The Whydunit
Mystery, Thriller, Susssspenssse ...
Welcome to my Adventures in Writing as guided by a series of writing advice books I’m using to help me write a novel! 🤓📝 Each month, I’ll cover a chapter of the book and share how it’s shaping my novel by working through the assignment contained therein. The current industry book is Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, based on the books by Blake Snyder.
Chapter 4: Whydunit
Detectives, Deception, and the Dark Side
We turn to stories to find out more about ourselves. And we turn to mysteries to find out more about the dark side of ourselves. What evils lurk inside human hearts? What sins are we, as a species, capable of committing? And most important, WHY? (p. 86)
… all Whydunits share a common core. They all center around a crime that has been committed and a dark secret that lies at the heart of it (p.87).
If I hadn’t mentioned it before, mysteries, thrillers, suspense—they’re my go-tos as a reader; they’re what I tend to gravitate toward in the book store. I discovered Nancy Drew in 2nd grade and lost count of how many times I read the entire original series start to finish. If you’d asked me what I wanted to be, I would’ve straight up told you “a detective.” 🕵🏼♀️ (And a singer. A singing detective, if you will 😂).
So, I guess attempting to write a mystery was kind of inevitable for me. 😬 And I’m selfishly pleased that this is the first of the 10 genres that Brody examines in detail here.
The Whodunit is a well-known cliché: a crime of some sort is committed, and a detective of sorts must find out who committed it, thereby solving the mystery and doling out some justice. But in terms of story, the “who” is just slightly missing the point. As Brody points out, the who isn’t nearly as interesting as why. One of the examples she uses is The Da Vinci Code, where (spoiler alert) the fact that the Priory of Scion is responsible for Jacques Saunièr’s murder isn’t as shocking or important as why he was killed. We don’t feel like a story has come to any satisfying conclusion until we know the why.
So let’s break this down. The three elements of a Whydunit are the detective, the secret, and the dark turn.
The detective can be anyone, but two things have to be true about this character: 1. He or she must be totally unprepared for the mystery they’re about to have to solve, and 2. There has to be a reason they’ve been dragged into this particular situation.
The secret is the ultimate why, the reason the situation exists. Secrets tend to start small and grow as the bits and pieces are revealed through the plot. The 💡💡moment for me in this chapter was when Brody referred to these bits and pieces as “cards.” As cards are turned throughout the story, more of the secret is discovered until the final card is turned (more on this later).
The dark turn refers to the point in the story where finding the truth has become so consuming to the detective that he or she is willing to break rules to do it. These rules can be personal, moral, or societal, but it has to signify a point of no return that will leave the character forever changed.
The Assignment
I mentioned that thinking of the secret as a card was a 💡💡 moment for me. One of the biggest conundrums facing a mystery writer is what to reveal and when to reveal it. Not gonna lie, I was (and still am) worried about how I can do this well.
It’s the reader you have to wow with each shocking turn of the cards—clues and reveals set to detonate like bombs at just the right moment, stopping the story in its tracks and sending the mystery in a new direction (p. 87)
This set me to thinking about exactly which of my plot points was a card, and because I’m a very visual-kinesthetic learner, I got out my index cards.
I think, ideally, there should be a card turn in most scenes/chapters, not least because this is what keeps readers turning the page. They don’t all have to be huge bombs, either. Those can be used sparingly, and the rest just enough to raise more questions and pull the story along.
I started with the very last card I wanted to turn, the Big One, the Final Reveal: who Quinn’s father was. This is her main goal from the beginning, but for most of the story, she gets sidelined by the mystery of what really happened to her birth mother, which turns out to be the last piece of the puzzle before she gets the answer to that overarching question.
From that last card, I worked backwards, and ended up with 10 cards, each of them some kind of clue, or reveal, that would lead to the next. Of course, it’s all subject to change and revision, but I think it’s a pretty decent roadmap to start with.
With that out of the way, I started honing in on the details of the First Act. The first 4 cards will be turned over in those scenes. I have to say that this Save the Cat! beat sheet is a superb addition to the plot matrix because it’s helping me to keep a particular focus on the purpose for each scene in the timeline.
Remember, the First Act includes the following parts: Opening Image, Theme Stated, Setup, Catalyst, and Debate. When I started laying these out in the plot matrix, it was obvious that Things were Missing, so the first thing on the agenda was to try to fill in those missing elements and plot points.
I ended up adding two brand-new scenes to this First Act that will, hopefully, flesh it out a bit. The first addition was a visit to Grandma. I hadn’t thought much past Quinn’s immediate family (and you’d think there’d be some extended family out there, right?), so I started wondering who else might be around. The Grandmother character popped up and volunteered to not make life easier for Quinn (also contributing to the setup), so there we were.
As for the second addition, it seemed like a good idea to bring the PI in to add to Quinn’s debate over what to do with the information he uncovered—or the lack thereof. If she thinks, or hopes, that those answers will be enough for her to continue with business as usual, she needs to be sorely mistaken.
So yay! More progress! Here’s a small snip—introducing Quinn’s grandmother, Madeline Stanworth:
“I told them to drop it.” Her lips pressed into a thin, tight line as she looked at me. She sat perfectly still, calm, hands resting elegantly in her lap. And yet, the veil on her fascinator trembled ever so slightly.
“You didn’t want them to adopt me?” My mouth was so dry, but I didn’t dare touch the tea. It had been brought in, placed in front of me—but not poured. I knew a hint when I saw one.
“Not just you. Adoption was an improper road in general. What would be the point?” She did lean forward then and pour the tea, apparently deciding to allow this conversation to happen.
I could have thought of quite a few points, but I waited until she’d picked up her cup and taken a sip before I picked up mine. It took everything I had not to drain it or drop it, but if she could manage to keep her composure, so could I. When her cup clinked daintily back in its dish, I held on to mine so my hands wouldn’t shake and simply said, “They wanted me.”
She stood, still strong and straight and proud for all her 92 years, and went to the mantle where she picked up a framed picture of her and Mother. “I blame Jackson,” she said bitterly. “Grace had had four miscarriages already, and he was still insistent that they must have a child. Grace would have been content with what God ordained but for him.” She put the picture back and turned to me. “It was likely his idea to lie to me. Grace called from Switzerland and said she was pregnant, and then they didn’t return for six years. With you.”
This time, I couldn’t stop the questions. “And you never came to visit? To see for yourself? Even when I was a baby? Even when you thought your daughter was going through a dangerous pregnancy and birth? You never asked?”
“I was never invited.”
I’m going to keep plugging along with this, and next month, we’ll see where I am with plotting through Act II (and figuring out what in the world the Dark Turn is going to be).
As always, thank you for coming on this journey with me! This month, find time to read a good book 📖, write some amazing words 📝, soak in the sunshine 😎, and hug your people 💕.
Sage Advice From the Pros
“The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful; typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.” ~~ Anne Enright
Read Any Good Books Lately?
During my husband’s recent squadron deployment, the spouse group did a Secret Sister thing. My Secret Sister gifted me many wonderful and amazing things, including some books (she obviously knew me well 😁)! One of them was The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, and y’all, I read this thing in one. sitting. Really. As a reader, I was captivated, and as a writer, I was 100% floored with how well this story was put together. Wow. From Goodreads:
Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.
The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.
Did You Know?
For over 300 years, French was the official language of England. This explains why even though English is a Germanic language, over 30% of our words are derived from French. 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 🇺🇸
And Finally …
Summer Vibes 😎☀️🏖️🐧
