Mystery fanatics, I need help writing a script

[romantico]

I have decided to write a script for a friend of mine who is a filmmaker. I've written some in the past but this one is a mystery. We watched for the frist time last week a murder mystery called "The Last Of Sheila" & LOVED IT! Now, we don't wish to remake or steal it,but we both couldn't help but think how perfect of a movie it was.Anyone know if theres a website or any software on writing a good murder mystery? I have a setting, a list of suspects but thats it.Not sure if I'm going backwards or not.Seems like a need a check list or something. Any thoughts, please advise.Thanks!

[AngryAmish]

1. This is how Raymond Chandler started

I know nothing about screenplays, but..

Ray Chandler just got some books he liked and outlined them. A complex outline, more than 25+ pages, hitting all the important parts. Just fill in dialogue. It gives you an idea how to structure a story.

James Ellroy also writes his novels from outlines (really complex outlines, because of the large nature of his plots.)

So, take a couple of books (or scripts) that you like and outline them. Then, using the same structure, graft your own story on it.

The first one is gonna suck, but as you re-write it, the structure and voice will change into your own.

Another nice thing about an outline you don't get stuck plot wise, because as you envision the plot, it seems much more than having to keep everything in your head.

[romantico]

2. Thanks Angry Amish!

I could use all the help I can get.I loved the movie The Big Sleep(never read the book thought)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. If you've seen the movie of The Big Sleep

you will "hear" the book in Humphrey Bogart's voice. :-)

[Beetwasher]

3. I Don't Know Of Any Sites

but do a google search, I'm sure they're out there.

One bit of advice I can give you is that you should indeed work backwards. Start w/ the end and figure out how you get there. You should start w/ the end game, IOW, why the murderer did what he/she did (motive, method of murder, who they murdered, what they gained etc.) Everything else, including the list of suspects should come after that. You should already know exactly who the murderer is and why they did it when you start writing the screenplay.

I would also suggest reading some of the great mystery writers as research such as Conan-Doyle and A. Christie. They're great reads anyway!

[Lisa]

4. some advice from Julian Symons (mystery writer and critic)

How you write a mystery can depend on whether you're trying to make it the "nostalgic" type (e.g. Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers) or more contemporary.

The old-fashioned style of murder mystery is sometimes referred to as "cozy", because it's a solvable puzzle (that often turns on some technical detail). One writer I know claims that the motive should distill down to either profit, fear, or revenge -- and be sure to make up a bunch of red herrings which can be well and truly debunked by the end of the work, just to leave no ambiguity. (I've actually done some literary analyses on a couple of the subgenres, e.g. academic mysteries, where the setting itself can dictate which motives are acceptable -- fear of being caught plagiarizing or with false credentials is a biggie.)

Some writers adopt this style on purpose, just to be ironic and poke fun at the genre. If you're aiming for a comedic or satirical touch, this might be an approach to use.


Symons notes that around the middle of the 20th century, there was a transition into "crime fiction" where a solution wasn't guaranteed, and there was often more emphasis on the situation leading up to the crime rather than solving the crime itself. Ruth Rendell, for example, has been known to throw the traditional "whodunnit" out the window by revealing the culprit in the first paragraph of the story -- she then focuses on why the person did it. If you want a more open-ended story that encourages readers to think about social issues, this might be something to consider. Elizabeth Michaels did an interesting variant where she looked at a "cold case" and had her sleuths come up with 3 plausible solutions -- you think it's going to be a cut-and-dried "cozy" mystery, but it raises a lot more questions than it answers.


This summer, Harper's Magazine published a note from a science fiction magazine listing the types of plots which would NOT be considered for publication because they were considered too trite -- some of them would apply to mysteries as well, I imagine.

Feel free to drop me a line if you want more detailed feedback!

[romantico]

5. Het thanks everyone!

Tried Google,but they kept taking to me sites like Amazon where I can buy books on 'How to write a good Mystery' & so on. I'm looking for free advice here or on the web.Thanks again for the tips!

[AngryAmish]

6. This is my taste.

I really dislike the cozy. But that is my taste. I really like the "murder book" or heist genre. About 5 years ago there was a Mel Gibson movie called Payback. It was based on the first book of a series of books from Richard Stark (who was really Donald Westlake) about a thief called Parker (but was called Porter in the movie).

Anyway, the series are extremely well plotted. I really dislike modern lit, because most of it seems to worry about nice sentances over plot and character.

Outline "The Man With A Getaway Face." (2d book of the series and generally available at Borders) That would be an excellant spine for another story.