Writing a Mystery Novel

Who done it?  Mystery novels are one of the most enjoyable reads for lovers of fiction.  Writing an intriguing mystery is crucial for capturing readers of this genre and we don’t want to disappoint our readers.  Let’s narrow down some pointers on writing a great mystery.
First you will need to think of a problem that starts off your book.  Do a little reading beforehand in newspapers or old news editions.  Research is good too.  If you are writing about murder it is good to know some details - I think murder mystery writers are likely a morbid bunch.  If you have a contact in the medical field, that would be beneficial.  Or someone on the police force could also give you some tips.  Ask yourself questions and think like a detective. If your mystery is about murder ask yourself where were they killed, how, what time of day was it.  Good writing is in the details.  Not all mystery novels have to include murder of course.  Whichever one you decide to pursue, good literature requires that you understand the problem as well as anyone else could - you will be an expert.
The second thing you will need is a good character.  Before you start writing think about who the main character is. Their personality, any quirks that make them enjoyable, or are they serious.  A description of their looks will help give a mental picture.  Writing a strong main character will help the novel take focus.  Your readers will become invested and want to keep reading to see what will happen to them.  Remember the main character is the one solving our mystery, so a well written main character will drive your story.  Readers of fiction forget that the character is not real if he or she is written well.
Then it would be good to think about minor characters also.  These characters can be helpful or problematic for our main character; but for our plot they are critical, we can't provide a good story without them.  Writing interesting minor characters will aid in rounding out our main character's traits.  How does the main character deal with problems presented by others?  When they are helped, what is their reaction?  Each character should have a purpose for being in your novel so that it is believable.
Now is a good time to plan your strategy - the story!  We have our problem and a main character; now how are they going to solve the problem.  The reader is along for the ride, and they solve the mystery too so we have to leave clues.  Some will be small and others big and some are there to mislead.  So we need a mystery, will it be a crime or something unusual that is hard to explain.  Think about what the main character discovers.  Be careful not to give too much information to the reader - let them discover this story as it unfolds.
It is important to have your solution written down before you start to write.  This keeps your clues in order and flowing.  For the main character to get to the solution try marking clues backwards.  So have your solution; then write clues from that point going back to the beginning where the problem started.  With a list of clues some will be minor to add intrigue but one should be crucial to the story.  Then write down who is blocking the clues and who is helping to solve the problem.
The clues are important for the reader.  It helps them to try and solve the mystery.  Keep them interesting and suspenseful so our readers is invested to find out the solution.
These pointers will give you a good start to writing a great mystery novel.

Online Literature Community: Modern People’s Walden Lake

Over one hundred years ago, H.D.Thoreau retreated from the big bustling city and settled down the lake area of Walden. He lived alone and ploughed in the field every day to search for his literature inspiration and realize his literature conception of transcendentalism. He recorded this period of life experiences and his understanding on life, nature, society and the universe in his classical book Walden.
Today, we read what Thoreau writes down in his hermit-like life and feel congenial to his thoughts of pleasure in seclusion, which brings us true delight that is far beyond description. Everything in the book, the dust in the wind and the wind in trees, are so familiar to us.
People always wonder what we read books for. The answer varies from different individuals and it also varies with passage of time. But there is one thing for sure that we always rejoice at imagining and experiencing things we know little about and find a transitory peace in mind through reading different types of books-collections of poetry, novels, essays and biographies.
Unlike many great men of literature who are in committed pursuit of truth and art, most of us read literature works only to obtain a sense of gratification and fulfillment and only want to own a patch of literature field just as Thoreau did around the Walden Lake.
In the beginning of Francis Bacon’s essay Of Studies, he said: “Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring.” We know reading books mainly serves as a tool for delight.
However, today’s rapid pace of life has deprived modern people of much delight of reading. People are seeking new and effective way to regain the freedom and joy of reading.
The declining of traditional publishing industry as well as the emerging of multi-channels of reading has gradually changed people’s way of reading. In the era of internet, reading online books has become a fashion to make best of time.
Online reading community has now become many people’s Walden Lake of literature, where free novels are like flowing water, incessantly irrigating our dried mind that’s eager for fresh fictions. Ficfun(www.ficfun.com) is such an online literature community where people can find many sorts of free books including popular romance novels, mystery novels, crime and vampire and encounter with many seed writers and literature fans of the same taste.
It’s true that reading books helps us come back to serenity and brings us some delightful meditation in the busy urban life. Literature helps us, at least for a while, to free from daily trifles and laboring. The freedom and flexibility of reading online books bring readers huge convenience and comfortableness. People can read what they want and can share their ideas and feelings with people of similar literature interest in such online literature community.
Online literature community is just like Thoreau’s Walden Lake where people can rest their mind and regain the delight of reading. You can choose to read alone and you can also choose to read to meet more congenial people.