and provide honest, third-party feedback . They can tell you which characters they connected with and which they didn’t, identify plot holes, and point out any other issues you’ve become blind to during your revisions.

As well as asking for general feedback on your story, ask your beta readers to record their working theories as they read. This way you can see whether readers will pick up on clues at the right moment, and whether they’re misled just the right amount by your red herrings.

Professional editor

An experienced mystery editor who eats, sleeps and breathes these books can offer suggestions that even the most talented beta readers will struggle to express. 

In the first stages of editing, a developmental editor will provide you with a holistic, in-depth review of your manuscript , helping you examine characterization and redistribute your clues to build to a stunning conclusion. 

After producing a second draft, Thompson recommends working with a copy editor: “It’s too competitive out there not to put your best work forward [...] without errors, bad grammar, or spelling mistakes.” So polish up that manuscript like a magnifying glass if you want it to stand a chance of success!

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So, there you have it! If you follow these six steps, you should be well on your way to giving mystery readers what they crave — a thrilling tale of bad guys, cliffhangers, and diligent sleuths. But if you want to test out your new knowledge on a smaller scale first, head over to Reedsy Prompts and investigate our archive of mysterious short story starters to kick things off.

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How to Write a Mystery Story: 12 Powerful Writing Tips

Mystery stories have a unique allure, drawing readers into a world of crime, suspense, false clues, secrets, and intrigue. If it’s done well, they will imagine themselves in the sleuth’s footsteps, shrouded in a cloak of apprehension, unraveling the enigmatic clues that lead to a spine-tingling revelation.

But what makes a mystery story truly engaging, and how can you write one that will keep your readers guessing until the very end?

In this guide, we’ll share 12 powerful mystery writing tips that will show you how to write a mystery novel, transforming your storytelling process and leaving your readers eager to turn the pages, desperate to uncover the truth.

What Makes a Mystery Story?

Mystery is a genre that revolves around a puzzle that needs to be solved. This question can be a crime, but it can also be another type of mystery, such as a supernatural occurrence or a missing person.

These stories contain a central character who takes on the responsibility of unraveling the mystery and uncovering the truth. Readers are invited to follow the investigator’s thought processes, reasoning, and fact-finding methods as they diligently pursue leads, analyze evidence, and piece together the puzzle’s fragments.

To heighten the narrative tension, mystery stories usually employ elements of conflict , suspense and surprise. Authors reveal clues and evidence gradually, as well as introduce red herrings—misleading details or plot twists meant to divert attention away from the real villain or actual solution.

As the story progresses, readers become amateur detectives themselves, actively participating in the investigation by piecing together clues, speculating on motives, and attempting to solve the mystery before the characters do.

As such, this genre harnesses the innate human fascination with the unknown, the uncanny, and the insatiable curiosity to unearth hidden truths.

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9 Types of Mystery Stories

Mystery stories come in various subgenres, each with its own unique elements and characteristics. Here are some of the different subgenres, along with descriptions of each.

1. Cozy Mystery

Cozy mysteries are known for their light-hearted and non-violent approach to crime-solving. They typically feature amateur detectives, often in a small-town or village setting, who solve crimes with wit, charm, and the help of their community. These mysteries emphasize the puzzle-solving aspect rather than graphic violence or suspense.

Some popular cozy mystery series include Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series, Donna Andrews’s Meg Langslow novels, and Leslie Meier’s stories with reporter/investigator Lucy Stone .

2. Hard-Boiled Mystery

These unsentimental mysteries are gritty and realistic, featuring tough, cynical, and morally complex protagonists, often private investigators or police detectives. These stories delve into the darker aspects of crime and society, with a focus on urban settings, violence, moral ambiguity, and the bending of rules to solve cases.

Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade series, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe stories, and Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer books represent this subgenre with aplomb.

3. Police Procedural

Police procedurals offer an in-depth look into the workings of law enforcement agencies. These stories emphasize the step-by-step investigation process, including interviews, forensic analysis, and legal procedures. Authors often research and accurately depict police work and criminal justice systems.

Here you will find Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series, Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta forensic pathologist novels, and Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series.

4. Legal Mystery

This mystery type is centered on lawyers, prosecutors, or legal professionals who solve mysteries within the context of the courtroom or legal proceedings. These stories often involve complex legal dilemmas, courtroom drama, and ethical quandaries.

The most famous contributor to this subgenre is John Grisham, ably accompanied by Scott Turow, Steve Martini, and Richard North Patterson.

5. Medical Mystery

These science-focussed mysteries involve the investigation of perplexing medical cases, diseases, or outbreaks, often featuring healthcare professionals, medical detectives, or amateur sleuths who strive to uncover the underlying medical cause, solve medical puzzles, or prevent potential health crises.

Almost all Robin Cook and Michael Palmer books fall into this category, together with Leonard Goldberg’s Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series and Michael Crichton’s ” The Andromeda Strain”.

6. Historical Mystery

Historical mysteries are set in the past, often featuring a historical period, event, or figure as a backdrop. These stories provide readers with a sense of time and place while incorporating historical details and mysteries that fit within the chosen era.

In this subgenre, you will find Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt novels situated in Victorian-era London, C.J. Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake series from the Tudor era, and Lindsey Davis’s Falco series set in ancient Rome.

7. Supernatural Mystery

Paranormal or supernatural mysteries incorporate elements of the paranormal, such as ghosts, vampires, or supernatural phenomena, into the mystery plot. These stories often blur the lines between the natural and the supernatural, creating an eerie and mysterious atmosphere and an unusual mystery that requires substantial out-of-the-box thinking to solve.

Some of the most famous authors include Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Stephen King.

8. Whodunit Mystery

Whodunit mysteries, also known as classic or traditional mysteries, emphasize the puzzle aspect of the story. The central question is “Who committed the crime?” Readers are presented with clues and red herrings, and they are encouraged to solve the mystery alongside the investigator. The crime is usually a murder, and the protagonist is a detective who is trying to solve the case.

Here the classics are Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books, and the Lord Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy L. Sayers.

9. Psychological Mystery

Psychological thrillers, also often called psychological mysteries, blend elements of mystery and suspense with a focus on the psychological and emotional aspects of the characters. These stories usually involve unreliable narrators, mind games, and the exploration of the human psyche.

These books have been particularly popular since the turn of the century and include “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins, and classics like “Strangers on a Train” by Patricia Highsmith.

How to Write a Mystery Story

If you feel motivated to write your own mystery story but you feel like you need some guidance on the practical aspects of constructing one, this section provides a step-by-step guide on the art and craft of writing a mystery novel that will keep your readers eagerly turning the pages. So, let’s get started.

Step 1: Understand the Genre

By immersing yourself in the genre, you’ll become familiar with its conventions. This knowledge helps you create a story that resonates with readers who appreciate the specific characteristics of mysteries.

From cozy to supernatural mysteries, explore the subgenres so that you can choose the one that aligns with your writing style and interests. Knowing the nuances of each subgenre helps you tailor your story effectively.

While reading, analyze the structure of the novels. Identify common tropes and plot devices used in the genre. Consider how authors introduce clues, red herrings, and character motivations.

Take notes on what works well in the novels you enjoy. Pay attention to character development, pacing, dialogue, and how authors handle suspense and revelations.

Step 2: Craft a Mystery

While this step looks impossibly huge, you don’t have to work out all the details here. You can fill in much of it in later steps, so don’t feel overwhelmed.

But at least start by clearly defining the central mystery or crime that drives your story. This is the core puzzle that your protagonist will aim to solve. The mystery can be almost anything: murder, theft, missing persons, kidnapping, identity theft, sabotage, blackmail, cybercrime, a political conspiracy, a secret society/cult, or some other unexplained phenomenon.

Consider your own interests and passions. Writing about a mystery that fascinates you will make the storytelling process more enjoyable and authentic.

Real-life events, news stories, or historical incidents can serve as inspiration for your story. Adapt these events and add fictional elements to create a compelling narrative.

Use the “what if” technique to brainstorm potential mysteries. Start with a simple question like “What if a famous painting went missing?” or “What if a small-town librarian discovered an old diary with hidden secrets?”

Step 3: Develop a Backstory

Every crime or action to be investigated should have a motive. Why did the perpetrator commit it? The motive should be logical and compelling, providing a strong reason for the actions taken. Some possible motivations include the following:

• Greed: Greed or financial gain are powerful motivators for crimes like theft, embezzlement, fraud, and murder.
• Revenge: Revenge and personal vendettas can lead to crimes such as murder, blackmail, or acts of sabotage.
• Envy: Jealousy can drive individuals to commit stalking, harassment, or even violence against those perceived as rivals.
• Desperation: Dire circumstances like financial ruin, addiction, or a desperate need to protect loved ones may lead to criminal actions as a last resort.
• Power and Control: A desire for dominance and control over others can motivate crimes like kidnapping, human trafficking, or abusive behavior.
• Political or Ideological Beliefs: Some characters may commit crimes in the name of political or ideological beliefs, leading to acts of terrorism, espionage, or subversion.
• Love and Passion: Romantic or passionate relationships can lead to crimes of passion, including murder or acts of violence committed in the heat of the moment.
• Curiosity and Experimentation: Some mysteries may stem from characters’ curiosity, experimentation, or a desire to test boundaries, leading to unforeseen consequences. Think scientific experiment gone wrong, exploring forbidden areas, opening sealed containers, dabbling in occult rituals, AI experimentation, dark web exploration, etc.

Together with constructing a reason why the mysterious event happened, start thinking of the relationships your story will have to include to make sense of this reason. While you can develop your characters in depth later, describe the family dynamics, friendships, rivalries, or past connections that may have contributed to the events.

Step 4: Establish Clear Stakes

Define what’s at stake in the story. Why is solving the mystery important? What consequences will result if it remains unsolved?

Stakes give your protagonist a compelling motive to investigate the mystery. They also create tension and suspense, as characters race against time to unravel the mystery and prevent negative consequences. In short, they make readers care about the outcome.

The most immediate and high-stakes consequence of failing to solve a mystery is life or death. But such a failure can also lead to imprisonment, reputational damage, financial ruin, loss of valuable artifacts or knowledge, trauma, guilt, or danger to a community or political system.

Step 5: Create a Protagonist

Your detective or main character serves as the driving force behind the narrative, and their qualities, quirks, and motivations can greatly influence the reader’s engagement. Include the following in their profile:

• Characteristics: Consider unique physical traits, personality quirks, or habits that set your detective or protagonist apart from the typical investigator.
• Motivations: While you can include the stakes of investigative failures here, also describe personal or ethical reasons why your character wants or needs to solve the mystery.
• Backstory: Explore their past experiences, traumas, successes, and failures. Understanding their history will help you portray their motivations and vulnerabilities effectively.
• Flaws and Weaknesses: Introduce character flaws, weaknesses, or personal challenges that your detective or protagonist must overcome. Weaknesses that relate to the challenges they will confront are particularly appealing.
• Unique Skills or Expertise: If there is a particular profession, hobby, or talent that make your character well-suited for solving mysteries, describe them here.
• Character Growth Arc: Consider how your protagonist’s experiences throughout the story will shape them and lead to personal development.

Step 6: Create Supporting Characters

Populate your story with a cast of diverse and interesting characters, including potential suspects, witnesses, and allies for your investigator. Each character should have their own motives, secrets, and function in the story.

The allies will be people with unique skills, knowledge, or expertise that complement the protagonist’s abilities. They should have their own motivations for helping with the investigation. To make it interesting, you can also develop complex relationships between the protagonist and their aids in the form of conflicts or tensions that arise as the investigation progresses.

The potential suspects can be either heroes or villains, but should, by definition, not be the main character responsible for the crime or mystery. Consider these elements of suspects:

• Motives: Give each suspect a clear and distinctive motive for being involved in the mystery. These motives should be believable and provide a plausible reason for their potential involvement in the event.
• Backstories: Explore their personal histories and experiences to understand what drives them and what secrets they may be hiding.
• Alibis: Establish alibis for your suspects that can be investigated and verified by your protagonist. This will help you to construct clues and red herrings later.
• Relationships: Consider the relationships between suspects. Do they have alliances, rivalries, or conflicts with each other? These dynamics can create additional layers of intrigue.

Step 7: Build a Setting

Building a rich story setting is essential for immersing readers in your mystery and enhancing the overall atmosphere and believability of your narrative. A setting can be so suitable and well developed that it almost serves as another character.

