Submitted by: Dave Diotalevi(70) Log in to become a member of Dave Diotalevi's Fan Club!
You're a mystery fan and have settled down with a book you've begged, bought, or borrowed.
You expect to be at the very least entertained, but--based on past experience--you hope to be transported to a state of entrancement, fascination, and even awe. Books can do that and you know it.
Then, why is that pile of pages you're plowing through NOT paying off in the way you want?
There are lots of reasons why a mystery fails, why you feel disappointed while reading it. AND--why, even when you use all your determination to push through to the end, you feel cheated and ask yourself: "Why did I bother?"
I've boiled down these reasons into five categories--the 5 mortal sins that kill a story's soul:
-- Reading this is WORK!
-- I don't care about the characters.
-- This could NEVER happen.
-- NOTHING happens.
-- The solution is too: easy ... or hard.
There they are, ready to ruin your enjoyment. Any one of the above can execute that mystery deader than the corpses scattered through it. Sometimes, you'll find more than one, and on a rare occasion, you'll notice ALL of them.
Let's go over our mystery-murdering reasons one-at-a time:
READING THIS IS WORK
If you realize you're reading instead of being transported into the scene, the author is doing a poor job.
Sometimes, it's just structure: the paragraphs are too long (ever look at a solid, dense page of unbroken text and groan?), or the sentences are too full of punctuation and run on forever (like THIS one almost did).
There's a difference between "challenging" and work. Challenging means exercise for the brain. It's hard, but you'll be better for it at the end; it's worth the effort. Work, on the other hand, just wears you down and wears you out. You feel bored, tired, and uninspired.
You know work when you read it. If you're looking to the end of a chapter to see how much more you've got to go--you're working. If you're riffling the pages to the end of the book and thinking, "I've got ALL that!"--you're working.
Sometimes an author's style is like learning a new language. You have to stick with it until you're comfortable. If you don't get the hang of it after a chapter or two--it's work.
I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS
Reading should put you among friends ... and enemies.
You want to LOVE your friends and HATE your enemies. While reading, strong emotions are welcome.
If you don't even like your friends, or worse, are apathetic--something is wrong. You're hanging around with the wrong crowd. AND if you DON'T hate or fear your enemies, they're just acquaintances--extras in your mental movie.
If the main characters don't make you want to root for them or against them, they're strangers to you with no emotional value. A "who cares?" response takes you to the question: why am I reading this?
There are a few reasons characters don't involve you:
They're boring--Why would you want to read about someone who's stuck in the same trivia that makes your eyes glaze over in your own life?
They're ordinary--A good protagonist is someone you're dying to see deal with challenges, someone you want to be your champion. Anyone who has no special abilities, ambitions, problems, or quirks is someone you'll soon forget--and want to forget.
They're unlikable--Ever have the main character do things that make you root for him/her to fail? You know what I'm talking about. When you do, either consciously or unconsciously, the book you're reading is in serious trouble.
THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN
Fiction SHOULD take you beyond the realm of the ordinary, press against the boundary of impossible, and maybe even shatter it with new revelations.
But--PUULLEASE--don't expect us to believe people act in stupid ways that are inconsistent with logic, reason, and sanity. UNLESS you need us to believe they're illogical, unreasonable--and INSANE! Dear author, don't insult us by expecting readers to swallow bizarre behaviors that are thrown in just to make the plot plod forward an inch in the direction you need it to go. We all know what drives people to act normally or what drives them over the edge. Use THOSE motivations; we accept and relish them.
And COINCIDENCES--we all know they DO happen in real life--but when they happen in a mystery, we're cheated out of the delicious feeling of order and deduction that revs a good book's engine.
You as a reader have an unwritten bargain with the author: you've signed up as an assistant that's "on the case" figuring things out as you go, and maybe even trying to outwit the hero. Coincidences crush that mental contract and tell you not to bother.
Coincidences reveal the author is either lazy, or not smart enough to write themselves out of a tight spot.
NOTHING HAPPENS
Mystery authors are great at this. There's some trivial crime--or worse--some fabulous crime you're dying to find a solution for, and then you're treated to page after page of circling.
All the false "tension" comes from the "good guys" arguing with each other or going over the facts yet again.
The main character can explain the facts to each new character that shows up, or rely on the old "I must be missing something." You can expect some serious circling after that. Maybe the author is just building up the word count; maybe the author didn't think you understood it the first three times; maybe you should throw the book down!
Another sign nothing is happening is when there are complete chapters that have zero to do with the plot. An author can argue that character development is going on. BUT--if you're looking at your watch, hourglass, or sundial--and begging to get out of that chapter and back to the REAL story--it's more circling.
In a mystery, one THING should lead to another. Why should it be so hard to make the THINGS interesting and actually hook together, one-after-another?
THE SOLUTION IS TOO: EASY ... OR HARD
The payoff, the climax--that tootsie roll center a good mystery fan lusts for. The author HAS to make THAT worth the trip.
If you "guessed" the outcome too early--a case of premature cerebration--the rest of the journey is just a monotonous march.
A mystery author ideally aims at "challenging." Challenge the reader to keep interested, engaged, and competing with the puzzle. A reader should have a hearty feeling of superiority of a job well done if he does solve it. Even better for the author is the "I should have known!" reaction that leaves the reader with the feeling that it was all there for the taking, and eager for another chance the next time.
Figuring out a mystery too soon is like playing tic-tac-toe with kids. You may win, but it ain't much fun.
On the other end of the solution spectrum is the impossible ending--one that you could NEVER figure out.
All your careful reading, calculations, and time spent are wiped away by a "WHAAA??" ending.
Either the solution comes from left field with no clues pointing towards it, or there were so many clues that there are too many alternatives with nothing pointing towards that ONE satisfying finale.
Talk about cheated!
There we have it. The next time you're reading that mystery and have a vague, creeping feeling in your gut--think of the five mortal sins--and banish it quickly to mystery hell!
Dave Diotalevi author of MIRACLE MYX http://DaveWritesBooks.com
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