Creating an Engaging Plot for A Mystery
The teens took a break from the chaos in the world for a change and instead pretended to be a team of detectives on a very interesting case.
Who doesn’t like a good mystery? Many of us love coming up with our own theories to find the culprit and read eagerly to find out if our guess is right. Considering that a good mystery is the one that engages a reader right from the beginning, writing one requires plenty of thinking and planning. The culprit cannot be obvious. That would hugely disappoint the reader. The culprit needs to be someone who can be easily missed. But, the evidence pointing in the culprit’s direction needs to be convincing.
In a specially designed activity, the teens at the Young Writers’ Club, had an interesting case to consider and had to try and solve it with the given list of suspects and clues. However, there wasn’t one single correct answer waiting to be discovered. There could be multiple theories but there was one condition. The theory behind a character being marked as culprit must be sound and backed up with solid evidence. Motive and opportunity must be established.
The Case of the Missing First Edition of a book from the Sherlock Holmes Series.
A signed, first edition of the book The Hound of The Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, supposedly also called as Sherlock Holmes at this Best, The World Famous Mystery Thriller, goes missing from a locked display case in a school library.
Documented Facts:
The display was locked when the librarian left at 5.00 PM.
Only three people have a key.
No windows were broken.
No alarms were triggered and nothing else was disturbed.
The alarm system recorded that the library door was opened at 6.43 PM and locked again at 6.51PM.
The teens were also given a list of suspects and clues. These were made a little confusing at times, misleading even.
After much contemplation…
2-3 theories emerged. As the discussion progressed, everyone actively participated, shaping their theories in different ways as they heard different perspectives and arguments. Some liked the idea of having multiple possibilities instead of one correct answer. While others preferred having one correct answer and knowing if they got it right or wrong. Dear reader, what would you prefer? Picking the end that you like or having one definitive ending?
If you enjoyed reading this article and would love to read more about the work that these amazing teens do, please subscribe to our magazine for free.
Once in 3 months, a special edition showcasing some of their exceptional writing is released. Subscribe for free and don’t miss reading a fine piece of writing!
Musings from the Young Writers’ Club is a Talking Circles’ Publication