To write a murder mystery start by deciding on a setting for your story including the location year climate and mood next plot your story arc which includes the introduction the surprises that complicate the story the critical choice the main character must make and the resolution then create a detailed outline with physical verbal and thematic clues that you plan to leave for your reader after you have a good idea of what your story will look like work on . In this post learn how to write a mystery novel from beginning to end including developing a fascinating premise ways villains justify crimes writing a mystery series and more whether you want to write about a missing jewel or murdered uncle there are a number of practical strategies for starting your novel constructing your plot and landing a satisfying finish. If you get stuck on finding a plot read some of your favorite mystery novels to get ideas also keep your eyes and ears open for new ideas and topics to write about use a system of ten scenes to map out your plot write each scene separately and connect them with pages in between scene one should be an opening scene two through four should . Here are twelve steps to writing a traditional mystery 1 traditional mysteries are always a puzzle to solve 2 all clues are revealed to the reader but obscured with red herrings and false leads 3 these mysteries feature a murder most often or a crime of great substance. Consider your writing style and choose a mystery sub genre you think is a good fit cozy police medical legal procedural private eye noir or suspense write the opening scene for such a mystery making sure you respect the conventions and reader expectations write for fifteen minutes