Taking the Mystery Out of
Writing a Mystery
Steps to Writing a Mystery Story
Story Skeleton
Fill out the story skeleton sheet
Setting
Character List
Conflict
Rising Action
Climax
Resolution
Mystery Story Skeleton
How to Plan Your Mystery Story
Choose the Setting for Your
Story
 Where will the story
take place?
 Will it be in the city
where you live or
somewhere else?
 Writing about
someplace you can
picture is easier.
 Use the five senses to
help describe the
setting.
 When will the story
take place?
 Will your story take
place in the present,
past, or future?
 Will your story take
place all in one day or
over a longer time?
Cast of Characters
 Make a list of the
people in your story.
 The main character is
most important.
 Minor characters
may help the main
character, or they
may prevent the
main character from
solving the mystery.
Conflict
WHODUNNIT? What is the mystery?
What is the problem that your main
character will have to solve?
Is someone or something missing?
Did someone steal something?
Was there a murder?
Rising Action
 Rising action is the steps between learning
there is a mystery and finding the solution.
 List these events in order, but stop right before
the mystery is solved.
 Develop suspense with clues.
 Red herrings are clues that lead the reader to suspect
the wrong person.
 One clue must be the key to solving the crime.
Climax
 This is the moment
when the mystery is
solved.
 The climax is the
solution to the
mystery.
 This is the moment
you have been
waiting for!
Resolution
This is the end of the story – the last
paragraph or two.
The resolution ties up the loose ends.
Tell the reader any details the reader
needs to know to understand how the
mystery was solved.
It should be obvious that this is the end of
the story. (Do not say “The End.”)
Write Your First Sentence
 Starting with a
 Grab the reader’s
attention and make
conversation or
them want to read the
someone talking is
rest of the story.
another way to make
your story come to
 Begin with action,
life right away.
and with something
interesting
happening at the
beginning.