| Author |
Message |
    
Michael Ball
Awareness Member
Post Number:
12
Registered: 05-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 04:10 pm: |   |
I received this article from a writers group in Detroit that I belong to. I am always wondering who determines what exactly a mystery is in a publisher, editor, agent, or critics mind. This lays it out pretty well, at least according to this writer.
The only problem I have with the article is that according to how I read it, Elmore Leonard is not a mystery writer. Can this be so according to the definition of the craft? Many people call him the greatest mystery writer of all time, can they all be wrong?
Does it really matter to anyone but the publishers, agents, and editors what your work is defined as so long as the readers lover it?
Just food for thought for anyone that has their work pigeonholed as a certain type.
Mike
Mystery vs. Thriller
Sixteen Differences between Mystery and Suspense
A mystery concerns itself with a puzzle. Suspense presents the reader with a nightmare.
A mystery is a power fantasy; we identify with the detective. Suspense is a victim fantasy; we identify with someone at the mercy of others.
A mystery can be likened to a myth. Suspense is more like a fairy tale.
In a mystery the hero or heroine already has the skills he or she needs to solve the puzzle. In suspense, he or she must learn new skills to survive.
In a mystery, thinking is paramount. In suspense, feeling is paramount.
The most important action in a mystery takes place offstage. In suspense, the important action happens onstage.
A mystery usually takes place within a small circle of friends. The hero or heroine of a suspense novel often finds him or herself thrust into a larger world.
Readers of mysteries are looking for clues. Readers of suspense are expecting surprises.
In a mystery, information is withheld. In suspense novels, information is provided.
The ideal reader of mysteries remains one step behind the hero or heroine.
Those who read suspense should be one step ahead of the hero or heroine.
Mystery readers expect a series. Those who read suspense know a book can be a one shot.
The hero or heroine in a mystery is looking for suspects. The hero or heroine in suspense looks for betrayers.
A mystery hero or heroine must confront a series of red herrings. The suspense novel hero or heroine faces a cycle of distrust.
Mystery endings must be intellectually satisfying. Suspense endings must provide emotional satisfaction.
Mysteries are usually three hundred manuscript pages. Suspense novels can be longer.
Taken from:
Skillman, Trish MacDonald. Writing the Thriller. Writers Digest Books. 2000. |
Gloria Marlow
Unity Member
Post Number:
1521
Registered: 04-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 04:40 pm: | |
That is very interesting. It gave me some things to ponder.
Gloria
The Butterfly Game
Flowers for Megan
Shades of Silence (coming soon)
|
Bill Nelson
Unity Member
Post Number:
1209
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 05:26 pm: | |
Good info, Mike.
Think about "Silence of the Lambs". It's a mixture of both. I'm sure there are several other examples.
This is the kind of thing that makes being a writer fun. Trying to craft such scenes is a blast.
Thanks.
Bill Nelson
RISEN, ISBN 1-93301616-4
Behler Publications |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page