Melodie Campbell on the mystery novel

[Melodie Campbell]

Question. Can you òver ramp`the tension--in other words how do you know when enough is enough...

Over-ramping the tension. I think the key is, you have to ramp it up at the climax (crisis 3) to a creszendo. THAT's when your protagonist is really in trouble. I have the 9 steps of suspense writing here somewhere. Back in a sec

 

[Melodie Campbell]

I love this Melodie. For literary writers the process is so often (most often) very different. We nicely call it an act of discovery. So often it feels like we're trying to find our way out of a burning house.

Again, why studying the mystery structure can be so very useful, even when not writing a mystery. The structure can help us find focus.

I find myself increasingly turning to the mystery structure in my projects, from literary to YA (or "new adult") to the literary novel.

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

Your novel is divided into 4 parts, approximately (but not always) 25% each.
_X________________ X___________________X___________________X________________

What interests me is that we still see those Gothic roots of the mystery here, in the four parts: the rise, the crash, the fall, the return to society.

 

[Maia Caron]

Okay, adding to this one!

2. The thing that fascinates us crime writers: We are interested in JUSTICE, not necessarily the law. In real life, often the truly evil deeds and bad people go unpunished. In our fiction, we want to right that. Now the interesting thing is: in my Goddaughter series, I write from the point of view of reluctant mob goddaughter. She is kind of operating outside the law, even though reluctantly. My big challenge is to make you root for her. This is a series I couldn't have written as a beginning writer. But now, 25 years (and 50 fiction publications later) I am hoping to move from black and white, to grey, and give the reader a laugh doing it.

I've heard that your writing is compared with Janet Evanovich's (love her). In regard to the above, I'm thinking of John Le Carré's The Constant Gardener. Or Gone Girl, which I just finished reading and found riveting (among a million others). I'm beginning to see the "mystery" elements all writers must have in the story.

 

[Melodie Campbell]

First, Gail - I have written literary. I got a CAA contest thingy award here somewhere. But I'm realizing, even that was a crime story, at the base. It was the story of an older woman overcoming her defeated attitude, and discovering the courage to fight back.

I love your description of 'trying to find out way out of a burning house!

I think the thing about mystery fiction, again, is it requires the writer to be clever. It's such a challenge for us. To write a mystery that follows the rules, and yet still challenges the reader.
I guess I should post the rules, eh? back in a sec

 

[Maia Caron]

Okay, and now I'm distracted. DANGit. I'll go back to 2. later. Now, on to my fave topic:
Structure.
No, I'm not a panzter. I do work to a structure. Most important - I NEVER START WRITING UNTIL I KNOW MY ENDING. Never. Not even with a short story. In a crime/mystery/suspense book, everything points to the ending. I may have a plot percolating in my head for a year, before I finally see it in technicolour. Then I sit down to write.

Structure: Here's what I teach:
Many authors (including me) use the three act and finale structure. Here we go:

Structuring your Novel: Three Acts and a Finale with Melodie Campbell

Many novels follow the three acts and a finale structure. (A Purse to Die For is a good example of a book written with this structure.)


Your novel is divided into 4 parts, approximately (but not always) 25% each.

_X________________ X___________________X___________________X________________

Inciting moment Crisis 1 Crisis 2 Crisis 3


Inciting moment: The book starts with the moment at which something causes change.

People don’t like change. Something has to happen to force them out of their usual routines. That’s the inciting moment. (In Rowena Through the Wall, a medieval warrior walks through Rowena’s classroom wall into the 21st century. This is the inciting moment. She can’t ignore it.)

In A Purse to Die For, the old grandmother dies. All the family members are drawn together at the huge family home for a funeral and the reading of the will. (Inciting moment.)

Crisis 1 is usually caused by an external source (meaning not something the protagonist did.) In A Purse to Die For, a murdered body is discovered on the lawn of the family home.

In the best novels, Crisis 2 and 3 are usually disasters caused by something the protagonist (or another character) did. It could be something they tried to do to fix the first crisis, but that makes things worse and worse.

In A Purse to Die For, Crisis 2, murder 2 occurs. One of the cousins is murdered, directly as a result of something he does.

