So how can we piece together a story that manages to absorb a reader without giving too much away?

Most fiction has to restrict the view a little, but in other genres the characters are often the ones not in the know, while the reader is almost omnipresent. What sort of planning is needed to account for the restruicted view a reader must have to piece all the clues together?

How, as authors can we build a story that isn't obvious from the beginning, but doesn't have more loops than a bowl of spagetti?

Tell us of your art.

i am writing a mystery but i wont lie to u its really hard my story is about a kidnapping and the child's mother is trying to figure out who took her baby from her.

I completely understand. What I'm doing with my story Polar Shift is solving the mystery along with my main characters. Since the main focus of the story is on character interaction and decisions anyways, the mystery is fairly straightforward. My readers and the main characters Miles and Allison are pretty much on the same level of knowledge.

I myself also am writing a mystery. It is very hard and difficult to figure out who did what when you are reading one! But now you have to make the story line!

:) I'm currently writing a mystery piece.

My technique is to write the beginning chapters in scattered parts. Introducing new plotlines at a time while emphasizing on the main plot line in subparts of the chapter. It's hard to pull off though if you end up introducing too many things. So my advice is to introduce a new story into the thing, and then finish it off a couple of chapters later. Of course, this is if you're doing a compilation fo story that would involve the main protagonist or whatnot.

Check out my story, I think it may be better to read and see what I mean than just listen to what I'm saying.

I'm writing a murder mystery right now but am finding it really hard. I have a murderer and a victum but now I am trying to fill in the middle without giving anything away. Does anyone here maybe have ideas for ways that I could have the victum killed and leave good clues that aren't big enough to spoil the ending??

I guess you can say the story I'm working on fits somewhat into the Mystery genre but it could just as easily fit into Thriller, Horror, or Romance.

I'll be working on a mystery soon called Victus Terra. It'll have kinda the style Dan Brown portrays in his books.

For me, I try to write the ending first. That way, I can figure out which clues I need to insert into the story. I can also come up with red herrings and such. Of course, the ending can always be changed later because the characters might decide otherwise.

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