I have to confess; I’m not making the progress I’d hoped on the short story (and the novel continues to languish – I know, I know…). On the one hand, writing it is very easy. The scenes practically scream to me, and populating them is easy…almost. See, I’ve never written a mystery before. I know the theory: crime committed, series of clues lead to a startling conclusion.
I’ve just never done it before. I don’t even read mysteries that much. I think the last mystery I read was The Poet by Michael Connelly…when it was hot off the presses (‘96). Suffice it to say, except for the occasional Bones or CSI, I don’t do mysteries too often.
Not that this is your average mystery. Steampunk? Check! Alternate reality? Check! Set in a world where vampires finished conquering the world in the late nineteenth century? Check! Sounds crazy? Check! And thus the story begins, in a world where Humans have just gained rights by decree of the Queen (and anti-Human prejudice is common), a Human is found murdered and strung up over the side of an airship.
Enter my Inspector (By the way, the English conquered the French at some point too. Happens), Hornsby of the Rue Yard. The suspect list isn’t long – an addled Doctor, a pair of sisters, a hunter, and a Lady. Plus of course the crew of the airship. (If you haven’t guessed, I’m trying to work out my roadblock here.) I have most of the dialogues down, the discussions between the Inspector and the suspects. I’d like to have a get together towards the end – too much Thin Man in my blood I guess, even if I have no Nora in the story (or do I…? Still time I suppose). I even have an idea of who did it, and why. Yes, I realize that’s probably a good thing, given I’m the writer and all, but its not as surprising as you think.
So what’s missing? Clues. It feels weird to go back and pepper them in. I feel like they should show up as the story develops, but I think that’s where naiveté meets the hard cold reality of actually writing a mystery. I need the clues that lead the subconscious to the answer even while I blatantly point a finger elsewhere.
You know what? Writing this all out did help. I need to finish the current course, weave in the clues, then go through the edit/rewrite cycles. Thanks for being my sounding board, folks!