In A Purse to Die For, Crisis 3, Gina is abandoned in the forest during a snow storm. Her own gullibility and recklessness led to this. This is the black moment, where all seems to be lost.

In A Purse to Die For, Finale, Gina reasons out the identity of the murderer while trying to keep moving to keep from freezing to death. Will she be rescued before she dies or is murdered?

>>>As the novel progresses the tension increases as the stakes for your protagonist become higher.<<<

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

I'm beginning to see the "mystery" elements all writers must have in the story.

Yes!

Also, of course, you see that classic hero's journey underpinning the mystery. In my discussions with the writers I work with, we often talk about the female hero's journey in relation to this. Giller nominee and historical novelist Mary Novik did a great guest blog for me on this one.

 

[Katherin Edwards]

Why are these books considered to be rapid reads? Is there a length requirement? I like the idea of getting in and getting out and leaving the reader wanting more

 

[Melodie Campbell]

I've heard that your writing is compared with Janet Evanovich's (love her). In regard to the above, I'm thinking of John Le Carré's The Constant Gardener. Or Gone Girl, which I just finished reading and found riveting (among a million others). I'm beginning to see the "mystery" elements all writers must have in the story.

Maia, you've said it well! ALL novels probably have some form of suspense in them. First, probably I should detail the difference between mystery and suspense (the genre differences)

Mystery genre
Mystery fiction is a puzzle story; it starts with a murder (or crime) and emphasizes the solving of the crime. The protagonist’s job is to discover who committed the crime and why. The reader and the detective both receive the same information at the same time (anything else is not playing fair.)

Suspense genre
Suspense fiction is driven by a ‘character in jeopardy’. A suspense or thriller is one in which the main action (crime or murder) has not yet taken place and the culprit may be known or at least suspected. The emphasis is on the tension built by the anticipation of the outcome.

So you see, these are written quite differently. I write both. A Purse to Die For is a classic Agatha Christie style mystery. The Goddaughter is a classic suspense (comic suspense, like Janet Evanovich, or Lisa Lutz, mind you.)

 

[Melodie Campbell]

Why are these books considered to be rapid reads? Is there a length requirement? I like the idea of getting in and getting out and leaving the reader wanting more

Yes, Katherin - these are novella length works, of 15,000 to 20,000 words. I love the length. It's really challenging. But short suits comedy best, so it's a perfect match for me. Also, some of the best mysteries are actually not all that long and ponderous. Typically 70,000 to 80,000 words.

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

I think the thing about mystery fiction, again, is it requires the writer to be clever. It's such a challenge for us. To write a mystery that follows the rules, and yet still challenges the reader.

Again, I love this as it gives the writer a box to write within, a form, and that has the effect of pulling out ideas and in particular conflict. Without an underlying structure and outline/plotline to work from, we so often flounder. I do see that outline as a brainstorming tool, rather than strictly a planning tool, at least with literary projects. I'm viewing the outline much more as a planning tool, something to follow, as I work on a more commercial mystery project now.

 

[Melodie Campbell]

What interests me is that we still see those Gothic roots of the mystery here, in the four parts: the rise, the crash, the fall, the return to society.

I love your insight here, Gail. Yes, we can study the mystery, and particularly the suspense novel, with regards to these features.

 

[Katherin Edwards]

Melodie, if you had to name one, and only one favorite mystery, what would it be?

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

ALL novels probably have some form of suspense in them. First, probably I should detail the difference between mystery and suspense (the genre differences)

I’m interested to hear not just from Melodie, but from all writers on all the different kinds of mysteries that you might enjoy. For starters, what’s the difference between a commercial and literary mystery? I love all the mash-ups that pull from not only the mystery genre but from others as well. The paranormal romance mystery is one of my personal favorites (to write) which again borrows heavily from the Gothic roots of the mystery. I’ve just stumbled into the term “cozy mystery” or “cozies” which, as it turns out, I’ve been writing for Orca's Rapid Reads.

 

[Melodie Campbell]

Yes!

Also, of course, you see that classic hero's journey underpinning the mystery. In my discussions with the writers I work with, we often talk about the female hero's journey in relation to this. Giller nominee and historical novelist Mary Novik did a great guest blog for me on this one.

