Write Your Own: Mystery Read Online Free Page B

cold Saturday afternoon and Michaela was raking up the leaves in the Baxters’ garden. It was very hard work because the wind kept blowing them about.

    Once the sack was full she dragged it to the end of the garden and tipped the leaves out onto the smouldering bonfire. They
fell like so many fragments of paper, in a tumble of reds and golds. As she was staring at the flames, she heard somebody moan. Her instinct was to duck down and freeze, but through the hedge she could just make out two men carrying something long and heavy between them and they were heading for a parked van….
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    Writing tip!
    Use a good story starter to get the action moving. In the first few paragraphs introduce the mystery. Right from the beginning you need to build your readers’ curiosity so that they will want to read on.
THE MEDDLESOME MIDDLE
    In a mystery story the middle part is usually about the sleuth trying to solve the crime or mystery. Think about this part of your story as a series of scenes. Each scene can become a chapter or section of the story. As your ‘sleuth’ character tries to solve the mystery, he or she may:

    Â Â travel to different places;
    Â Â interview suspects;
    Â Â search for clues;
    Â Â investigate the scene of the mystery;
    Â Â go undercover – the better to observe people!
    To keep the reader in suspense, you will need to use cliffhangers so make sure you drop in exciting events as the story unfolds. Try ending a chapter or section on a cliffhanger. Each section or chapter will have the following shape:

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    Your whole story will have this sort of shape:

    Writing tip!
    While you are writing, you may find that sometimes your writing just flows, while on other occasions you get stuck. Don't worry, this happens to every writer. If you get stuck, you could try:
    Â looking at your plan to see what is meant to happen next;
    Â daydreaming the next section or making a new list of ideas for possible scenes;
    Â writing the final line of your story and working back from there;
    Â introducing a new setting;
    Â making something unexpected happen.
WRITING SUSPENSE SCENES
    Suspense scenes will be vital to building up the excitement in your mystery. Your main character will be looking for clues and this will take them into scary situations. For example:
    Jake grabbed the rope belonging to the twins’ treehouse den. Gripping tightly, he hauled himself up the old oak, crept carefully along a large branch and stopped opposite the window. Pausing, he balanced himself and then leapt. But he missed! Grasping the window ledge, Jake clung on. It took all his effort to pull himself up, but in the end he managed to scramble through the open window and into the room.

    It was pitch dark. It was too quiet. He stood still, listening to the thudding of his heart. At that moment, he heard a scratching sound that seemed to be coming from downstairs. Jake froze. Was it one of the Doberman Pinschers? Silently, he tiptoed on to the landing.

    There was a light from the attic room. So, cautiously, he crept upstairs. The map lay on the floor and he could see that it was smeared with green slime. Reluctantly, Jake picked it up. Without any warning, a scream pierced the air …
    See what I mean? Here are some ideas for writing gripping scenes:

    1. ‘Sentences of 3’
Use a ‘sentence of 3’ to build up the pace. For example:
… he hauled himself up the tree, crept carefully along a large branch and stopped opposite the window.

    2. Powerful verbs
    Use powerful verbs to add punch to your writing. Compare these two following sentences and you’ll see what I mean:
    Jake got hold of the rope and climbed up the tree.
    Gripping tightly, Jake hauled himself up the old oak tree.

    3. Short sentences
    Dropping short sentences into your writing changes the pace of the story and can help keep your readers’ interest.
But he missed!
It was too quiet.
Jake froze.

    4. Adverb