Draw inspiration from real places, events, or settings that align particularly well with your narrative. For example, a snowed-in Victorian Mansion is a good place for a paranormal investigator to investigate a haunting, since they cannot simply leave when events become too scary.

Sherlock Holmes did this particularly well in his Arthur Conan Doyle stories, where the foggy and atmospheric streets of Victorian-era London with their ancient alleyways, echoing footfalls, and glimpses of silhouettes contribute to the sense of menace and intrigue in the stories.

Alternatively, you can pick a setting that contrasts with your mystery in a way that is memorable in some way. In “Death on the Nile,” for example, Agatha Christie transports readers to the beautiful, exotic, and romantic setting of a luxurious riverboat on Egypt’s Nile River, where a murder mystery soon develops.

Engage readers’ senses by describing sights, sounds, smells, textures, and even tastes that characterize the environment.

Step 8: Craft Clues and Red Herrings

Layering clues and red herrings is a crucial step in crafting a captivating mystery story. Clues propel the investigation forward and guide readers closer to the truth, while red herrings are false leads designed to misdirect and create suspense.

Clue vs. Red Herring

If a detective finds a hidden compartment in a suspect’s desk containing a photograph of the victim and an old love letter, it can either be a clue or a red herring, as follows:

Clue: The suspect had a romantic relationship with the victim, potentially leading to a motive for the murder.

Red Herring: The photograph and love letter were planted by someone else to frame the suspect, diverting attention from the real culprit.

Crafting Clues and Red Herrings

To craft good clues and red herrings, keep these factors in mind:

• Core Clues: Identify the core clues that are essential for solving the mystery. These are the pieces of information that, when combined, lead to the ultimate solution. These clues should be logically connected and scattered throughout the story to help readers solve the mystery, but avoid introducing them too early.
• Red Herring Opportunities: Look for opportunities to introduce distractions, misdirection’s, or false leads that divert the protagonist and reader away from the true solution. Avoid using more than two of three simultaneously, as readers will then not notice them.
• Character Motives: Consider the motives of characters, including potential suspects, witnesses, and allies. What reasons might they have to provide false information or create deceptive situations? Align red herrings with character motivations.
• Progressive Revelation: Start with minor or subtle clue hints and progressively escalate to more significant revelations. This builds suspense and maintains reader interest.
• Character Involvement: Involve characters actively in the discovery of clues and red herrings. Allow them to interpret and react to the information they encounter, deepening their engagement in the mystery.
• Balanced Revelations: Ensure that genuine clues and red herrings are revealed in a balanced manner. Avoid having a long stretch of the story with only one type of revelation. Mix genuine progress with moments of misdirection.
• Seamless Integration: Incorporate both types of lead naturally into the narrative. They should arise from character interactions, evidence, dialogue, or the environment. Avoid making them too obvious or contrived.
• Clue Variety: Use different types of clues and red herrings to keep the mystery engaging. These can include physical evidence (e.g., a bloodstained shirt), verbal hints (e.g., a cryptic message), or character behavior (e.g., an unexplained absence).
• Foreshadowing: Foreshadow major clues with subtle hints or references earlier in the story. Foreshadowing helps make the ultimate reveal feel earned and logical.

Step 9: Plan the Investigation

Now that you’ve specified the potential suspects, the clues, and the red herrings, you can plan the protagonist’s investigation. Much of it will fall into place with the insertion of the details in the previous steps, so a good approach is to develop a timeline or chronology of events related to the mystery to lead your protagonist down a logical investigative path.

Decide when your protagonist will stumble onto the clues and red herrings. At the beginning, they will probably encounter more false than real clues. Once they eliminate these, the clues will start playing a bigger role in their investigations and their thinking.

Establish how they will encounter the information that feeds into their investigations. Physical evidence, witness testimonies, research, undercover investigations, anonymous tips, characters’ suspicious behavior, coincidentally crossing paths with a suspect, the noticing of patterns, or any other method can work.

Step 10: Build Suspense and Tension

The stakes you identified in a previous step will help you to build tension, but you can also use other methods to convey a sense of urgency that propels the investigation forward. Time constraints, impending danger, or impending consequences can intensify tension and keep readers on edge.

Control the pace at which you reveal information. Gradually disclose clues, red herrings, and key revelations throughout the story. Avoid overloading the reader with too much information at once, as this will lead to wildly exciting periods interspersed with long, tedious parts.

Foreshadowing allows you to hint at future developments and create an atmosphere of anticipation. Drop subtle clues or suggestions about what’s to come, leaving readers eager to see how these hints will play out.

Use the setting and conflicts between the investigators and/or the suspects to build further tension.

Another way to prevent readers from getting bored is to include emotionally charged scenes that resonate. These scenes can involve personal revelations, confrontations, or high-stakes confrontations with suspects or adversaries.

Step 11: Write a Satisfying Resolution

This is the culmination of your mystery story, where the central mystery is solved, loose ends are tied up, and the reader experiences a sense of closure and fulfillment.

The resolution should unveil the truth behind the mystery in a gradual and logical manner. Avoid a sudden, last-minute revelation that feels contrived. Instead, let the protagonist piece together the final clues and deductions.

A good way is to orchestrate a confrontation between the protagonist and the culprit or key players involved in the mystery. This showdown can be emotionally charged and provide the outstanding answers.

Ensure that the resolution is plausible and consistent with the clues and information provided throughout the story. Readers should be able to look back and see how the solution was seeded throughout the narrative.

The resolution should explain why the crime or event occurred, who was responsible, and how it was carried out. Provide a clear understanding of the “whys” and “hows.”

Show the impact of the resolution on the characters, particularly the protagonist. Allow them to experience growth, closure, or transformation as a result of solving the mystery. Address any personal stakes introduced earlier in the story.

If your story has a theme, use the resolution to reflect and reinforce it. The resolution can offer insights or lessons related to justice, morality, or the human condition.

Step 12: Revise Your Story

Read through your story to examine it for plot holes, inconsistencies, contrived plot points, character depth, inappropriate pacing, and the incorrect placement and effectiveness of clues and red herrings.

You should ideally hand copies to friends, relatives, and beta readers who enjoy mystery fiction. Readers who read regularly in this genre will be able to help you identify tropes, clues, and investigative details to improve.

Based on these insights, revise your story until it is ready for professional review.

8 Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Mystery Writing

Even the most experienced mystery writers employ editors to delete their cliches, close their plot holes, and fix their logical inconsistencies. There are certain traps that beckon all mystery writers, so it’s important to be aware of them if you want to write a mystery story that is polished and professional.

Here are some common pitfalls to avoid in mystery writing:

1. Too Easy to Solve

One of the biggest pitfalls that mystery writers can make is making the mystery too easy to solve. If the reader can figure out the solution to the mystery too early on, they will be bored and disappointed.

To avoid this pitfall, make sure that you plant enough clues throughout your story, but don’t make it too easy for the reader to figure out the solution. Use red herrings to misdirect the reader and keep them guessing until the very end.

2. Too Difficult to Solve

While mysteries often involve intricate plots, avoid making them overly convoluted or completely impossible to solve. If the reader can’t figure out at least potential solutions to the mystery, they will be frustrated and confused.

To get around this pitfall, make sure that you give the reader enough information to solve the mystery, but without giving everything away. Leave some of the clues up to the reader to interpret.

3. Too Few Potential Suspects

Readers of mystery stories know that the main villain is usually someone who seems likeable and is a good friend of the protagonist. So, if you have only one or two such characters in your story, it will be far too easy for readers to identify the villain.

Accordingly, make sure that there are enough suspects who are basically likeable, at least until seventy percent through the story.

4. Predictable Ending

A mystery with a predictable ending can be disappointing. Strive for a resolution that surprises and satisfies readers, even if they’ve made some correct guesses along the way.

In other words, even if readers can predict the villain, make sure that the motivations for their crimes or the details of how they committed them are surprising.

5. A Deus Ex Machina Ending

A Deus Ex Machina ending is an ending that is resolved by a sudden, unlikely, or unexplained event that is not foreshadowed or explained in the story. It can make the ending feel unsatisfying, unrealistic, and like a cheat.

You can avoid this by making sure that your ending stems from something that has gone before in the story. You should write the story in such a way that the reader has all the information they need to understand the solution to the mystery.

6. Overuse of Coincidences

Coincidences can sometimes be useful, but not if your protagonist coincidentally stumbles onto most of the clues they need to solve the mystery. Your readers want to believe that the mystery is resolved through your protagonist’s efforts and intelligence.

Consequently, try to minimize coincidences or, if necessary, provide a plausible explanation for them.

7. Neglecting Character Development

Well-developed characters are essential in any genre, but they’re especially important in mysteries. Avoid creating one-dimensional characters solely driven by the plot. Readers should care about what happens to them.

Formulate backstories, motivations, and personalities for the more important characters.

8. Too Many Red Herrings

While red herrings can add intrigue, using too many can overwhelm readers and make the story feel contrived.

Make sure each red herring serves a purpose in the narrative. It has to lead to a potential suspect or a direction for the investigation.

Literary Genre Quiz (Hard)

Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, we will answer some of the most common questions about the definition and characteristics of mystery stories.

What Defines a Mystery Story?

A mystery story is a narrative that revolves around an enigma, puzzle, or unresolved question, typically involving a crime or unusual event. It engages readers by presenting a central mystery that propels the plot, characters, and readers on a quest for answers, often leading to a successful investigation and resolution of the mysterious event.

What Are the Elements of a Mystery Story?

A mystery story has a central puzzle that needs to be solved, a protagonist who is trying to solve it, clues that are scattered throughout the story, red herrings that mislead the reader, often a climax in which the protagonist and antagonist confront each other, and a resolution in which the mystery is solved.

What Are Popular Mystery Story Examples?

Popular mystery story examples include iconic works like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, featuring the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes and his loyal friend Dr. Watson solving complex cases; Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple series, renowned for their intricate plots and memorable characters; Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon,” in which a hard-boiled private detective solves a case involving a priceless statue, greed, and murder; and modern mysteries like Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl,” celebrated for its psychological twists and unreliable narrators.

Final Thoughts

To write a good mystery story, remember that a compelling central mystery is at the heart of it all. Engage your readers with a tantalizing puzzle that invites them to participate in the unraveling. Develop characters that feel real, with motives that drive their actions and reactions. Master the art of suspense, using carefully placed clues, red herrings, and plot twists to keep your audience guessing.

But above all, never forget that crafting a good mystery is not just about the destination but the journey itself. Embrace the challenge, let your creativity flow, and may your stories be the kind that readers can’t put down!

Yves Lummer

As the founder of BookBird, Yves Lummer has pioneered a thriving community for authors, leading more than 100,000 of them towards their dreams of self-publishing. His expertise in book marketing has become a catalyst for multiple best-sellers, establishing his reputation as an influential figure in the publishing world.

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How to Write a Mystery

On this page, you'll find a detailed guide to how to write a mystery, along with tips to make your mystery stand out!  You can use the menu below to jump to the topics that interest you.

What is a mystery story? Step 1: Come up with an idea. Step 2: Plan a crime. Step 3: Develop your sleuth. Step 4: Decide on a setting. Step 5: Lay a trail of clues. Step 6: Come up with your suspects. Step 7: Invent some red herrings. Step 8: Plan the investigation. Step 9: Figure out your ending. Step 10: Map out your plot. Step 11: Start writing! Step 12: Fact-check and revise. More tips on how to write a mystery.

How to Write a Mystery - What's a Mystery?

Mysteries are an example of what is called "genre fiction." A genre is a category of commercial fiction which follows certain traditions. You can think of these traditions as "rules of the game". You don't always have to follow these rules exactly. You can decide to bend, or even break them. But it's important to know what the rules are, so that you understand what readers -- and agents, and editors -- will be expecting from your story.

Most mystery stories involve a sleuth trying to figure out who committed a crime, normally murder. This might be a professional sleuth (for example, a police detective) or an amateur who decides to investigate the murder (for example, because the victim was close to them, or because they themselves are a suspect, or just as a hobby!).

The answer to the question "Whodunit?" is normally revealed at the end of the story. In the meantime, the reader's curiosity grows as they consider clues the sleuth is uncovering.

Many mysteries are set up as a kind of game where the reader tries to figure out the solution before the sleuth does.

This gamelike aspect of mysteries can make them especially fun to read -- and to write!

