Mystery-building in a Novel

INSTRUCTOR: Shannon Winton
​TIME: Sunday, March 2, 1-4 pm CST/CDT
PRICE: Early bird price: $45 for members, $60 for nonmembers. The deadline for early bird pricing is Monday, April 21. After Monday, April 21: $55 for members, $70 for nonmembers. Become a member here. Apply for a scholarship here.
LOCATION: Writespace, 1907 Sabine Street, #125, Houston, TX 77007 (map).
LEVEL: All levels
CAP: 15

From romance to science fiction to westerns, mysteries can be set in any location at any point in time, and a good mystery will excite your reader like nothing else. However, how to write a mystery can be a mystery in itself.

Regardless of whether your protagonist is an amateur sleuth, secret agent, or hardboiled detective, their story needs to hit specific plot beats. This workshop will break down the elements that compose a mystery plot, expound on how to build believable puzzles for your detective(s) to solve, and identify audience expectations for the most popular mystery sub-genres so you can have your own aha moments as you create your story.

In-class practice will include identifying key plot elements in award-winning detective fiction. In the generative portion of our class, we’ll use a mystery-building beat sheet to help you outline your next mystery story.

Shannon Winton is a whodunit mastermind who also loves zombies and old-world monsters. She’s been a professional editor for over a decade and teaches workshops for the Editorial Freelancers Association to help new editors learn their trade. Shannon has a penchant for educating writers and likes to provide feedback that helps her authors grow and understand their genre better.

Photo by Sonya Romanovska on Unsplash

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