There are some really great mystery and suspense stories out there in the wild. The best of the best can be found through the works of Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Shirley Jackson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rex Stout, to mention but a few.
Here at the Poison Pen we specialize in murder. Whether you aim to solve for the killer or commit the crime yourself is entirely up to you. This is a judgement free zone, of course. But we do want a great story. At the heart of every good killer and crime solver is a compelling story. Can you craft such a tale?
Every calendar year will feature three opportunities for you to spin a tale that will captivate a ready and willing audience. Each contest allows for one entry per person that must be easily identifiable as either a mystery or a suspense story. Any underlying genre (ex. sci-fi, fantasy, romance, etc.) is entirely up to you. It can take place any time and anywhere so long as it contains the basic tenets of mystery and suspense. Every story, no matter the genre, should contain a great mystery. Something the reader wants to find out and the writer is all too willing to be a guide towards the answers. The keys to how can be found in the following ten areas. Use them as guides, but not as hard and fast rules or you may find yourself stuck. To break the rules you must first know what some of them are:
A strong hook: A great mystery should invite the reader to try to solve the crime, and a great opening is critical to piquing their interest. A mystery should start with just enough information about the crime to build intrigue from the first line. This is the defining moment when a reader chooses whether or not they want to continue.
An atmospheric setting: Stories in this genre should create an ominous, uneasy mood through setting to support the anxiety of an unknown antagonist lurking in the shadows.
A crime: A crime is the event that fuels the plot in a mystery (or suspense) story.
A sleuth: At the heart of every mystery is a main character determined to solve the crime. Mysteries can center around an amateur investigator—an average citizen who solves the case. The character development of the sleuth is important; they need a backstory that connects them to the crime or the killer, and a motive that explains why solving this crime is important to them.
A villain: A mystery is often called a whodunit because the culprit is unknown until they’re caught at the end. The story follows their movements, which propel the story forward. The main character and the reader discover the criminal’s identity as the plot reaches its climax.
Narrative momentum: A mystery plot is in constant motion thanks to a cat-and-mouse narrative thread. The pacing will quicken the closer the plot moves towards the climax and the closer the main character gets to solving the crime.
A trail of clues: Clues are the literary element that allows mystery stories to engage readers on a deeper level than other types of fiction. The reader becomes an amateur sleuth, following the trail of clues to try to discover the identity of the culprit.
Foreshadowing: Mysteries often drop hints of things that will happen in the future. This is known as foreshadowing. A writer can hint at a future event with a small clue or through character dialogue.
Red herrings: A good mystery throws the reader off track. These false clues build tension by creating other suspects and distracting the detective—and the reader—and leading them away from the real culprit.
A satisfying ending: At the end of great mystery novels there is the big reveal—the sleuth discovers the identity of the culprit.
These ten points come from the following article on the MasterClass website. I recommend reading it as they expand on it further with additional reading as well.
So, let’s take a peek at 2024 and when you can start submitting your stories of murder:
February 1st – Submission Post opens for 2 weeks.
February 15th – Submission Post closes.
March 1st – Voting Post opens for 7 days.
June 1st – Submission Post opens for 2 weeks.
June 15th – Submission Post closes.
July 1st – Voting Post opens for 7 days.
October 1st – Submission Post opens for 2 weeks.
October 15th – Submission Post closes.
November 1st – Voting Post opens for 7 days.
Your story doesn’t have to be written during the two weeks that the submission post is open. But it does have to be written in the same calendar year. That means only stories posted publicly in 2024.
I look forward to reading your stories and hope to get many entries as well as even more readers and voters! I’ll share more on the annual award later but for now there will be a few essays and reviews to come as we venture forth on this journey of murder together.
Happy killing!