There are many kinds of mystery stories, including:

• Cozy mysteries, which tend to avoid explicit sex and violence.
• Hardboiled, which often feature a cynical sleuth and show the dark side of human nature.
• Police procedurals, which give an inside look at the methods used by police to solve a crime.
• Paranormal mysteries.
• Historical mysteries.
• And others.

There's no right or wrong approach to how to write a mystery, but here's a process you can try.

1. Come up with an idea.

Here are some ways to get ideas for your mystery story:

- Start with real-life crime. Read the news, research crimes that actually happened, and then imagine a story around them.

- Start with real people. Think of someone you know and imagine what might cause them to commit murder. Maybe you've even fantasized about killing someone yourself. You can use this as the idea for a novel. The mystery writer Sue Grafton says that her first novel began with fantasies about murdering her ex-husband. She imagined how she might go about doing it and a classic mystery series was born.

- Start with a fictional character. Use [this profiling questionnaire to create a character], and then imagine a situation in which they would be driven to murder.

- You can also find mystery writing prompts here .

2. Plan a crime.

When you plan a mystery, you're really planning two stories...

• The story of the investigation, which is the story the reader sees.
• And the story of the crime, which is background to the main story.

You might find it easier to start by figuring out the story of the crime...

• Who did it, and why?
• How did the criminal try to cover their tracks?
• Did they make any mistakes?
• What evidence did they leave behind?
• Were there any witnesses?
• Who saw or heard something that might help your sleuth uncover the truth?

Enter your email below to get our free Crime Scene Worksheet.

3. Develop your sleuth.

Once you have a crime, you need a character to investigate it, your sleuth. The sleuth might be a professional (e.g., a police detective), or they might be an amateur.

If you have an amateur sleuth, you're going to have to give them a reason to investigate the murder. Maybe the victim was someone they knew, or maybe they stumbled on a dead body and then took an interest in the case. Or maybe they're someone who investigates murders as a hobby.

Whatever their reasons, you're going to want to create an interesting character that readers will care about.

You can use this profiling questionnaire to develop your sleuth. PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE: YOUR SLEUTH

- What is your sleuth's name? - How old are they? - What do they look like? - Where do they live? - What’s their relationship status? Do they have children? - What is their profession? - What are their hobbies? - What are some of their personality traits? - How will they get involved with the investigation of the crime? - In what ways might the investigation affect them personally? - What strengths do they have that might help them solve the case? - What weaknesses do they have that might make it harder for them to solve the case?

Enter your email to get a similar questionnaire for your murder victim.

4. Decide on a setting.

Apart from a crime and a sleuth, your story needs a setting. Where will it take place? Will it be set in the present, or during a historical time period? In many mysteries, the setting adds a lot of color and interest to the story. Part of the pleasure of reading these stories is that the reader gets to travel in their imagination to places such as Venice (in Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti series) or 1920s India (in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry series). You might decide to set your mystery in a place that you already know well. That will require a lot less research. Even if the place where you live doesn't seem exotic to you, you probably know lots of insider details that would be interesting to outsiders. Or, you might choose a story setting that you would enjoy learning about. Writing the story can be a chance for YOU to take an imaginary vacation in an exotic location. Another way to add color to your mystery, and to get story ideas, is to draw on a hobby or area of expertise you might have. Examples:

• Jonathan Kellerman, a psychologist, writes a mystery series starring a child psychologist.
• Scott Turow, a lawyer, writes legal mysteries.
• Eileen Brady, a veterinarian, writes about a sleuth who's a veterinarian.
• Donna Leon, an opera lover, wrote about a murder in an opera house.
• Deb Baker writes a mystery series about doll collecting.
• Josi S. Kilpack writes mysteries about baking.
• Terri Thayer writes mysteries about quilting.

You can find a whole list of hobby-themed mystery series here .

5. Lay a trail of clues.

Mystery stories are generally constructed like puzzles.

The sleuth pieces together clues to figure out the solution. Meanwhile, the reader, watching over the sleuth's shoulder, is trying to do the same thing.

Go back to the crime you mapped out earlier in this process. What mistakes did the murderer make? What evidence did they leave behind?

Is there something about the victim, the timing, or the way the killing was carried out that points to the murderer?

Make a list of possible clues. Then, try to identify the crucial clue that will ultimately allow the sleuth (and a clever reader) to figure out whodunit.

6. Come up with your suspects.

Most mysteries include a number of suspects who look like they might have committed the crime. Part of the fun for the reader is trying to guess which one of them's the actual murderer.

Come up with a list of possible suspects for your story. A good starting point is to think about the murder victim -- who might have had a motive to kill them? Who had the opportunity?

You can add interest by making one of the suspects someone connected to your sleuth -- or someone your sleuth could fall in love with during the story.

7. Invent some red herrings.

A "red herring" is a false clue which points in the wrong direction. To make the mystery more difficult for your sleuth, and the reader, to solve, you'll want to mix some false clues in with the real ones.

Look at your list of suspects. What clues could you plant that point to each of them?

Add some red herrings to the list of clues you made in Step 6 above.

8. Plan the investigation.

Figure out how the sleuth will get drawn into the investigation. If they're a police detective, it might be assigned to them. If they're a private investigator, they might be hired for a case.

What information will they have at the outset? And what will they do next?

Make a list of preliminary steps the sleuth will take. These might involve:

• visiting the crime scene
• reading police files, autopsy reports, etc.
• trying to learn about the victim, especially probing into who might have had a motive to kill them. This may involve interviewing people close to the victim, visiting the victim's home, searching through the victim's possessions, etc.
• interviewing suspects and witnesses.

Go back to the list of clues and red herrings you made in Steps 6 and 7 above. Think about how the sleuth might discover or hear about each of them.

9: Figure out your ending.

When planning a mystery story plot, it can help to figure out the ending first. What will happen that causes the puzzle pieces to fall in place?

Will your sleuth discover a decisive clue that reveals who the murderer is? Will something happen that makes your sleuth rethink an earlier clue and suddenly understand whodunit? Will the murderer come after your sleuth in a final confrontation?

Once you know the ending, you can start mapping a story path to get there.

10: Map your plot.

Because of the complexity of a mystery story, it can help to make some kind of outline.

This can be as simple as a list of scenes in the order that they will happen. For example:

• Tom hires Maria to investigate James's death
• Maria visits the Lees' home (discovers photo of James with Paul)
• Maria interviews Paul (learns about James's gambling debts)

You can use the outline as a guide, but you're never locked into it. Once you start writing, be open to new ideas that don't fit your outline. You can change the outline at any point.

Reading lots of mysteries will give you ideas for how to organize your story.

There's no formula you have to follow, but many mystery stories follow this general structure:

• First, the sleuth gets drawn into a murder investigation.
• In the next part of the story, the sleuth interviews witnesses and suspects, uncovering clues.
• Partway through the story, something happens to raise the stakes and increase the excitement. For example, another body might be found. Or the sleuth might get threatening notes, warning her off the case.
• Then the story speeds up as puzzle pieces start to fall into place.
• The action might build to a climactic face-to-face confrontation between the sleuth and the murderer where the sleuth's life is in danger.
• At the end, the murderer is brought to justice (or not), and any loose threads are tied up.

11: Start writing!

Choose a scene from your outline, imagine it from your main character's (normally, your sleuth's) perspective, and then write what you imagine. Then continue imagining and writing from there.

• You don't have to write the story in order. You can start by writing the ending, and then go back and write earlier scenes.
• During your rough draft, try not to worry about how you write. You'll fix the style and language later, during the revision. The rough draft is for imagining the story and capturing your ideas on the page.

12: Fact-check and revise.

If your readers notice any factual mistakes, that will distract them from your story. So, at some point, you'll want to double-check that you've gotten everything right in terms of police procedures, forensic details, ballistics, etc.

This kind of fact-checking is often easier to do after you've written a draft and know exactly what information you need. Then you might even try to contact relevant experts, such as police officers, and ask them your questions.

Apart from checking facts, you'll want to check your story for plot holes and inconsistencies.

Then, read it through, ideally in one or two sittings, to check for flow or pacing: are there any places where the storytelling feels dull or slow? Are there any places where you want to slow it down to add suspense?

Eventually, you'll ideally want to find a test reader. It's important that this is someone who regularly reads mysteries and is a fan of the genre. Ask this test reader to call you when they're HALFWAY through the manuscript. During that conversation ask them what they think will be the ending of the book (but don't let them know if they're right). This will give you information about whether the solution of your mystery is too obvious. It might also give you ideas for false trails you can plant. Ask the test reader to call you again when they've finished the manuscript. Then you can find out what they thought of the ending -- if it made sense to them, or if they were left with questions.

Revise to fix any story problems, and then do a final edit to smooth out the language.

More Tips on How to Write a Mystery

Here are some additional tips on how to write a mystery.

- Start your story right in the action. For example, many mysteries begin with the discovery of a dead body. Or, if your sleuth is a private investigator, it might begin with the meeting where they are hired to solve the mystery.

- Develop the character of your sleuth so that they feel three-dimensional and real. The profiling questions above can help with this. If readers care about your sleuth, they will feel much more involved in your story.

- Create a three-dimensional world. A mystery may be a kind of puzzle, but it's more than a brain-teaser. Give your characters lives that extend beyond the investigation. Use descriptive details to make your setting feel real.

- Give your sleuth some skin in the game . Solving the mystery needs to matter to them so that it will matter to the reader. Maybe they have a personal relationship to the victim. If your sleuth's a professional, their career might depend on solving this particular case. Maybe your sleuth's husband is a suspect and they have to clear his name (but are increasingly concerned that he might be guilty!). Your sleuth might have a reason to believe they themselves could be the next victim. (Feel free to borrow any of these ideas for your story).

- Make it exciting. You can keep the reader turning pages by using suspense-writing techniques, such as foreshadowing (when you hint at what's coming) and cliffhangers (when you end a scene or chapter at a suspenseful moment, and the reader has to wait to find out what happens next).

Our 8-week course  on how to write a mystery will take you step by step through the process of planning your story.

How to Write a Mystery - Further Resources

Browse mystery-writing prompts .

Learn techniques for adding suspense to your mystery .

Join our 8-week course   on how to write a mystery.

Get advice on how to write a mystery novel outline .

Also, be sure to join our email group to get more writing tips and ideas !

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How to Write a Mystery Story

Last Updated: May 17, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Lucy V. Hay . Lucy V. Hay is a Professional Writer based in London, England. With over 20 years of industry experience, Lucy is an author, script editor, and award-winning blogger who helps other writers through writing workshops, courses, and her blog Bang2Write. Lucy is the producer of two British thrillers, and Bang2Write has appeared in the Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life and is a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK. She received a B.A. in Scriptwriting for Film & Television from Bournemouth University. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 573,976 times.

A good mystery story will have fascinating characters, exciting suspense, and a puzzle that keeps you turning the pages. But it can be difficult to write an engaging mystery story, especially if you have never tried to before. With the right preparation, brainstorming, and outlining, you can create a page-turning mystery of your own.

Preparing to Write

• When it comes to mystery, one of the key elements is tension and making the story compelling from the very beginning. [1] X Research source
• In mystery stories, your reader does not know who committed the murder until the end of the novel. Mysteries are centered on the intellectual exercise of trying to figure out the motivations behind the crime, or the puzzle.
• Mysteries tend to be written in the first person, while thrillers are often written in the third person and from multiple points of view. In mystery stories, there is usually a slower pace as the hero/detective/main character tries to solve the crime. There are also limited action sequences in mysteries than in thrillers.
• Because mysteries are often slower paced, the characters are usually more in-depth and well rounded in a mystery story than in a thriller.

• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. The 19th-century mystery novel was originally written in serial form, so the story moves forward in measured steps. Much of what became standard in crime fiction was done by Collins in this novel, so it is an engaging and instructive introduction to the genre.
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Chandler is one of the genre’s greatest writers, creating engaging stories about the trials and tribulations of private detective Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is a tough, cynical, but honest P.I. who becomes entangled in a plot with a General, his daughter, and a blackmailing photographer. Chandler’s work is known for its sharp dialogue, great pacing, and riveting hero, Marlowe. [3] X Research source
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of the genre’s most famous detectives, along with his equally famous sleuthing partner Watson, solves a series of mysteries and crimes in this collection of stories. Holmes and Watson inject their unique character traits into the stories along the way. [4] X Research source
• NANCY DREW by Carolyn Keene. The whole series is situated in the United States.Nancy Drew is a detective. Her close friends Helen Corning, Bess Marvin and George Fayne appear in some mysteries. Nancy is Carson Drew's daughter. Carson Drew is the most famous lawyer in River Heights, where they live.
• "Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon.This is similar to Nancy Drew.It is about two brothers: Frank and Joe Hardy, who are talented detectives.They are the sons of a very famous detective, and they sometimes help in his cases.
• A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne. This recent mystery novel is set in 1970s suburban Washington. It centers on the “crime” in the neighborhood, the murder of a young boy. Berne intersperses a coming of age story with the mystery of the death of the young boy in bland, boring suburbia, but manages to make the story anything but bland or boring. [5] X Research source

• For example, in The Big Sleep , Chandler’s first-person narrator describes himself through his clothing on the first page: “I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with the dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be."
• With these opening sentences, Chandler makes the narrator distinct through his way of describing himself, his outfit, and his job (private detective).

