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Sigh...
...trying to beat my Sherlock Holmes pastiche plotline into something vaguely usable. I feel like Barbie-writer. "Mysteries are HARD!"
I made the mistake of starting writing before I had a plot. Then red herrings and legitimate clues and suspects and aliases all sprang up and I realized I was in the middle of a freshly mopped floor with nowhere to go without making a mess. Sigh. I find it's best if I work backward, but that means knowing exactly who did what, when and why, before I can put in a single clue or develop a character.
Never start a mystery without a THOROUGH outline first. Sigh.
I made the mistake of starting writing before I had a plot. Then red herrings and legitimate clues and suspects and aliases all sprang up and I realized I was in the middle of a freshly mopped floor with nowhere to go without making a mess. Sigh. I find it's best if I work backward, but that means knowing exactly who did what, when and why, before I can put in a single clue or develop a character.
Never start a mystery without a THOROUGH outline first. Sigh.
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As for mysteries, I usually start with a general idea, but don't outline. Sometimes I envision the end but leave the middle vague, and make it up as I go along. So far that works for me.
And, btw, I just read your "Lily of the Valley" over on the MFU e-zine -- wow! That's one of the best I've read in a long time.
Thanks!