Yes, indeed. I think that is the one thing that is so interesting about mystery fiction. A lot of women write it. And some of our best authors (bestselling authors) are women. In this genre, women are allowed to triumph. We so rarely get triumphs in real life. So often we walk away as guilty winners or outright losers. In mystery fiction, certainly in the novels and short stories I write, women are usually the protagonists, and they triumph in the end (expose the murderer, accomplish the revenge they seek.)

 

[Maia Caron]

Melodie,

Maia, you've said it well! ALL novels probably have some form of suspense in them. First, probably I should detail the difference between mystery and suspense (the genre differences)

Mystery genre
Mystery fiction is a puzzle story; it starts with a murder (or crime) and emphasizes the solving of the crime. The protagonist’s job is to discover who committed the crime and why. The reader and the detective both receive the same information at the same time (anything else is not playing fair.)

Suspense genre
Suspense fiction is driven by a ‘character in jeopardy’. A suspense or thriller is one in which the main action (crime or murder) has not yet taken place and the culprit may be known or at least suspected. The emphasis is on the tension built by the anticipation of the outcome.

So you see, these are written quite differently. I write both. A Purse to Die For is a classic Agatha Christie style mystery. The Goddaughter is a classic suspense (comic suspense, like Janet Evanovich, or Lisa Lutz, mind you.)

Ah, I see that Alice Munro's stories are suspense genre then. The stories of her character discovering the dead bodies and her unusual reactions. And also the story "Tricks" was done so well in that suspense manner.
I like how you structure your plots. How do you structure each scene within that framework? In my current WIP I'm using the Reaction/Motivation unit technique with a Scene basically Goal/Conflict/Disaster and the next (Sequel) chapter in the form of Reaction/Dilemma/Decision. It keeps me digging more deeply into the potential conflicts for each character, and I can write toward a kind of cliffhanger at end of the chapter. Do you recommend this structure?

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

In this genre, women are allowed to triumph. We so rarely get triumphs in real life. So often we walk away as guilty winners or outright losers. In mystery fiction, certainly in the novels and short stories I write, women are usually the protagonists, and they triumph in the end (expose the murderer, accomplish the revenge they seek.)

One of the reasons why I find writing mystery and suspense particularly yummy.

 

[Melodie Campbell]

Melodie, if you had to name one, and only one favorite mystery, what would it be?

You're killing me! Dang!
Mystery: Man oh Man. It will be an Agatha Christie. I have to list a few. (I have to! There are so many.)
4:50 from Paddington
The Moving Finger

Suspense:
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart

I have to be very careful here, because I am the Exec. Director of Crime Writers of Canada. You'll understand that I'm keeping my faves in the classic range, because I can't be seen to favour one Canadian Crime Writer over another.

 

[Maia Caron]

I’m interested to hear not just from Melodie, but from all writers on all the different kinds of mysteries that you might enjoy. For starters, what’s the difference between a commercial and literary mystery? I love all the mash-ups that pull from not only the mystery genre but from others as well. The paranormal romance mystery is one of my personal favorites (to write) which again borrows heavily from the Gothic roots of the mystery. I’ve just stumbled into the term “cozy mystery” or “cozies” which, as it turns out, I’ve been writing for Orca's Rapid Reads.

I loved Drood by Dan Simmons, although that might be considered more horror/thriller.
Seems there are a lot of what I thought of as "literary" works that could be considered suspense or mystery. Ian McEwen is master at creating that brooding suspense in the everyday lives of his characters. Saturday, Atonement, On Chesil Beach, all have those elements.
Du Maurier's Rebecca is one of my favourites too. Wish I'd thought of that plot.
I suppose Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch is in the literary suspense genre

 

[Gail Anderson-Dargatz]

I am the Exec. Director of Crime Writers of Canada. You'll understand that I'm keeping my faves in the classic range, because I can't be seen to favour one Canadian Crime Writer over another.

As you brought that up ... ;

I’ve just signed up as a member of Crime Writers of Canada, so I’m interested to hear more about this organization. Melodie, would you find filling us in a little?