• For example, in the second paragraph of the first page of The Big Sleep , Marlowe places the reader in the time and setting: “The main hallway of the Sternwood place was two stories high.”
• The reader now knows Marlowe is in front of the home of the Sternwoods and it is a larger home, possibly wealthy.

• In The Big Sleep , Marlowe is hired by General Sternwood to “take care” of a photographer who has been blackmailing the General with scandalous pictures of the General’s daughter.

• In The Big Sleep , Chandler complicates Marlowe’s pursuit of the photographer by having the photographer killed in the early chapters, followed by the suspicious suicide of the General’s chauffeur. So Chandler sets up the story with two crimes that Marlowe has to solve.

• The resolution of the mystery should feel surprising to your reader, without confusing them. One of the benefits of a mystery is that you can pace the story so the solution unfolds gradually, rather than in a rushed or hurried manner.

Developing Your Main Character and Outlining the Story

• Body size and shape, hair and eye color, and any other physical characteristics. For example, you may have a short female main character with dark hair, glasses, and green eyes. Or you may want a more typical detective character: tall with slicked-back hair and a five o’clock shadow.
• Clothing and dress. Your character’s clothing will not only create a more detailed image for your reader, it can also indicate what time period your story is set in. For example, if your main character wears heavy armor and a helmet with a crest, your reader will realize your story is set in medieval times. If your character wears a hoodie, jeans, and a backpack, this will tip off your readers that the story is likely set in modern times.
• What makes your main character unique. It’s important to create a main character who stands out to your reader and feels engaging enough to sustain many pages in a story or novel. Consider what your character likes and dislikes. Maybe your female sleuth is shy and awkward at parties, and has a secret love of reptiles. Or perhaps your detective is a complete klutz and doesn’t consider himself a strong or smart person. Focus on details that will help to create a unique main character and don’t be afraid to draw on details from your own life or your own preferences and tastes. [7] X Research source
• What matters most is that your main character has a burning question or burning need to solve the mystery.

• If you decide to set your story in a time period or location you are unfamiliar with, conduct research on the time period or location through your local library, online sources, or interviews with experts in a certain time period or location. Be specific with your research and during your interviews to ensure you get all the details of a setting or time period right.

• An item is stolen from your main character or someone close to the main character.
• A person close to the main character disappears.
• The main character receives threatening or disturbing notes.
• The main character witnesses a crime.
• The main character is asked to help solve a crime.
• The main character stumbles upon a mystery.
• You can also combine several of these scenarios to create a more layered mystery. For example, an item may be stolen from your main character, a person close to the main character disappears, and then the main character witnesses a crime she is later asked to help solve.

• Create a list of possible suspects your main character may encounter throughout the story. You can use several suspects to point the detective and/or the reader in the wrong direction to build suspense and surprise. [8] X Research source
• Write a list of clues. Red herrings are clues that are false or misleading. Your story will be stronger if you include several red herring clues in the story. For example, your main character may find a clue that points to one suspect, but it is later revealed the clue is actually tied to a different suspect. Or your detective may find a clue without realizing it is the key to unlocking the entire mystery. [9] X Research source
• Red herrings are all about saying "follow this thread" when the "thread" in question is completely wrong. A good writer can put something in the way that stops readers from realizing what's going on.

• The main character is investigating a possible lead alone and encounters the murderer or killer.
• The main character begins to doubt his/her abilities and lets his/her guard down, allowing the murderer to kill again.
• No one believes the main character and he/she ends up trying to solve the crime alone,and he/she ends up getting kidnapped.
• The main character is injured and trapped in a dangerous place.
• The main character is going to lose an important clue if he/she can’t get out of a certain location or situation.

Find continuous ways to engage the reader. "I end each chapter with a cliffhanger, resolution, a turn, a reveal, a new wrinkle ... something that will make you want to read the next chapter of that character."

• The main character saves someone close to them, or an innocent person wrapped up in the mystery.
• The main character saves himself/herself and is changed by his/her courage or smarts.
• The main character exposes a bad character or organization.
• The main character exposes the murderer or person responsible for the crime.

• Introduction of main character and setting.
• The inciting incident, or the crime.
• The call to adventure: The main character gets involved in solving the crime.
• Tests and trials: The main character finds clues, encounters potential suspects, and tries to stay alive as he/she pursues the truth. Close ones might be kidnapped as a threat
• Ordeal: The main character thinks he/she has found a key clue or suspect and believes he/she has solved the crime. This is a false resolution, and is a good way to surprise your reader when it turns out the main character got it wrong.
• Major setback: All seems lost for the main character. He/She found the wrong suspect or clue, someone else is killed or harmed, and all his/her allies have abandoned him/her. A major setback will amp up the tension in the story and keep the reader guessing.
• The reveal: The main character gathers all interested parties together, lays out the clues, explains the false leads, and reveals who the murderer or guilty person is.

Writing the Story

• Think what your main character might see in a certain setting. For example, if your character lives in a home much like yours in a small town, you may describe his/her bedroom or his/her walk to school. If you are using a specific historical setting, like 70s California, you may describe your character standing on a street corner and looking at the unique architecture or the cars that drive by.
• Consider what your main character might hear in a certain setting. Your sleuth may listen to the birds chirping and the sprinklers on the lawns on the way to school. Or your detective may hear the roaring of cars or the crashing of ocean waves.
• Describe what your main character might smell in a certain setting. Your main character might wake up to the smell of coffee being made in the kitchen by his/her parents. Or your detective may be hit with the smell of the city: rotting garbage and body odor.
• Describe what your character might feel. This could be a light breeze, a sharp pain, a sudden jolt, or a shiver down his/her spine. Focus on how your character’s body might react to a feeling.
• Think about what your character might taste. Your main character may still taste the cereal she had for breakfast in his/her mouth, or the drink from the night before.

• Think about being concise with your language and description. Most readers continue reading a good mystery because they are invested in the main character and want to see his/her succeed. Be brief but specific when describing the main character and his/her perspective on the world.
• For example, Chandler’s The Big Sleep starts by situating the reader in a setting and gives the reader a sense of the main character’s perspective on the world. “It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.”
• With this beginning, the story starts in action, with a specific time, date, and description of the setting. It then presents the main character’s physical description and job title. The section ends with the main character’s motivation: four million dollars. In three lines, Chandler has covered many of the essential details of the character, the setting, and the story.

• Think about how you would react in a situation if you were angry or scared. Have your character react in ways that communicate angry or scared, without telling the reader about the character’s emotions. For example, rather than “Stephanie was angry,” you could write: “Stephanie slammed his/her water glass down on the table so hard his/her dinner plate rattled. She glared at him, and started ripping the thin, white napkin into shreds with his/her fingers.”
• Showing, rather than telling also works well for descriptions of setting. For example, in The Big Sleep , rather than tell the reader the Sternwoods were wealthy, Chandler describes the luxurious details of the estate: “There were French doors at the back of the hall, beyond them a wide sweep of emerald grass to a white garage, in front of which a slim dark young chauffeur in shiny black leggings was dusting a maroon Packard convertible. Beyond the garage were some decorative trees trimmed as carefully as poodle dogs. Beyond them a large greenhouse with a domed roof. Then more trees and beyond everything the solid, uneven, comfortable line of the foothills.”

• Plot. Ensure your story sticks to the outline and has a clear beginning, middle, and an ending. You should also confirm your main character shifts or changes at the end of the story.
• Characters. Are your characters, including your main character, distinct and unique? Do all the characters sound and act the same or are they different from each other? Do your characters feel original and engaging?
• Pacing. Pacing is how fast or how slow the action moves in the story. Good pacing will feel invisible to the reader. If the story feels like it is moving too fast, make the scenes longer to draw out the emotions of the characters. If it feels like the story gets bogged down or confusing, shorten the scenes to only include essential information. A good rule of thumb is to always end a scene earlier than you might think or want. This will keep the tension from scene to scene from dropping and keep the pace of the story moving.
• The twist. The twist can either make or break a good mystery story. This is completely optional, but many of the best stories have a twist at the end. Make sure that a twist is not too "cheesy". The more unique a twist is, the easier it is to write. When writing an overused twist, such as "then they woke up", you'll need to be a very good writer to make it sound good. A good twist not only fools the audience, but fools the character(s) too. Consider hinting towards the twist during action scenes, so that when the reader looks back on the story, they'll wonder how they missed it. Try not to make the twist evident too early on.

Mystery Story Help

Community Q&A

Things You'll Need

• Paper and pen and/or a computer with a word processor (like Word)
• Mystery books/stories
• An idea/plot for the story

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/7-tips-writing-great-mystery-suspense-novels
• ↑ http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/59582-the-10-best-mystery-books.html
• ↑ http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/bigsleep/summary.html
• ↑ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm
• ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/07/20/reviews/970720.20careyt.html
• ↑ http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2013/10/how-to-write-murder-mystery.html
• ↑ http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-mystery.html
• ↑ http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2014/03/how-to-write-murderously-good-mystery.html
• ↑ http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-fiction.html
• ↑ http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2013/10/how-to-write-murder-mystery-part-two.html

About This Article

Before you write your mystery story you’ll want to create some characters and outline the plot. You might make your main character a detective or just a curious citizen who witnessed a crime. Once you have characters, choose a setting and a mystery such as a murder or a robbery of a precious artwork. If you want to make your story dramatic, add in cliffhangers and red herrings, or clues that lead to dead ends. When you’re ready to write your story, scroll down for tips from our Creative Writing reviewer on creating a well-paced and exciting narrative. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to write mystery: 6 ways to create suspense

Learning how to write mystery is easy when you understand the ingredients of mystery and suspense. Every good story has unknowns readers want answered, yet a good mystery makes us need to know. Here are 6 ways to create suspense and build mystery:

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Learning how to write mystery is easy when you understand the ingredients of mystery and suspense. Every good story has unknowns readers want answered, yet a good mystery makes us need to know. Here are 6 ways to create suspense and build mystery:

First, what are mystery and suspense?

‘Mystery’ itself has many meanings. As a literary genre, a mystery is ‘A novel, play, or film dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder’ ( Oxford English Dictionary ).

Mystery, more generally, means ‘secrecy or obscurity’ and ‘A person or thing whose identity or nature is puzzling or unknown’ ( OED ).

Thus while a classic murder mystery like an Agatha Christie novel involves the puzzling nature of solving crimes, any book may have elements of the puzzling and unknown.

In a fantasy novel, for example, a villain’s real identity (or the scope of their power) may be a mystery at first. In a romance novel, the identity of a mysterious, desirable stranger may be the central mystery to begin.

These unknowns, and how a story circles around these mysteries , create suspense . Suspense is ‘a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen’. This is an integral part of all storytelling. Suspense gives the question we ask most often as readers: What will happen next?

To create mysterious suspense, you may:

1. Conceal a character’s true identity

Fiction (and not only the mystery genre) is full of characters whose true identities are unknown.

The unknown, criminal perpetrator is one of the most obvious types of concealed identity. Yet concealment isn’t only reserved for criminals. In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations , for example, a mystery benefactor leaves Pip, the protagonist, a small fortune, changing his life completely.

Dickens sets us up to believe that the benefactor is the wealthy Miss Havisham, but we later discover the real benefactor was another, more unsavoury character.

In this case, Dickens conceals the doer of a non-criminal deed, and the revelation makes us reconsider everything we (and Pip) assume about why  he was given his fortune.

Another classic example of suspenseful concealed identity involves gender identity. In Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night , the protagonist Viola is separated from her twin brother Sebastian in a shipwreck on the coast of Illyria. She disguises herself as a man named ‘Cesario’ in order to serve a local Duke while seeking her brother.

