Detective fiction allows the reader to follow a detective as they try to solve a crime or uncover a mystery.If you are a writer, you can try to create a short detective story for a class or as a writing challenge.To write an effective detective story, you need to find inspiration and create an engaging plot.Clues, red herrings and a plot twist can be included in your story.If you want the story to be at its best, you need to revise it by showing it to others and reading it aloud.
Step 1: It is possible to use a real life crime as inspiration.
A good detective story starts with a strange crime.Current news stories about crimes solved by real life detectives are a good place to start.A cold case that has never been solved is an inspiration for the crime in your story.You can find the crime section in newspapers at your local library.A crime that happened to a friend or family member can be used as inspiration for a fictional crime.You can focus on a crime like the murder of a close relative to someone the detective knows or the kidnapping of the most famous police dog.
Step 2: There is a unique detective that you can come up with.
The detective in your story should be memorable, unique, and smart because they are at the center of the mystery.They should be able to get information from others and have a keen sense of observation.The detective in your story should be brilliant, but also flawed.You may have a detective that looks frail but is a genius at solving crimes.A blind detective is able to rely on their other senses to see.
Step 3: The detective should be given a companion or partner.
There is a secondary character who works with the detective.The reader may not be able to relate to a genius detective, so the companion or partner can give the reader someone to identify with.The companion can offer perspective on the crime, even if they are not as smart as the detective.They can help the detective.A famous companion would be a fictional character.As he is not as smart as Sherlock, Dr.Watson helps him to empathise with others and see the crimes in a different light.
Step 4: An engaging plot is what you should create.
A good detective story has a good plot.The set up, inciting incident, rising action, climax, and the resolution are part of a traditional plot outline.The set up introduces the setting, the main character, and the conflict.Start with a murder set in the hometown of a detective named Jamie Brains.The main character is challenged by an inciting incident.After local detectives cannot solve a murder, Detective Brains may decide to take on the case.The rising action is where you develop your main character and explore their relationship with other characters.Detective Brains may visit her childhood home and meet an old mentor.The main character has to make a decision at the end of the story.Detective Brains may know her mentor is the murderer.The main character deals with the results of their choice at the falling action point.Detective Brains may have a shoot out with her mentor as she tries to catch him for the murder.The resolution tells the reader if the main character succeeds or fails to achieve their goal.Detective Brains may confront her mentor to find out why he committed the murder.Brains may leave her hometown if she solved the crime.
Step 5: There are examples of detective stories.
You can get a better sense of the genre by reading examples of detective stories.There are online mystery magazines and detective stories at your local library.You can see how the genre has evolved by reading newer and older detective stories.The writer uses suspense, plot, and character to propel the story.You can read "The Murders at the Rue Morgue".Alexander McCall Smith wrote "No Place to Park".Tom Fabian wrote "My hobby".Agatha Christie wrote And Then There Were None.Stefania Mattana wrote Into the Killer Sphere.
Step 6: Start with the crime or mystery.
Give your reader a glimpse of the crime or mystery that will be the focus of your story.You can show the victim before the crime occurs.You could show the detective the scene of the crime a few hours after it happened.The detective may be shown riding up to the crime on their bike.You could have the victim run from their attacker and then cut to a scene of the detective finding their body.
Step 7: The key players should be introduced.
Readers should know who the important characters are in the story.Scenes that show the detective and his partner working to solve the case should be included.The victim should be described as well as any by-standers or secondary characters.The mentor is going to be an important character in the story if you show the detective paying a visit to her old mentor.Readers can start to feel suspense if you introduce characters that could be seen as suspects or perpetrators of the crime.
Step 8: They have clues and red herrings.
Clues help to point the detective in the right direction.Clues can be in the form of a witness who remembers a key detail or an object that gives the detective a hunch on a suspect.To keep the suspense and mystery high, make sure your detective story has a trail of clues.Red herrings are clues that are false or turn out to be a distraction from the truth.You can use a suspect as a red herring, where the reader thinks one person is guilty when in fact they are innocent.You can use an object or turn of events as a red herring.
Step 9: The detective is being shown how to solve a crime.
The detective starts to piece together the mystery in a lot of the scenes.You can show them how to solve the crime.You can show them how to work at the police station.This will make your reader feel part of the process of solving the crime.You can show the detective and her partner the case files to find out if there were any similar crimes in the past.The detective may find a case file that contains a few clues after a long night of drinking and sleeping.
Step 10: Scenes with action should be included.
If you include scenes where the detective has to be physical, your reader will sit on the edge of their seat.Adding to the suspense is having physical action that builds the plot.Don't just include physical action for the sake of it.Make it count.The detective may get wrapped up in a car chase with a suspect or go on a foot chase to follow a lead in the case.They might have to break into someone's home or go on a stake out to watch a suspect.You could have a scene where the detective goes on a foot chase through the woods to catch her mentor, who has become her number one suspect.
Step 11: There is a plot twist.
Most good detective stories have at least one plot twist where the reader's assumptions are changed.The end of the story is when the plot twist occurs.The ending of the story can surprise the reader in a satisfying way.Make sure the plot twist is not too obvious for the reader.The plot twist should shock the reader, but they should also be able to see how you built it up.You could have a plot twist where the detective learns her mentor lied to her about her parents.Her mentor may cause the detective and the reader to question her relationship with her.
Step 12: The story can be read aloud.
If you have finished a draft of the story, read it to yourself.Listen to the language.Make sure the scenes are important to the plot.The detective comes across as unique and memorable in the story.You can read the story aloud to make sure you don't make any mistakes.
Step 13: Show the story to other people.
The detective story can be read by friends, family, and peers.Ask them if they liked the story.Find out if they thought the detective was a credible problem-solver.You can ask if the plot twist was effective in the story.Apply feedback from others to make your story better.
Step 14: The story should be revised for a longer period of time.
You should revise the story line by line after receiving feedback.The detective story should not go on for too long.The average length of a short story is between 1,000 and 7,000 words.If you keep your detective story within this word count, it will stay short.
Step 15: For clarity, adjust the story.
The story is easy to follow and read.Make sure there are no awkward moments in the story.It is possible to check the clarity of the story after you have revised it.
Step 16: The story should be titled.
You can title the story during the revision process.A title that gives the readers a sense of the mystery or crime is a good choice.The detective is an inspiration for the title."Death in a Small Town" or "The Missing Girl" are examples of titles that would work.