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Hey, Reader,

Writing a good mystery is definitely about the crime, the victim, the sleuth, and the clues.

But it's about one more thing.

It's about something almost as tangible as the other elements I mentioned, yet it sneaks up on you often slowly, often unseen.

It’s sensed more than touched. It’s something that by the time you realize it's fully with you, it's too late to do anything about it.

I'm talking about suspense. That element that has you gripping the edge of your chair or your partner or something just before it happens.

I'm often teased about how much I appreciate certain old films and books. In my defense, I appreciate certain new offerings as well, but I'm friendlier with some of the more familiar stories that gripped me when I was younger.

One in particular is Ray Bradbury’s book Something Wicked This Way, which came out in 1954.

It's not a horror or traditional mystery story. It's more of a fantastic fantasy or a somewhat supernatural thriller. It focuses on two eleven-year-old boys who grew up in this idyllic American town.

They live right next door to each other. They were born on the same night but a matter of moments apart. The story is a little bit of an investigation into the human soul and spirit and what makes one go in one direction and one in another.

It asks whether we are more easily seduced by good or evil, depending on our nature. Bradbury did a wonderful job with it.

In fact, upon reading this at a young age, I was like, this is so fantastic. And then, reading it again in my young adult years, I suddenly realized something greater. The way he opened the story, the flow, and the combination of words to create imagery and character development made me really commit at that moment to wanting to be a writer.

You see, part of good writing is understanding what your job is when you start a story, whether it's a book, a film, or a play.

The first thing you're supposed to do is introduce us to the world—that is, the world in which the story takes place. Then, introduce us to the characters, some of the setup, and maybe even a peek at the conflict. That's the opening scene.

Bradbury did this so brilliantly because we immediately get the sense that it's not a stodgy suburban neighborhood. It's a small town, a simple place where generation after generation has grown up and old and died. Where you know everyone, or at least you thought you did.

Then he introduces the boys and a stranger, a lightning rod salesman. A man who appears fearful of something behind him, perhaps stalking him, just beyond the hills.

Next, we see he’s more fearful for one of the boys. He insists the child take a lightning rod for free, and then off he goes.

So if it's not about the money… what is it about? What is stalking him, and what makes it such a threat to one of the boys? One of them. And that's just the opening.

So, in a suspense or mystery thriller, you establish the world, the characters, at least some of them, and the conflict. And you whisper at the threat. You hint or suggest the potential for danger or something worse.

You tease your audience with clues, bits of conversation, and glances out of the corner of a character's eyes. And you keep the thing to be fearful of always just beyond reach, just out of sight in the shadows, metaphorically or literally.

Next week, I'll discuss how to plot a mystery thriller. This will be a peek at what’s to come in my new mystery writing challenge, DEAD AT DAWN (see link below), which will be released in mid-June.

You’ll see me then … if I don't see you first.

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Best,

Alex Simmons

Join my WRITE THE CRIME CHALLENGE: DEAD AT DAWN!

It’s a five-part master class on plotting crooks, crimes, and clues, Coming June 12th.

​Click here to join the gang uh … challenge.

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