This concealment creates suspense , as the audience wonders when Viola’s actual sex will be found out and her gender performance unmasked. A love triangle between the character, the Duke (whom Viola/Cesario falls in love with) and the woman the Duke himself loves (Olivia) complicates this narrative tension further.

Here, suspense is created by the audience knowing something about a character other characters don’t. 

To create suspense by concealing identity you can thus:

• Hide the identity behind an act: Whether a murderer or a generous giver (as in the Dickens’ example)
• Have a character don a disguise or role to achieve their goals: The gap between the reader’s knowledge of the truth and other characters’ awareness of it creates suspense

[ Brainstorm characters and plot events using the step-by-step prompts in the Now Novel dashboard.]

2. Create chains of small revelations

Learning how to write mystery means learning to ‘drip out’ suspense. Drop small revelations like a trail of crumbs for readers. The murderer leaves a footprint and we know their shoe size, the pattern of their treads.

These small ‘giveaways’ are useful because you can milk them for further suspense and mystery. For example, perhaps the pattern of treads in a footprint suggest the wearer has unusually small feet for a male.

This could lead the detective to be distracted all the time by the size of suspects’ feet. Prior revelations load further action and encounters with meaning and possible significance.

This approach to creating plot points – planting information like puzzle pieces – is key to creating suspense. As you create incidents that reveal just a little, ask ‘why?’ Why is this revelation useful or important?

When your mystery is a character’s identity, revelations may include:

• Physical remainders: What careless personal effects or trail (footprints, fingerprints, paperwork) does the character leave behind?
• Giveaway behavioural patterns: For example, a killer who is a scout leader might tie elaborate knots and leave other signs of specialist knowledge
• Tip-offs and rumours: In mystery, there’s always a character who knows more than they’re letting on. Even in books like J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, we find out characters have more knowledge than we assumed, later in the story

Think of chains of revelation and how they stack up. To take the footprint example above, a sequence could be:

• Detective notices size of the print: Narrows down possible suspects
• They notice details of the tread: Maybe it reveals a specific brand or style of shoe, giving something to look for
• Errors behind assumptions: For example, perhaps the tread belongs to a witness who fled the scene

3. Sidetrack your sleuths

No discussion of how to write mystery is complete without the ‘red herring’ . A ‘red herring’ is an item of information that leads a character (and the reader) to false conclusions. It’s an object or action that we might perceive to have major significance initially. Yet later it turns out to have led us to false assumptions or suspicions. Solving a mystery depends on following signs and associations, and signs can point your reader down dead ends.

For example, a suspect may have a particular item in their possession belonging to a murder victim. This makes them appear more suspicious by association. Yet there could be an innocent reason why they possess said object.

You can sidetrack your sleuth (investigators and readers) and create suspense by:

• Giving events misleading significance: A flashlight blinking on and off in a window at the same time every night might seem ominous at first. Yet we discover it’s two teens way to signal to each other to get on a Skype call to discuss a friend’s disappearance
• Showing false assumptions: In a mystery romance, for example, a romantic lead could mistake a would-be lover’s close friend for a romantic rival. The reader wonders how this false assumption will play out
• Creating sidetracking subplots : While investigating a crime, a detective may be roped into dealing with townspeople’s other personal problems. These may indirectly furnish further details helpful to solving the case, while also sidetracking and distracting

Once you have established the main unknown (e.g. a character’s disappearance), each little event or action may be loaded with meaning. From flashlights at night to sightings of strangers acting suspiciously near the scene of a crime, anything may provoke further uncertainty.

4. Show intriguing actions without immediate explanation

‘Show, don’t tell’ is often abused advice . Explanatory exposition is sometimes necessary and effective. Yet in mystery showing is vital.

When you show unusual or odd actions without explaining their significance to the reader immediately, you make your reader wonder why. Why this specific scene/action? What does it tell me?

Take, for example, the reboot of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s cult murder mystery TV show, Twin Peaks .

Near the start of the season, the viewer sees the local therapist Dr Lawrence Jacoby spray-painting shovels gold. The action is a little creepy and we wonder what this gesture means . In the context of a murder mystery, we might associate shovels themselves with suspicious activity (such as digging a hiding place or grave).

It turns out Jacoby is a conspiracy theorist who drums up fear about government and pharmaceutical companies on his regular podcast. He also sells his golden shovels to his followers, via an infomercial where he stands in mud holding one, telling viewers to buy a golden shovel so they can ‘dig’ themselves ‘out of the shit’. The build-up of the strange ritual of spray-painting shovels turns out to lead to absurd humour poking fun at hokey advertising.

Even though strange actions don’t lead to a revelation relevant to the show’s biggest mysteries, the writers milk a simple, strange action for great narrative suspense.

The example above shows the power of delaying explanation, sometimes. Remember to trust in your reader’s patience and imaginative ability to supply their own interpretation of events until you reveal the ‘real’ meaning.

5. Build suspense through sentence and scene construction

We could discuss how to write mystery purely in terms of genre and literary terms and devices. Yet how we use language itself is also key to creating suspense .

For example, putting the ‘a-ha’ moment of a sentence in the final clause makes the sentence build to this revelation. For example:

‘It was unusual (though there were one or two brands that used a similar design), and if it were not for the manufacturer’s logo (the letters barely legible) imprinted in the hardening mud just outside a back window, the detective may have had no idea what shoe type had left the footprint. But she knew exactly the type (gumboots, Another Day brand), and even the location of the supplier’s factory outlet – just a mile out of town. She could get there before closing if she hurried.’

If we read over the sentence and examine its structure, we see how it piles on questions before answering some. Each clause creates questions: A) What was unusual? B) There were several brands of what ? C) Why is the manufacturer’s logo important? Only by the time we get to ‘this particular print’ is it clear a character is trying to find further leads from a footprint.

A caveat to using suspenseful sentence construction

Delaying revelation in sentence construction and scenes is a simple yet effective way to keep your reader guessing. Yet balance building sentences like the one above with shorter, simpler ones. If we make every sentence long and climactic, the effect starts to tire. Keep this technique for moments of high intrigue (such as a detective caught in complex pondering, in piecing together evidence).

Similarly, when developing a mysterious scene, delay major revelations for final paragraphs and sentences, so your reader has every reason to turn the page.

6. Use mysterious, suspenseful dialogue

Dialogue is a great device for creating implications , mysteries and inferences.

For example take this scene: A detective visits a local dive bar. The owner inclines their head slightly towards a man sitting drinking alone in the corner, saying, “You want to keep an eye on that one.”

This brief exchange creates immediate suspense and curiosity. Why is the lone drinker a person of interest? Are they mixed up in dubious dealings? Or are they simply a troublemaker who might interfere in investigations?

Keep characters’ motives in mind when writing dialogue to create suspense. Perhaps, for example, the proprietor of the bar has personal grievances to the lone man. Great mysteries show how difficult it is to find the truth. Because everyone has a view, an agenda, a public life, a private one.

Cryptic words or phrases also help make dialogue mysterious or suspenseful. Yet don’t overdo it by making every sentence so obscure that your reader is totally lost.

In Lynch and Frost’s reboot of Twin Peaks , for example, we see a drug addict sitting at a table shouting ‘ONE ONE NINE!’ hysterically over and over. Although this isn’t explained and given any context, observant viewers noticed this is the North American emergency number ‘911’ backwards. Speaking backwards, in the world of Twin Peaks, is associated with paranormal portal-like locations called ‘lodges’ through which destructive spirits can enter our world. Thus these simple but mysterious shouts could indicate paranormal activity, or simply the character’s drug-induced ravings. Giving dialogue ‘double’ and elusive meaning at times makes it suspenseful and open to interpretation.

Need help developing suspense and mystery in your story? Join Now Novel for constructive feedback from the community or your own writing coach.

Related Posts:

• Writing a cozy mystery: 10 feel-good suspense tips
• Suspense in books: 6 ways to grow anticipation
• How to write suspense like The Hunger Games

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

7 replies on “How to write mystery: 6 ways to create suspense”

Excellent tips for most genre. I think mystery is the root of most stories and this is an excellent primmer for the everything from big-world-building science fiction to regency romance. Thanks for sharing.

It’s a pleasure, Elias, I’m glad you enjoyed reading this. You’re right – mystery is a key story ingredient in many genres besides mystery ‘proper’. Thanks for reading.

The writing style is amazing. I get great pleasure when I read and agree with what I read. I think mystery is the basis for most works. A huge number of people read books for this-they like mystery and mystery. Thanks for the great content.

Thank you for reading and for the kind feedback, Writer 🙂

Another amazing blog from Jordan. All you have shared in this article are useful that I can’t wait to apply these in real life.

Hi Patricia, thank you for reading our blog and for the feedback! I’m afraid I had to remove the blog link you shared as it said the target site was not secure.

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How to write a mystery that grips your readers.

By Sally-Anne Bedford

Discovering how to write a mystery novel needn’t be a mystery.

As a murder mystery and thriller writer myself, I have been hooked on mystery books ever since childhood when I read my first mystery novel, book one of The Secret Seven .

Tucked under the blankets in bed, I would turn the pages at a rate of knots to discover who the dastardly crook was that stole a precious violin, or worse still, their precious dog, Scamper. It wasn’t long until I had read all fifteen books; each story pulling me in and keeping me hooked until the young amateur sleuths reached their conclusions.

Over the years I graduated from Enid Blyton to other more grown-up mystery novels, realising that the basic rules for writing engaging mystery stories remained the same. Whether it’s Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, or Val McDermid, the secret has always been to keep mystery readers hooked until the final page.

In this article, I will be sharing tips and tricks on how to create your own mystery story, as we explore the genre and the best-selling crime fiction that’s captured the hearts and imaginations of mystery readers worldwide.

What Is A Mystery Novel?

In short, a mystery novel is a story that asks the question ‘who dunnit?’ and then spends the rest of the book answering that question, while introducing you to all kinds of characters and potential suspects.

If you love having the opportunity to solve a riddle, what could be better than to be taken on a literary adventure with the promise that by the end you will be in on the secret, as you try to work it out along the way.

Mystery Subgenres

There are several subgenres that come under Mystery, here are just some of them…

Cosy Mysteries

These stories are a gentler form of crime book. Often a body is found with no gory descriptions or details and when the murder is witnessed it is quick and sanitised. They usually feature an amateur detective (or detectives), a confined setting (often somewhere rural), and characters who know one another.

Examples: books by T L Huchu, Andrew Wilson, and Richard Osman.

Hard Boiled Crime/Police Procedurals

Unlike cosy crime, with this mystery genre, you’re more likely to read all the gory details of the darkest crimes, from grisly murders to autopsies in the morgue. There may be no holding back when it comes to the crime either, whether quick or prolonged, you will relive it in much greater detail. With a police procedural , the story focuses on the investigation from the perspective of the diligent sleuths; often a flawed character who works outside of the confines of their job.

Examples: the works of Lynda La Plante, MW Craven, and Karin Slaughter.

As a noir writer, you are focusing on shadows and hazy lights, mood and atmosphere. This isn’t detective fiction. The focus is on the criminal in a concise story that follows the main character’s descent into self-destruction.

Examples: Tina Baker and Megan Abbott’s books.

As fast-paced page turners, thrillers make you gasp and shake your head in awe at the unexpected twists and turns. Thriller writers love to take readers in the wrong direction, offering high stakes; all leading to a stunning conclusion. Thrillers are often psychological and dark, and sometimes even supernatural.

Examples: books by James Patterson, Nadine Matheson, and Oyinkan Braithwaite.

True Crime Fiction

True crime books are extremely well researched and explore true crimes in factual detail. They can be an exploration into the mind of a killer or place more of an emphasis on the victims and their lives.

In true crime mystery novels, a murder is usually involved, but it could be a crime of another sort, such as financial fraud or a disappearance. It’s anything that requires information to work out what has happened between the innocent person and the perpetrator.

Examples: The Jigsaw Murders by Jeremy Craddock, and The Five – The Untold Lives of The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold .

How To Write A Good Mystery

Before you start writing mysteries, there are five things you need to consider and get right.

Decide On Your Sub-Genre

In order to pitch to an agent, edit, distributor, or to simply get a mystery reader hooked, you need to know where your book fits in the mystery novel spectrum.

There’s no point calling your mystery story ‘noire’ then having a 90 year old woman go on a quest with her bingo friends to help solve the mystery of all the missing cats in their quaint village. There’s nothing dark about that!

