WRITE YOUR OWN: Mystery
By Pie Corbett
4/5
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About this ebook
- Interactive ebook with 'Time to Write' and 'Writing Tips' waiting to be revealed at the press of a button
- Learn how to create your own mysterious characters, plant clues, set up great scenarios and end with the ultimate twist
- Chapters include Puzzling Plots, Tricks of the Trade, Putting Pen to Paper and Editing and Publishing
A good mystery keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. So why not write your own? This book gives you all you need to intrigue your readers and get them searching for clues.
Full of tips, advice and new ways of approaching creative writing, this is a handy guide for every aspiring writer.
Pie Corbett
Pie Corbett has advised the National Literacy Strategy for both the Primary and Key Stage 3 phase. He works across the country, running inset and development projects - and was co-leader of the DfES Innovations project on 'Storymaking', based at the International Learning and Research Centre. Author of over 250 books, he writes poetry, stories and materials for teachers. He has compiled many best-selling anthologies for Macmillan Children’s Books including A First Poetry Book and Assembly Poems.
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Reviews for WRITE YOUR OWN
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nicely done introduction for children and teens learning how to write captivating mysteries. The wording was done in a way that didn't speak down to the reader and gave good examples as well as sources for great works. It also included some very good advice on how to wrap up your story and keep it interesting and readable from start to finish.
Book preview
WRITE YOUR OWN - Pie Corbett
PUZZLING PLOTS
THINKING ABOUT MYSTERY
Outside it was dark, the moon covered by filmy clouds. Amy shivered as she walked down towards the bottom of the lane. She was just passing the old church hall when she noticed a light, flickering in the window. She tugged Sam away from a tree that he had been sniffing.
Amy knew that the church hall was never used on a Tuesday evening. She had walked past the hall every Tuesday for at least four years and there had never been anybody there before. She crouched down and pulled Sam close to her. She could just see the light – it was a lantern and someone was waving it back and forth as if they were signalling something. Suddenly, the lantern went out and she heard the distinct sound of breaking glass …
What is going on in the old church hall? Is someone in danger? Does this sort of story make you want to keep reading? Do you enjoy watching films full of clues and suspense that are only solved at the end? If you like puzzling plots and cliffhangers, how about trying to write one yourself? This book will help you write a really gripping mystery.
WHAT IS A MYSTERY?
Mystery stories are packed with scares, suspense and fast-paced action that keep you right on the edge of your seat. A mystery story may be:
a detective mystery or ‘whodunnit’
In these stories a private eye or detective is usually working against time to solve an impossible robbery or curious crime!
An adventure mystery
In these, a great adventure is wrapped around a mystery. Perhaps the main characters see a strange light in a vacant house and they set about solving the mystery with many thrills and spills on the way!
Writing Tip!
Some of the writing terms in this book are explained in the glossary. There are checklists to help with spelling, punctuation and making new paragraphs in chapter 5.
WHAT DO I NEED TO WRITE MY OWN MYSTERY?
The great thing about being a writer is that you don’t need much equipment, just a writing journal or notebook, a pen and a place to write. However, the most important thing that you need is the ability to daydream and think up great stories! Mystery writers are also like good detectives – always on the look out for characters, settings, details and ideas.
Writing Tip!
Get a writing journal and find a special place to write – somewhere that is quiet and where you won't be disturbed. You will need a good dictionary to check spellings (or a computer spell-check) and a thesaurus to help find alternatives to words you use a lot.
CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER…
Like all stories, a mystery has certain key ingredients:
1. The problem
In a mystery story the problem usually