Every cook knows the basic spice in cooking is
salt. Add a little pepper
and the dish takes on a little zing.
Take a favorite casserole and experiment with basil and oregano,
or curry and cumin, or sage and mustard and taste how the added spices
change the flavor of the casserole.
The protagonist and the plot are the meat and
potatoes of the mystery casserole. Add
a pinch of this and a dash of that and voila, the mystery steps into the
gourmet arena.
To determine the this and that to be added,
look to secondary considerations, such as your secondary characters, the
setting, and weather.
Sidekick characters are a time-honored tradition.
Sherlock Holmes had Dr. Watson, Matt Dillon had Chester (and
Festus), and Nick had Nora. The
sidekick character is the most important person in the ensemble cast.
Don't be lulled into thinking of the sidekick as a comedic
straight man. The sidekick
is the protagonist's confidante, accomplice, and general
pain-in-the-neck. When the
protagonist wants to give up or is stumped, the sidekick is the one who
says exactly the right thing to get the protagonist moving and thinking.
The sidekick can be as zany or as somber as
desired. The sidekick is not
a copy of the protagonist, but the two should have a common bond,
something that drew the two characters together.
Nowhere is it written that the two must be friends, but they must
have some relationship. If
your protagonist is a klutzy, big-haired, tie-dyed,
never-left-the-sixties person, the sidekick could be a smooth,
sophisticated corporate lawyer and the two met in a class on Zen
Buddhism and share a love of NASCAR racing.
Also, nowhere is it written that the sidekick, or
ensemble cast members, must be human.
For example, Dana Stabenow's character, Kate Shugak, has Mutt, a
wolf-hybrid. Mutt not only
alerts Kate to low-lifes by turning up her nose and helps capture the
bad guys, but saves Kate's life when required.
Lilian Jackson Braun's Jim Qwilleran has Koko and Yum-Yum.
Jim talks things over with Koko, who has an uncanny knack for
giving Jim hints, if Jim could understand them.
Of course, once the case is solved the evidence that Koko laid
out in front of him is easy to read.
Jonathan Kellerman put an interesting twist on the
sidekick character by having Detective Milo Sturgis as sidekick to Dr.
Alex Delaware, child psychologist, to whom Milo turns to for forensic
psychology. Milo is gay,
pale with dark hair, 60s sideburns, no fashion sense, tenacious and
obsessive with one of the highest success rates on the force.
Alex is heterosexual, quiet, studious, introverted, enjoys the
guitar and classic blues music, and is also obsessive and tenacious, and
believes in getting the bad guy. Both
have seen things that would make most of us physically ill and
emotionally unbalanced . . . and they survived.
A crusading pair of white knights.
On the lighter side, Jill Churchill paired her
suburban single mom, Jane Jeffry, with Shelley Nowack.
Shelley is Jane's opposite in almost every way, yet the duo is
best friends and next-door neighbors.
Jane is fuzzy, comfortable and a little ragged.
Shelley is sleek, ultra-efficient and obsessive-compulsive.
The duo investigates their neighborhood murders together and
independently, but Jane puts the clues together.
Some secondary characters can, and will, take on a
life of their own and jump to center stage, overshadowing the
protagonist, which is fine as long as the plot continues to move along.
You'll be surprised what those characters will add to the
mystery.
Another dash of spice to add to your mystery is
setting. Setting encompasses
not only place but time, and the whole world is open to your
imagination. One cautionary
note though, if you are not personally familiar with your locale --
research, research, research. Location
adheres to the rule of 'write what you know'.
Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, husband and wife
writing team, selected the Southwest for their new series beginning with
The Visitant.
They know their locale as only archeologists can.
What sets the Gears work apart is the time.
In each book, time alternates between the past and present, with
a complete cast of characters for each period.
The ancient ones go about their daily lives, eating, gathering,
hunting, living and dying while solving a mystery in their midst.
The contemporary group uncovers the ancient ones’ lives and
mystery and tries to answer questions they left behind while contending
with their own mystery.
Medieval England, ancient Rome, early 19th century
Egypt, or the contemporary world as we know it, all abound with possible
locations as well as possible times.
Again, know your area and the time involved.
Details make the story is an apt truism in mystery
writing due to the eclectic locations writers choose.
Mysteries occur around the world.
Another spice to flavor your mystery comes out of location --
weather.
In all locations, weather can become another member
of your ensemble cast. Sue
Henry's mysteries are set in Alaska where weather is a daily
life-and-death consideration. One
feels the temperature plummet and shivers along with the characters
while reading her books. Sinclair
Browning's Trade Ellis mysteries, set in LaCienega, Arizona, are another
example of using weather. Browning
captures the desert climate to the point where the reader feels the heat
and even longs for a drink of cool water while wishing for a bandanna to
wipe away the sweat or wrap around the steering wheel.
Use some old-fashioned weather wisdom to add even
more spice to the weather and, in turn, to the mystery.
Old sayings concerning the weather abound in our cultural
folklore. 'A ring around the
sun or moon and rain approaches on the run' may be great for farmers,
but not so great for law enforcement officials securing an outdoor crime
scene. 'Cranes aloft, the
day is soft; swallows soar, good weather more' is exactly what any
sleuth, professional or amateur, wishes for when detecting.
Not only do you spice up your mystery using weather wisdom, but
your readers learn something as well.
Make your reader shiver or swelter right along with
the protagonists and you will create a memorable tale.
Once a diner has tasted an outstanding dish, they
will return again and again, just as the mystery reader will return to
an exceptional mystery writer. Add
a pinch of character and a dash of time, place or weather to spice up
your mystery and make it memorable.
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