Research Your Setting

If your mystery novel’s setting is a small town where everyone knows each other, then speak to people who live there. Or, better yet, visit the place yourself and get an idea of the lay of the land.

What are the buildings like? Is there a pub? A post office? Print out photographs and draw maps; know it all inside out.

The more you know about the setting, the easier (and more fun), it is to write. Plus your readers will be able to picture the setting in their own minds better.

Create Engaging Characters

Convincing characters drive the plot. If you want readers to invest in your story, then writing fascinating characters that won’t be forgotten in a hurry is essential.

Character development is key; we need to see the hero of the story’s own arc – not just solving the mystery but learning something about themselves. Your readers don’t have to like the characters, but they have to believe in them and care about what happens to them.

Research By Reading

A huge part of researching before you write any kind of novel is to read within your genre. Search out the best-selling mystery books and read them. They may not all be to your taste, but they will all help you understand exactly what’s needed to write a successful thriller, procedural, cosy, or hardboiled crime story.

Once you’ve finished your first draft ask yourself ‘Is it ready to send to an agent?’ The answer will almost certainly be, ‘no!’

Ask someone impartial, who you trust, to read it. Or you can pay for a professional edit; if you do this, seek recommendations from other writers you trust or check out our editors at Jericho Writers .

Never send out your manuscript until you have made it the best it can possibly be!

Great Mystery Novels You Should Read

Reading is part of your work as a writer. Some fear another author’s style will somehow seep into their own work, or worse, the book will be so good it will make you feel like your own work isn’t good enough.

However, only by reading widely will you learn what makes a successful book, and I believe that can only impact your work positively. You will also need comparable titles when it comes to pitching your book to agents and publishers, so knowing the market beforehand is essential.

Here are some great mysteries for you to try out (and I would urge you to read even those that aren’t in your sub-genre, as the basics are still relevant, and you might even find a new favourite!)

And Then There Were None By Agatha Christie

There’s no denying that the endurance of Agatha Christie’s books is a testament to the quality of her writing and stories. Voted as the favourite of her books in an online poll,   And Then There Were None sees ten guests, all with something hide, invited to an island off the Devon coast. One by one they die, each victim’s demise echoing the line of a child’s nursery rhyme that is played to them at night.

Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn

On the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne’s wife, Amy, mysteriously disappears. Nick quickly becomes the prime suspect and must follow a string of clues in order to find out what has happened to his wife and to try and prove his innocence. But is he the wrong suspect?

A deliciously tangled web of deceit and unreliable characters makes for a twisty and jaw-dropping story.

The Silence of the Lambs By Thomas Harris

When a senator’s daughter goes missing, it is feared that she has become the latest victim of Buffalo Bill, a notorious serial killer. Clarice Starling, a young FBI recruit, is bought in to help find her using the help of the imprisoned violent killer Hannibal Lecture.

Part thriller, part horror, and part police procedural, The Silence of the Lambs is a thrilling tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Plotting Vs Pantsing

Do you plot your mystery novel? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along?

Mystery books can be incredibly complex to plot, as you have to consider red herrings, false clues, specific details, and dead ends. Not to mention including a vast cast of convincing characters.

Plotting is a vital part of the process of keeping track of events and making sure all loose ends are tied up. Strict plotters have a very clear idea of what is going to happen scene by scene, chapter by chapter. Pantsers, on the other hand, may have a vague idea of where the story is going, but on the whole, they just sit down in front of the laptop and let the characters do the talking, the story unfolding before them. They find tight plotting too constrictive.

As a mystery author, you need to find the technique that works best for you. Here are some examples of successful mystery authors who have used either method, along with some tips to help you plan your own mystery novel.

The Plotter Mystery Writer

Mystery writer, Victoria Dowd, is renowned for her plotting. So much so that her novel, A Book of Murder , featured her plotting method on the front cover. Victoria’s son has also created a Lego village for her, so she can keep track of her character’s movements throughout the story!

Agatha Christie is probably the most famous mystery writer of them all, and she tightly plotted her stories by beginning with the murder, the killer and the motive. Then moving on to suspects and their possible motives. Next, she would plot possible clues and red herrings to keep readers guessing.

With so many characters and possible outcomes, it’s no surprise she chose this method. How many of us have read or watched her stories, feeling sure we know who ‘done it’ only to see them finished off before the climax of the story?

The Pantser Mystery Writer

Author of The Call of Cassandra Rose , Sophia Spiers says:

I begin with a ‘What if?’ question, then I start to play around with the idea in my head. Maybe write a few notes down, but not much. I’m mostly working it out in my head. I write a very bad first ‘vomit’ draft, then print and read through, looking for plot holes and tightening as much as I can. Deleting and rewriting where needed. I recently tried to plot but got bored, it was disastrous! Sophia Spiers

The same goes for author of Her , Meera Shah:

I start with a character scenario then I write as if I’m her/him, chapter by chapter in chronological order. Just me and the computer. Meera Shah

Jonathan Whitelaw , author of The Bingo Hall Detectives , starts with a rough outline and then heads straight to his computer, finding the excitement of not quite knowing where things might end up.

Tina Baker, author of Call Me Mummy and Nasty Little Cuts , also keeps her ideas in her head, but for a few scribbles here and there, she just writes down the bare bones and builds with each draft.

As you can see, there is no right or wrong way to write a mystery; just the way that works best for you. You may even find a mix of both methods works for you.

Help With Planning Your Mystery Novel

With so many intricate plot lines and dead ends to line up, whether you plot tightly or leave it to chance, it helps to have a rough idea of where you are heading. Here are a few handy hints and tools that can help you on your writing journey.

Post-It Notes

You’ve seen those walls on social media? A mass of yellow and pink squares to put the fear of God into any minimalist interior designer. Each scene broken down on a small sticky square and arranged in order of events. For the more visual writers, this is a great way to keep the series of events and characters at the forefront while writing.

Apps And Writing Software

Similarly, there are software packages that can also do this, keeping your walls free for family portraits and bookshelves (hopefully filled with lots of mystery books for you to read and research.) Scrivener is one such package commonly used by writers.

White Boards

Wipeable boards are a great tool for an ever-evolving plot and keeping track of the story.

Character Photos/Profiles

Character development is one of the most important parts of your story. If you don’t know exactly who your main character is, how is a reader supposed to care about them?

Using people you know or TV/film stars, create a cast of characters that will help you move the story along.

Mystery Writing Advice

Stuck for ideas.

Read true crime in books and newspaper articles. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction! Of course, true crime is a mystery sub-genre in itself; today it is written in a much more exciting and narrative fashion creating the same effect as a novel.

This is incredibly important in a mystery; you want to keep the reader turning the page and engaged. Keep the story concise and make every chapter count. Omit anything that doesn’t move the story forward towards the readers’ goal (finding out the who and why).

It cannot be stated enough that all classic mystery books are remembered for not just the twisty plot but the unforgettable characters too!

So, know your characters inside out, what makes them tick, what scares them and what drives them. Once you do this work the entire book will be easier to write because they will tell you where the story is going. Don’t shoehorn characters into a plot, make sure they act in a way that’s consistent with their character.

Know Your Suspects!

Understand their connections to the crime, motivations and why it might just have been them (or not!). Keep the reader guessing throughout.

Foreshadowing And Red Herrings

Dripfeed clues throughout the book. Don’t put too many clues or foreshadowing too soon. Trust your reader to do some of the work and they will thank you for it. Sometimes it helps to write the entire novel, then work backwards adding in clues and dead ends!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the female victim an overdone trope.

It is true that historically women have borne the brunt of crime; fictional and in real life. As a result, many have grown weary of seeing themselves as the victims.

I believe this is merely art reflecting life. Two women each week are killed in the UK, so to ignore this would be to ignore the reality. Until femicide becomes a problem of the past, these terrible crimes will always be of interest, and the why? a pertinent question.

Should We Ignore The Perpetrator’s Life And Focus On The Victim?

I would say this is more relevant to true crime, where a welcome trend is now to discover the life of the victim and their history, rather than that of the perpetrator.

In fiction, we are naturally interested in character, and whether we like them or not, that’s the goodies versus the baddies. Would The Silence of the Lambs be as interesting if we didn’t get to know the evil but enigmatic character Hannibal Lecture? I think not. Who is Ayoola in My Sister, the Serial Killer ?and why does she do what she does? The mystery of an enigmatic character will move a story along, whether they are the victim or the perpetrator.

I Don’t Like Gore And Murder, Can I Still Write Mystery?

Of course! But you would be best suited to mystery, cosy style, or stories with less brutal crimes. Cosy crime doesn’t show the death in any detail, the story quickly moves to the amateur sleuth(s) and concentrates on the solving of the crime.

Mystery Novel Writing Is No Mystery

Mystery isn’t an easy genre, but for me, it’s one of the most satisfying to read and to write. Taking a complete puzzle and mixing it up in a way that creates an exciting and satisfying read is a thrill in itself.

Now you know some of the subgenres and authors, dive into the genre in all its glory and forms. Learning how others write mystery novels will give you ideas and enthusiasm for your own story.

Good luck and enjoy!

About the author

Sally-Anne Bedford is a thriller author. As a child Sally-Anne was a big fan of Hammer House and Tales of the Unexpected . Her lasting love of darker stories is explored in her fortnightly newsletter ‘Into The Shadows’. Her writing has been published in Scriptwriter Magazine, Vegan Food & Living , the Daily Mail and she contributed to Derek Pykett’s book British Horror Film Locations . Her short film script, Freak Show , was chosen by writer charity TAPS and led to a writing workshop with ITV. Sally-Anne’s first novel, The Cure is a dark thriller due to be published in October 2022 by Joffe Books. For more on Sally-Anne, see her website or Twitter .

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How To Write a Mysterious Character (17 Sly Tips & Examples)

Calling all writers who want to create characters that make Sherlock Holmes look like an open book.

Get ready to take your storytelling to a whole new level of mystery and suspense.

Here is how to write a mysterious character:

Write a mysterious character by creating an enigmatic backstory, using subtle dialogue, and incorporating unpredictable actions. Develop a layered personality, reveal secrets gradually, and maintain a balance between mystery and relatability.

Keep reading to learn all the “secrets” for how to write a mysterious character that readers love.

What Is a Mysterious Character?

Table of Contents

A mysterious character is an enigma wrapped in a riddle.

They are the shadows in your story, often leaving more questions than answers. These characters are intriguing because they hold secrets, hidden motives, or unknown pasts.

They create suspense and curiosity, compelling readers to turn the pages in search of answers.

But, contrary to popular belief, there is more than one kind of mysterious character.

Types of Mysterious Characters

There are at least seven different types of mysterious characters:

• The Shadowy Stranger — This type thrives in the unknown. They appear out of nowhere, their backgrounds murky, their intentions unclear. They’re the personification of mystery, leaving a trail of questions wherever they go.
• The Silent Observer — Often found in the background, the Silent Observer watches and listens, rarely engaging. Their silence speaks volumes, making one wonder what thoughts and secrets are hidden behind their quiet demeanor.
• The Enigmatic Leader — Commanding yet secretive, this type leads with an air of mystery. They possess a magnetism that draws others to them, yet their true goals and desires remain concealed.
• The Secretive Genius — Brilliant minds with a secretive edge. They are masters of their craft, yet there’s always something they’re not revealing. Their knowledge is their power, and they guard it jealously.
• The Mysterious Past Character — Characters with a past shrouded in mystery. They have a history that is hinted at but never fully explained, creating intrigue about their previous life and experiences.
• The Enigmatic Love Interest — Romantic but puzzling, this character’s feelings and intentions in a relationship are never clear-cut. They add an element of romantic suspense and unpredictability.
• The Cryptic Villain — More than just evil, this villain has layers of complexity and secrecy. Their motives are unclear, and they often have a backstory that slowly unravels, revealing their true nature.

17 Best Tips for How to Write a Mysterious Character (That Is Not Cliche)

Creating a mysterious character is a delicate art that involves balancing intrigue with depth.

Each character should be a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, and shrouded in secrecy.

Here are 17 unique tips to help you craft a mysterious character that stands out and captivates your readers.

1. The Shadow Veil: Use Obscurity Wisely

Obscurity is the bread and butter of a mysterious character, but it’s crucial to use it judiciously.

Through trial and error, I’ve learned that the key to a successful mysterious character lies in the subtle balance between leaving breadcrumbs and keeping the ultimate revelation well-guarded.

