fiery love

this kind of love is filled with bantering, snarky remarks, and a handful of eye rolls. it makes you question numerous times how these two people — who can't seem to stand each other — can stay together. all questions go out the window, though, when you notice their almost obnoxious laughter at an inside joke, or the silent looks they share whenever someone else makes a comment. if one of them ends up hurt, you better be prepared for the other to start a war for them.

for characters who feel this love, it truly is the two of them against the world, and they're confident in their ability to tackle it.

familiar love

this love is saved for those who have not known a life without one another. for as long as people can remember, these two have been side by side, growing and learning together. this love is filled with shared sweaters and personalized playlists. they may have even had other partners before realizing they were simply searching for each other. in hindsight, it was obvious — everyone seemed to have seen it except for the two themselves. after they get together, it's clear they were made for each other.

for characters who feel this love, it may have taken them some time to figure it out, but it was more than worth it in the end.

secret love

this love can be represented by tiptoeing. these two are not supposed to see each other, and they're both aware; why, then, is it so hard to stay away? it's as if they're two magnets, unable to pull away. love can make people do dangerous things, and these two are willing to risk it all if it means being together. this love is filled with lingering touches, quiet smiles, and haste kisses. although it may hurt to keep their relationship a secret, they would rather have hushed moments with each other than nothing at all.

for characters who feel this love, they don't care their romance makes their lives more complicated than it needs to be — their love is powerful enough to give them the strength they need.

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                Lots of plots have at least some aspect of figuring out a mystery or uncovering some hidden truth. While it may not be a traditional murder mystery, writing a plot that revolves around the gathering of information and uncovering of clues can be written using a lot of the same techniques.

1. You should probably plan it

If you’re strictly a pantser, give it a shot, but I have never been able to pants mysteries like this. I would recommend planning it from the beginning and saving yourself a lot of time and headaches trying to piece it together later.

2. Start with the beginning and end

When planning a mystery, I start with the beginning, and then skip to the point that they uncover the truth or figure it out and work backwards to fill out the middle. What is the last hint they need to uncover the full truth, then, what leads to that hint, rinse and repeat until we get back to that beginning you created.

                For example, say the MC is trying to find their missing friend. The last point would be ‘they find their friend’, so that’s where we begin. Maybe right before that, they’re told the location, to get their location, they’ve kidnapped one of the bad guys who knows it, to get to him, they need to break into the evil lair, to find the lair, they need to spy on the organization, and so on.

3. Diversify the hints

I talk about this a bit in my post about written elements (here), but essentially, you’ll want to diversify how your characters get their hints. It will seem cheap if they find everything they need to know on conveniently spaced notes or journal entries (unless you can really justify that), or it’s all told to them by someone who happens to know it all (such as the ‘wise man’ trope).

                Maybe they find the last clue written down, but the one before was told to them from a key character, and the one before was puzzled out through a riddle, etc. etc. Here are some places to find clues:

Someone else knows something

This could be either an ally or an enemy. Family members, friends they weren’t aware of, a hidden partner, seemingly a stranger who knows more than they’re letting on. If they are an ally, there should be a reason they haven’t come forward yet, or justification for why their testimony is where it is in a story. Maybe they are somewhat accidentally guilty in the mystery, maybe they are afraid to be involved, maybe they aren’t aware anything has happened at all.

If they’re an enemy, maybe your protagonists need to corner them, best them in a battle, talk to them away from their boss, kidnap them, etc. Consider why this person would betray their ‘side’ to provide a clue to the protagonists.

Journal entries, notes, letters, ledgers, or otherwise written down

Physical evidence—footprints, pieces of clothing left behind, an object, photos, drawings

Biological evidence--fingerprints, DNA, hair, etc. If your character already has access to the equipment for this, great! If not, consider how they could find this out.

A prophetic dream or vision (use in cases in which it would make sense for your character to have this, obviously)

A riddle, poem, or song, if you can justify it.

An educated guess (for small jumps)

Timing—if they can figure out a timeline, they may be able to figure out something else

Something is missing or off place. That’s odd, character always leaves their book on the bedside table, so why isn’t it there?

I am in the business of creativity;

Of living life like a story,

And being a force of genesis.

I am in the business of magic,

Of painting pictures of humanity

And reality and tragedy.

I am in the business of change.

Of power through fiction,

Or rest through truth.

To be a writer is to be a force.

Sometimes you are a stream.

Sometimes you are an ocean’s wave.

If you see this on your dash, and you’ve written today, it’s okay to take a break! Don’t take one for too long, but enjoy yourself! Your brain needs to relax sometimes!

And if you haven’t written, it’s still okay to be tumblr! Sometimes we need to take a whole day off! Or a whole week!