Gary Said:

Good mystery story ideaz?

We Answered:

Expand your mind, and learn grammar before you try to write anything. You may have ideas, but remember that it's not always about the ideas, its about the way you explain them. You could have the absolute worst idea for a story, but with the right writing skills you could make it into a New York Times Bestseller.

Carl Said:

i need help writing a mystery story?

We Answered:

A teen wakes up in the middle of the night and his whole family is gone. He can't get out of the house 'cause the doors are locked and he can't get out through the windows 'cause the glass is somehow invincible. A bunch of creepy things happen until he finds these messages on the walls that resemble journal entries (in his handwriting) that he doesn't remember writing and they talk about him doing all these horrible things that he can't remember doing as well as disturbing poetic lyrics and creepy private thoughts and BAM! he waked up in an insane asylum. Turns out the whole jacked-up dream thing was his way of coping with his own regret and insanity.

I wrote that for English back in 7th grade, it was only about forty or so pages but it got me an A plus for the semester exam (our assignment was to write a coherent story and I pulled the "mystery" category out of the hat) It's more horror than mystery, but hey whatever gets you through the day.

It's not that good either, to tell the truth, but hey maybe you can make something cool out of it.

Hope that helps :)

Ian Said:

Writing a book - help me choose from 2 plots - 2 lines each only, easy to read?

We Answered:

I think plot #2 is probably the better choice. There's more scope to allow your imagination to spread, there's an immediate sense of darkness, and you're not likely to write yourself into a corner quite so easily.

Plot #1 may at first seem more appealing to young girls, but to be honest the plot isn't very strong. Why the sudden deranged memory - how-come the sister is trying to solve the case - police don't like interference from the public. The sister may find herself in trouble if she interferes.

I used a memory loss in my last novel, BUT consulted doctors for advice - I researched. Believe me, it's not so easy to have a convincing reason for memory loss. It has to be something both traumatic, AND physically damaging to the brain.

Be aware that if you don't want readers jumping down your throat you'll need to research carefully. The real world isn't full of oohs and aahs, about your writing. Readers want a story based on reality, it HAS to be convincing.

Hope this helps a little.

Anthony James Barnett - author