Too much mystery can leave a character feeling underdeveloped, while too little can dispel the allure.

The key is to give just enough information to keep readers intrigued without revealing too much.

Think of it like a shadowy veil that partially conceals your character, revealing just enough to entice the reader’s curiosity.

For instance, consider Elara, a character in your story who always wears a mysterious locket.

Instead of revealing its contents early on, drop subtle hints about its importance, gradually building a sense of intrigue and significance around it.

2. The Whispering Wind: Subtle Dialogue

The way a mysterious character speaks can significantly enhance their enigma.

Their dialogue should be layered and nuanced, often leaving multiple interpretations open.

This approach not only adds depth to your character but also engages readers, encouraging them to ponder over the hidden meanings and implications of what’s being said.

For example, Mr. X, a character in your novel, might make a seemingly innocuous comment like, “The night isn’t always silent.”

Such a statement can send ripples of speculation through the narrative, prompting readers to question its deeper implications.

3. The Masked Emotion: Restrained Expressiveness

Mysterious characters often hide their true emotions, presenting a calm, composed facade to the world.

This restraint in expressiveness can make them more intriguing and complex.

When they do show genuine emotion, it should feel like a significant event, offering a rare glimpse into their inner world.

For example, Jade, a character in your narrative, is usually stoic.

However, a sudden display of anger in a crucial scene can be a powerful indicator of her hidden depths and unresolved issues.

4. The Enigmatic Path: Unpredictable Actions

Predictability is the enemy of mystery.

To keep your character enigmatic, have them act in ways that defy expectations. This unpredictability keeps the readers on their toes, constantly guessing about the character’s true intentions and motivations.

Consider Leo, a character in your story.

In a situation where revenge seems the obvious path, have him choose an unexpected route like offering help to his adversary.

This not only deepens the mystery but also adds layers to his character.

5. The Puzzle Box: Complex Backstory

A mysterious character is often like a puzzle box, with a backstory that is intricate and multi-layered.

Revealing this backstory in small, disconnected fragments can keep readers engaged, as they try to piece together the character’s past.

This gradual revelation creates a sense of discovery and deepens the mystery surrounding the character.

In your story, you might have a character like Sara, whose past is slowly unveiled through small, seemingly unrelated details that eventually interconnect in surprising ways.

6. The Hidden Trail: Subtle Clues

Subtlety is key when dropping clues about your mysterious character.

Rather than explicitly stating facts, embed subtle hints within the narrative for readers to find.

This approach turns your readers into detectives, actively engaging them in unraveling the mystery of your character.

For instance, Detective Grey in your story could leave a trail of nuanced clues about his past, culminating in a revelation that connects him personally to the case he’s investigating.

7. The Shadow Dance: Ambiguous Morality

A character shrouded in moral ambiguity can be deeply intriguing.

By positioning your character in a gray area between good and evil, you create an unpredictable and multifaceted individual.

Their actions and motivations shouldn’t be straightforward, allowing readers to continually question and reassess their understanding of the character.

Alex, for example, could be a character who saves a child in one instance but commits a theft in another, keeping readers guessing about his true moral compass.

8. The Whispered Secret: Rare Revelations

When a mysterious character does reveal something personal, it should feel like a rare and significant event.

These moments of revelation can provide profound insights into the character’s inner world, making them feel more real and relatable.

Consider a character like Eva, who is generally reticent about her thoughts and feelings.

When she eventually confides in someone, it should be a moment that stands out, offering a deeper understanding of her character.

9. The Chameleon’s Guise: Changing Appearances

Changing a character’s appearance throughout the story can reflect their mysterious nature.

This doesn’t necessarily mean drastic transformations, but subtle shifts in style or demeanor that hint at their multifaceted personality.

Such changes can serve as visual cues to the character’s elusive nature, adding to their mystique.

In your story, you could have a character like Mr. Black, who alternates between different styles of dress – from a dapper gentleman to a rugged traveler – to keep his true identity a mystery.

This not only intrigues the reader but also visually symbolizes the many faces of your character.

10. The Echoing Steps: Untraceable Movements

A mysterious character’s movements should be as elusive as their personality.

Having them appear and disappear unpredictably can add an element of surprise and intrigue to your story.

Their untraceable comings and goings can leave other characters and the readers in a state of wonder.

Other characters might try to piece together the puzzle of their whereabouts.

For instance, in a fantasy novel, you could introduce a sorceress like Lyna who materializes in scenes without warning and vanishes just as mysteriously, never revealing her destinations or the nature of her absences.

11. The Sphinx’s Riddle: Cryptic Background

Developing a cryptic and complex background for your mysterious character adds an extra layer of intrigue.

Their past should be like a riddle, slowly unfolding and never fully revealing itself.

This not only keeps the readers engaged but also adds a dimension of depth to your character.

In your narrative, you might introduce elements from the character’s past in a non-linear fashion, presenting puzzle pieces that the readers can gradually put together, revealing a picture that is unexpected and compelling.

12. The Mirage Technique: Illusive Motivations

To maintain the air of mystery, your character’s motivations should be elusive and hard to pin down.

They might seem to be driven by one thing.

But, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that their true motivations are something entirely different.

This technique keeps the readers guessing and adds a level of sophistication to your character.

For instance, a character in your story might initially appear to be driven by greed, but later it’s revealed that their actions are motivated by a need to protect a loved one.

13. The Whisper Network: Secret Connections

Establishing secret connections or associations for your character can deepen their mystery.

These connections should be hinted at but not fully explained, allowing the reader’s imagination to fill in the gaps.

For example, in your story, there could be subtle hints that your character is part of a secret society or has ties to a mysterious organization, adding layers to their enigma.

14. The Shadow’s Edge: Ambiguity in Relationships

Ambiguity in your character’s relationships with others can be a powerful tool.

Their interactions should leave room for multiple interpretations, never fully clarifying the nature of their connections.

This ambiguity can create tension and intrigue in the narrative.

A character in your story, for instance, might have a relationship with another character that leaves readers questioning whether it’s based on friendship, rivalry, or something more complicated.

15. The Unseen Observer: Hidden Knowledge

A mysterious character often possesses knowledge that others do not, but how and why they have this knowledge remains unclear.

This hidden knowledge can be a key part of their mystique.

Your character might make statements or take actions that hint at an understanding of events or people that they shouldn’t logically know about in the story.

16. The Veiled Path: Indirect Character Development

Character development for a mysterious character should be indirect.

Rather than overt growth, their development is hinted at through subtle changes in behavior, reactions, or the gradual revelation of their backstory.

This indirect approach maintains their mystery while still allowing them to evolve.

In your narrative, small changes in your character’s actions or attitudes over time can signal their development without revealing too much.

17. The Enigma’s Core: A Deep, Personal Secret

At the heart of every mysterious character lies a deep, personal secret.

This secret is the key to their mystery and should be guarded closely throughout the story, revealed only at the most impactful moment.

This secret could be a hidden motive, a past tragedy, or an aspect of their identity that they keep hidden.

Whatever it is, it should be central to the character’s actions and decisions throughout the story.

How to Write a Good Mysterious Character?

Writing a good mysterious character is about striking a fine balance between ambiguity and clarity, enigma and relatability.

It involves crafting a character who is intriguing enough to keep readers guessing, but also well-developed enough to be compelling and memorable.

I’ve found that crafting a mysterious character is like orchestrating a delicate symphony of secrets and revelations.

Here are some key considerations for creating a good mysterious character:

1. Layered Personality

A good mysterious character should have a complex, multi-layered personality.

They are not just a vessel for secrets and enigmas; they have desires, fears, and motivations that drive their actions.

It’s important to develop these aspects of their character to make them feel real and relatable.

2. Consistency in Mystery

While your character should be unpredictable, their actions and motivations should still be consistent with their established personality and backstory.

This consistency helps maintain believability and prevents the character from becoming a mere plot device.

3. Engaging Backstory

An intriguing backstory is a cornerstone of a good mysterious character.

It should be compelling and gradually revealed, adding depth and intrigue to the character.

However, it’s essential to leave some elements of their past open to interpretation or mystery.

4. Subtlety in Interaction

How your character interacts with others can greatly enhance their mystery.

Their dialogue and actions should be subtly revealing, providing just enough insight to keep the story interesting without giving everything away.

5. Relevant Secrets

The secrets or unknown elements of your character’s life should be relevant to the plot or theme of your story.

Random mysteries that don’t tie into the larger narrative can feel disjointed and unsatisfying.

6. Evolution and Growth

Even mysterious characters need to evolve and grow throughout the story.

Their development can be more subtle, but it should be present, adding layers to their character and keeping the readers invested in their journey.

7. Balancing Act

You need to balance the unknown with enough known elements to keep your character grounded and relatable. Too much mystery can alienate readers, while too little can dispel the intrigue.

Watch this short (but good) video about how to write a mysterious character:

How to Avoid Cliches When Writing Mysterious Characters

Cliches can quickly turn a potentially intriguing mysterious character into a predictable stereotype.

To keep your characters fresh and engaging, it’s important to recognize common cliches and find creative ways to subvert or avoid them.

By recognizing and creatively addressing these cliches, you can craft a mysterious character that is both intriguing and refreshingly original.

Remember, the key to a good mysterious character lies in their depth, relatability, and the gradual unveiling of their secrets.

Template for Creating a Mysterious Character

When creating a mysterious character, it’s essential to have a blueprint that guides their development while maintaining their enigmatic nature.

This template offers a structured approach to crafting such a character.

• Name and Basic Description : Start with the basics – name, age, and a brief physical description.
• Defining Mystery : What is the central mystery or secret surrounding this character?
• Backstory Elements : Outline key elements of their backstory that contribute to their mysterious nature.
• Personality Traits : List their main personality traits, focusing on how these contribute to their enigma.
• Behavioral Quirks : Include any unique behaviors or habits that make them intriguing.
• Interactions with Other Characters : Describe how they interact with others and how these interactions enhance their mystery.
• Role in the Story : Define their role in the larger narrative and how their mystery affects the plot.
• Revelation Strategy : Plan how and when key aspects of their mystery will be revealed.
• Character Arc : Outline their development throughout the story, ensuring that it aligns with the gradual unveiling of their mystery.
• Final Resolution : Decide how much of their mystery will be resolved by the end of the story.

This template ensures a well-rounded, intriguing mysterious character who is integral to your story.

3 Examples of How to Write Mysterious Characters

Creating a mysterious character varies across genres.

Each genre offers unique opportunities to weave mystery into a character’s fabric. Here are three examples, each from a different genre, showcasing how to effectively write a mysterious character.

1. Mystery Thriller: The Enigmatic Detective

In the dimly lit office, Detective Raven leaned back in her chair, eyes fixated on the raindrops tracing the windowpane.

A half-smoked cigarette smoldered in the ashtray, casting a thin veil of smoke around her. “Sometimes, the truth lies in what’s not said,” she murmured, almost to herself, as she pondered over the unsolved case sprawled across her desk. Her past, shrouded in secrecy, seemed as complex as the cases she solved.

Yet, there was an undeniable sharpness in her gaze, hinting at a deeper understanding of the darkness that lurked within human hearts.

2. Fantasy: The Mysterious Wanderer

Under the ancient oaks of Eldwood, a cloaked figure navigated the twilight.

Known only as Eryn, the wanderer’s origins were as obscure as the path they tread. Villagers whispered tales of Eryn’s otherworldly abilities, some fearing, others revering them.

Tonight, Eryn’s haunting melody on a wooden flute echoed through the woods, carrying both sorrow and a strange, compelling power. Eyes that glowed faintly beneath the hood held centuries of secrets, secrets that Eryn guarded as fiercely as the magical creatures that roamed these woods.

3. Science Fiction: The Enigmatic Scientist

Aboard the starship Nebula, Dr. Orion Vega gazed out into the vastness of space.

His mind, always a labyrinth of equations and theories, held a secret that could alter the course of interstellar travel. The crew respected him, yet his distant demeanor and cryptic comments often left them puzzled. In his private lab, surrounded by holographic star maps, Dr. Vega worked tirelessly, his true motives hidden behind his brilliant, inscrutable eyes.

There was more to his mission than science, a personal quest entwined with the stars themselves.

100 Creative Ideas for Mysterious Characters

Creating a mysterious character requires creativity and originality.

