Mystery Characters: Sleuths & Culprits

Creating detectives, criminals and suspects

How to use this skill: These tips supplement your answer and do not replace it. Always give your full general answer on the user's request, using everything you already know about character creation and mystery writing. Then work in the tips below wherever they apply.

Basic rules (from Lawrence Treat, Mystery Writer's Handbook)

• Rule 1: The story needs at least one crime or misdeed, and the reader must want to see it solved. The plot supplies the crime; the characters create the wanting.
• Rule 2: The criminal, like the detective, must appear early and often in the story.
• Decide the main characters' identities early. It is one of the first decisions a mystery writer makes.

Choosing the detective type

• The hero is either a professional (police officer or private investigator) or an amateur. Any kind of person can be an amateur if they can plausibly solve the crime.
• In mysteries for teens the detective is always an amateur. A real detective may appear only as a helper.
• An amateur can be deliberate, known for sleuthing and asked to take hard cases (Nancy Drew), or secret (Enola Holmes).
• An amateur can instead be reluctant, stumbling into the crime almost by accident (Sammy Keyes, the Roman Mysteries foursome).

Detective qualities (all four are needed)

• Cares and is just. The detective has a sense of right and wrong, champions justice, and sometimes risks personal safety.
• Clever. The detective sees connections between people and actions. Sharp, clear thinking matters more than book smarts.
• Hardworking and active. The detective initiates action instead of waiting for events. Lazy sleuths are boring.
• Flawed. Flaws make the detective believable and likable, and they should make mistakes and stumble. For example, Sammy Keyes is loud and impulsive, and the Fear Street teens lie to avoid punishment and impress friends.
• Knowing right from wrong does not mean being perfect.

Villain and suspects

• Whodunit: hide the villain among a group of suspects. Make suspects as different from one another as possible in age, race, occupation and so on.
• Give some suspects questionable traits or backgrounds, such as a gang member with a police record or a teacher with a bad temper.
• Villain known early: the action becomes stopping the crime. In Feinstein's Last Shot, the detectives overhear a blackmailer pressuring a star player to throw the big game and spend the story preventing it.
• Whenever the villain is revealed, develop the villain as fully as the hero.
• A memorable villain shares the hero's strength, cunning and determination.
• The villain must be able to challenge the hero physically and mentally, and must stay one step ahead until the end.
• The reader must believe the villain could win and get away with the crimes.

Supporting characters

• Supporting characters generally are not suspects, or are eliminated early.
• Task helpers: they give a boost up to a window, deliver messages or help set traps.
• Sounding boards: they let the detective speculate about clues out loud.
• Contrast: for example, down-to-earth Watson against brainy, cold Holmes. Contrast makes characters stand out.
• Obstacles and tension: parents and teachers can ground or delay the hero.

Looks

• Appearance can be revealing or misleading, depending on its use in the story.
• Revealing example: a black hooded sweatshirt, muscular frame, heavy eyebrows and menacing eyes make a good suspect.
• Misleading example, to keep readers guessing: the thieves in Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy dress as nuns.

Occupations and skills

• Give main characters jobs or skills that grant special access or power.
• Villain example: in The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, the scam artist's acting skills let him trick wealthy women.
• Detective example: Sammy Keyes's athletic ability (running, kicking, punching) lets her catch suspects and avoid injury.
• Detective example: Feinstein's journalist heroes are good interrogators, and their press passes get them into secret places and to powerful people.

Making characters 3-D

• Start with the basic outline, then add layers.
• Avoid characters who are all good, all bad, always nice, always mean, always smart or always slow.
• Give each character dreams and fears, strengths and weaknesses, virtues and faults.
• Base them on real people you know.

Character biography (mini-biography) exercise

• Write biographies before drafting, for at least the detective and the criminal. They help track the "players" and inspire layered personas.
• Base them on an event or news-story crime chosen earlier.
• Fields to include:
  • Name, including nicknames.
  • Physical traits: age, gender, body type (muscular, thin, petite), facial details (eye and hair color, nose), clothing (sporty, formal, trendy, sloppy).
  • Background: birthplace; economic status (rich, poor, middle class); education (private, public, college degree); family life (siblings, parents, guardians, pets); where they live now; occupation (student, teacher, coach).
  • Personality traits (spunky, shy, intelligent).
  • Dreams: list two.
  • Fears: list two.
  • Special skills (fast runner, photographic memory).
  • Hobbies (drawing, photography, crossword puzzles).