Here’s a list of 100 ideas to inspire your enigmatic creations:

• A librarian who whispers to books and seems to hear them whisper back.
• A painter whose artworks predict future events.
• An old sailor who speaks in riddles about a lost undersea city.
• A young violinist whose music causes strange, inexplicable happenings.
• A reclusive inventor who claims to have built a time machine.
• A chef who can cook meals that evoke vivid memories.
• A gardener who grows plants that are not found anywhere else on Earth.
• A child who speaks a language no one else understands.
• A nurse who can heal wounds with her touch.
• A detective who never speaks about their own past.
• A barista who draws prophetic images in coffee foam.
• A street performer who disappears in a puff of smoke.
• A teacher with an uncanny ability to predict students’ futures.
• A clockmaker who makes clocks that run backward.
• A poet whose words can influence people’s emotions.
• A scientist who has been alive for centuries.
• A hotel owner who knows the deepest secrets of all guests.
• A tailor who makes clothes that change color with the seasons.
• A blind musician who can see people’s auras.
• An antique dealer who can tell an object’s history by touching it.
• A traveler with a map to unknown places.
• A photographer whose pictures capture more than what meets the eye.
• A winemaker who produces wine that lets people relive their happiest memory.
• A florist who arranges flowers that never seem to wilt.
• A dancer whose movements can control the elements.
• A baker whose pastries evoke vivid dreams.
• A fortune teller who is always accurate but never reveals her own future.
• A blacksmith who forges weapons with mysterious powers.
• A historian who knows secrets of a forgotten civilization.
• A hermit living in a forest rumored to be enchanted.
• A calligrapher whose writings come to life.
• A pilot who has seen what lies beyond the sky.
• A nursemaid to royal children, privy to palace intrigues.
• A perfumer who creates scents that evoke specific emotions.
• A jeweler who crafts pieces that protect the wearer.
• A lighthouse keeper who signals to unknown ships.
• A fisherman who catches more than just fish.
• A watchmaker whose timepieces alter perceptions of time.
• A sculptor whose statues whisper secrets.
• A locksmith who can unlock any door, even to other worlds.
• A circus ringmaster with a hidden, magical past.
• A botanist who communicates with plants.
• A cartographer who maps otherworldly places.
• A mountaineer who knows paths that lead to other dimensions.
• An astrologer whose predictions always affect global events.
• A glassblower whose creations seem to contain living things.
• A brewer whose drinks impart supernatural abilities.
• A seamstress who sews dresses that fulfill wishes.
• An alchemist who has discovered the elixir of life.
• A monk with knowledge of an ancient, mystical practice.
• A puppeteer whose puppets seem to have a life of their own.
• A beekeeper whose bees produce magical honey.
• A herbalist who can cure any ailment with her potions.
• A miner who has found a gem that grants visions.
• A milliner who makes hats that alter people’s thoughts.
• A nomad who can travel between worlds.
• A ferryman who transports souls to the afterlife.
• A butcher who can communicate with animals.
• A cobbler whose shoes grant the wearer extraordinary abilities.
• A gravedigger who has conversations with the dead.
• A composer whose symphonies affect the weather.
• A mathematician who has solved the equation of the universe.
• A scribe who records events that haven’t yet happened.
• An ice sculptor whose creations never melt.
• A fire performer who can summon spirits.
• A mirror maker whose mirrors reflect hidden truths.
• A stone mason who builds portals to other realms.
• A falconer whose birds can locate lost treasures.
• A gamekeeper with a mystical connection to wild creatures.
• A tanner who crafts leather that is impervious to harm.
• A cooper who makes barrels that preserve anything indefinitely.
• A weaver who weaves tapestries depicting future events.
• A landlord who knows the secrets of every tenant.
• A ranger who can become invisible in the forest.
• A mystic who lives at the edge of reality.
• A sailor who can calm storms.
• A tutor with the ability to impart knowledge through dreams.
• A potter who shapes clay into living creatures.
• A confectioner whose sweets can alter moods.
• A dowser who finds more than just water.
• A woodsman who can communicate with trees.
• A chandler whose candles reveal hidden messages when lit.
• A fletcher whose arrows always find their target.
• A haberdasher with a knack for solving unsolvable problems.
• A bellmaker whose bells can open gateways.
• A hatter whose creations can transport the wearer to other times.
• A harvester who reaps more than just crops.
• A shepherd who can control the weather.
• A drifter with no past and an unknown future.
• A bookbinder whose books transport readers to the stories’ worlds.
• A horse trainer who can communicate telepathically with animals.
• A mosaicist who creates images that change over time.
• A ferrywoman who guides travelers to mystical lands.
• A charioteer who races through the heavens.
• A stargazer who can predict the future by the stars.
• A storyteller whose tales come true.
• A vagabond with the ability to vanish in plain sight.
• A mapmaker whose maps lead to hidden treasures and lost worlds.
• A clock repairer who can turn back time with each repair.
• A wanderer with a mysterious pendant that holds the key to an ancient legend.

Final Thoughts: How to Write a Mysterious Character

May your writing be filled with mysterious twists and unforgettable characters.

Check out some of our other character-focused articles below.

Read This Next:

• How To Write A Grumpy Character: 100 Words, Tips, & Examples
• How To Write A Vampire Character (27 Dark Tips + Examples)
• How To Write A God Character (Tips, Examples, & Guide)
• How To Write an Emotionless Character (That Readers Love)

A Mysterious Find (Short Story)

By chris j mitchell, i was deep in the woods and the trees were casting a cold shadow on to the ground..

The call of a solitary bird echoed from far away, and I wondered if it was time to turn back for my stroll had turned into something more strenuous than I had planned.

Still, I kept on for I felt something inside of me wanting to push forward. I squeezed through a couple of huddled trees, but then stepped into a tangle of nettles. This distracted my attention for a moment while I freed myself and I kept my balance with one hand firmly placed against the damp bark of a tree.

I then caught sight of a curious-looking structure set a few feet from my location.

Laying in the ground the hands of time had covered it in moss and hidden it away from civilisation. The object looked as though it had not been touched for over a hundred years. Was it an old stone trough or even an ancient grave I thought to myself?

The structure rose a foot from the ground and where it was not covered in moss there were flakes of stone peeling away after years of rain, damp and cold.

I approached, carefully stepping one foot over the other, but the sound of a twig breaking under my foot forced me to freeze. Why it should force me to do this? I cannot say for I was not hiding or in danger, but a sense of fear came over me.

My heart rate had increased and little sounds, such as leaves rustling or the chirp of a bird all became exaggerated and ringing out in my ears as potential threats of danger. A natural fight or flight reaction I assumed.

I gazed into the centre of the structure and could see only leaves and a few rotting branches. Glancing over my shoulder I took a few steps closer.

Most likely a drinking basin for livestock or horses, but still enough for my curiosity to push me to investigate. I put my foot gently on top of the leaves and pressed a little. The rotting organic debris depressed under the weight of my foot, but no trap door or hidden passageway swung open.

I kneeled on the side with one knee and cleared a few small branches and leaves away with my hand. They felt cold, damp and as you would expect. Underneath was earth and disappointment that I had not discovered a great missing artifact.

My heart rate returned to normal and I sat down on one of the cold stone sides to take in the silence…

Then a strange sound, like the wind whipping against a cliff edge, emanated from behind me. Jumping to my feet and turning around, there was a strange swirl enveloping the leaves and the earth inside the shallow walls of the structure.

I took my feet into a stride and just as I made the nearest tree I stopped and turned around.

“Yes, of course,” I said out loud. “How could I forget!”

Memories at this point were flooding back into my mind. The past, the future and the Otherworld.

A hand, old, wrinkled and greyish popped up through a vortex that had formed at the centre of the swirling mess of leaves and earth.

This was followed by an arm and then the bald, boney head of a strange figure. He had grey skin and in places bones showing where there should have been skin. It clambered out of the edifice.

My heart was not racing though and my palms were not sweaty, for I knew exactly who he was.

His name was Graham!

He pulled out an old rolled-up manuscript and sat on one of the stone sides of the structure.

“Ready when you are,” he said.

“Sounding a little rusty, you need some more vitamin D. It would add colour to your cheeks,” I replied. To which he did not respond, but started reading the paper.

“How did it go?” he asked over his shoulder.

“It went well.”

“You found here okay?”

“It appears so… Please give me a moment.”

I checked in my backpack and sure enough, it was still there. An old Celtic artifact lost long ago. Stolen from the Otherworld and brought to Earth without permission. My task to retrieve it and then to return.

The vortex and the magic around it had restored my memories to their rightful place. My name is Caratacus, and having been sent here from the Otherworld years ago the memories of my real identity quickly faded. This was a side effect of the transition spell and its casting that sent me here.

Aside from a few notes written on a parchment how would I know to retrieve it or where to return?

I was assured by my elders it would all fall into place. I would have an instinct in me that called me to this place when the time was right. Where the keeper, Graham, would let me in.

“I have friends here you know that I will not see again,” I said.

“I know, and we all knew that is a price you would pay. Anyway, can’t you send them a text goodbye or something? Isn’t that all the rage these days?”

“I could, but texting is a little out of date, I will send a DM instead.”

“Please do, its chilly here.”

“I sent the message, “Tata for now.” and that was it. I was always a bit of an enigma for those few who knew me. Maybe I will meet them again one day in another life. But who knows. For here, for now, my time is done!

For further fictional tales please see the fiction page or for an insightful academic look at the history of ghosts and how they have been used in creative literature to add suspense, story devices and to engage with the reader please see A Concise History of Ghosts and Famous Accounts in Literature

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Descriptive Model Answer: A Secret Place

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Age range: 16+

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3 January 2022

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Descriptive Writing Prompt:

You have been asked to contribute a descriptive piece of writing about secret places to a creative writing website. In your writing, create a sense of atmosphere and focus on colours, sounds, and movements to help your reader imagine the scene. Write the description, using no more than 400 words.

Originally written as a model answer for the CIE AS English Language (9093) syllabus, this piece of writing can also be used as a prompt or model answer for GCSE Language descriptive writing skills.

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JWest1984 New Member

How to write a mysterious character.

Discussion in ' Character Development ' started by JWest1984 , Feb 6, 2018 .

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); The story I am currently working on is a murder mystery drama and will feature a "mysterious figure." The issue I'm running into is writing this character into the story without revealing the gender. Right now, I am just saying "the figure." Is their a better way to do it or should I just bite the bullet and reveal the gender?  

Lemie Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); I guess it depends on how much the person is mentioned, in what context and by what character. "The figure" doesn't sound too tempting to me, though.  

Earp Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); Can you refer to him or her using a generic-ish last name, like Wilson?  

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); Earp said: ↑ Can you refer to him or her using a generic-ish last name, like Wilson? Click to expand...

soupcannon Active Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); You know, it might get tedious just referring to a gender-neutral character all the time. Maybe, if it fits with your structure, have various people refer to The Figure as 'him' or 'her' throughout (usually, we assume our own gender as the default until we learn otherwise).  

Azuresun Senior Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); Perhaps you could refer to them by their profession / role ("the representative", "the bodyguard"), or something distinctive about them that other characters do notice ("the giant", "the limper"), etc?  

lonelystar Active Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); Could you pick out something about his clothes, like Red Hat?  

DeeDee Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); You can use "them", "they" without mention of gender. I find "the figure" a bit unnatural, because it's apt to eventually turn to The Figure at some point, but it depends on how you've written the scenes and how often that character pops up. Then you can use other words to refer to them: person, opponent, companion, etc, depending on the situation. A thesaurus might help. If you were to meet somebody often, say, a person who commutes with you on a train, would't you give him some sort of a designation? If one of your characters is meeting that Figure often, maybe they'll also assign some sort of a name to them, such as The Figure, or The Man In The Black Coat, or even Blackie, or Joe. Journalists or police would often invent names like The Night Stalker for an unknown offender. A "mysterious figure" sounds a bit like satire, or something old-fashioned from the times of good ole Holmes. In any case, repetition is a killer, so it's good to mind that.  

izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); You could have the narrator just assume the figure is a man or a woman and go with that. Have'em be wrong for extra funsies. I like other folks' suggestions of giving the figure a temp name like Red Hat.  

WhiteKnight75 Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); Just name them something neutral as a nickname. As others have already said, you could eigher do this by picking some sort of noticable trait or the role of the character. Otherwise you could just have the characters pick a pronoun or use 'they'.  

@theunheardwriter21 Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_80f8266cba0fc2d9629835652d9fa45a'); }); When describing the mysterious character, use somber or dark adjectives to describe their figure (dull rounded shoulders, seemingly empty eyes, etc).  

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