A mystery novel is a novel that solves the mystery of the story by reasoning (mostly to find out the murderer). Usually, stories contain murder and detectives, and some do not take murder as the main plot direction, such as finding lost things or solving the mystery of strange events. A detective novel, but it is not always the detective who uncovers the mystery.

2. The writing points of mystery novels:

First, try not to use the first person, because it is difficult to write.

Second, try not to have any complicated tall science fiction or ghosts and gods, and reasoning should stand on a popular platform.

Third, read as many other people's mystery novels and movies as possible, try to be original, don't learn from other people's achievements, and think independently.

Fourth, try to explain the main characters clearly at the beginning, and don't add clues temporarily because you think there are not enough clues.

Fifth, mystery novels need not only writing but also logic.

3, creative code

There are two different versions of the well-known rules for the creation of mystery novels, both of which are norms for the creation of mystery novels. After Knox put forward the Ten Commandments of mystery novels in 1928, the famous mystery writer Van Dine put forward twenty rules of mystery novels.

Its contents are as follows:

First, readers must have equal opportunities to solve puzzles with detectives, and all clues must be explained clearly.

Second, the murderer should not intentionally cheat or fool the reader with improper tricks except playing necessary criminal skills with detectives.

Third, we can't add love elements to the story, lest irrational emotions interfere with the interpretation of pure reason. What we want is to send the murderer to a fair court, not to send a couple from lovers to the altar of marriage.

Four, the detective himself or the police search personnel can not become a murderer. This is equivalent to taking a penny and saying that it is a five-dollar gold coin. This is a false statement.

Five, when accusing the murderer, must go through logical reasoning, not under the guise of accidents, coincidences or confessions of suspects without reasonable motives. The latter way of solving a case is tantamount to deliberately driving readers to search in a place where it is impossible to find an answer. When readers can't come back, they will tell them from beginning to end that the answer is in your pocket. Such an author is no better than a comedian.

Six, mystery novels must have detectives, detectives can not be called detectives without investigating the case. The detective's task is to collect all possible clues, and then find out the evildoer at the beginning of the story according to these clues.

Seven, mystery novels usually appear dead bodies, and the more doubts revealed by the bodies, the better. Lack of murder charges is too thin and insufficient. Americans are rich in human nature, so a vicious murder will arouse their thoughts of revenge and fear, and they hope that the murderer will be punished by law. Therefore, when a "vicious" murder happens, no matter how gentle the reader is, he will pursue the murderer with full enthusiasm for justice.

Eight, the case can only be solved by natural methods. As far as mystery novels are concerned, magic, divination, mind reading, necromancy or crystal ball are taboo. According to a story of rational reasoning, readers have a fair chance to participate in the battle of wits, but if they compete with the magical world or even cross the four-dimensional metaphysical world, readers are doomed to lose at the starting point.

Nine, there can only be one detective, that is to say, the protagonist who is responsible for real reasoning and catching the murderer is unique, just like deus ex machina, the god of clearance in ancient Greek war dramas. Moving three or four detectives to solve a puzzle will only distract the fun of reading, disrupt the thread of logical reasoning, and even improperly deprive readers and detectives of their rights and interests. If there is more than one detective, the reader will not know who his real competitor is, which is like asking the reader to challenge the relay team.

Ten, the murderer must be a character in the novel. In other words, the murderer must be someone that readers are interested in and know something about. If the novel reaches the last chapter and accuses a stranger or an insignificant person, it is tantamount to the author's self-acceptance and incompetence, and he is not worthy to compete with the readers.

1 1. Those servants, such as housekeepers, porters, waiters, administrators, cooks, etc. , should not be chosen as a murderer. Because such a murderer is too obvious and easy to be found, such treatment is really unsatisfactory, and readers will think it is a waste of time. The murderer must be someone worth the time and energy to find-usually the least suspect. If the murderer is really a humble servant, there is really no need for the writer to write such a story in the book and let the world remember it.

Twelve, even if it is a serial murder, there can only be one murderer. Of course, the murderer can have * * * crimes or * * * plots, but only one person must be responsible for all crimes, and all the anger of readers must be concentrated on a single bad angle.

Thirteen, mystery novels, it is best not to have secret organizations, gangs or mafia and other criminal groups, otherwise the author is equivalent to writing adventure novels or spy novels.

Fourteen, killing methods and solutions must be reasonable and scientific. In other words, pseudoscience, pure fantasy or speculative devices are not allowed in mystery novels. For example, it is unreasonable that the deceased in a murder case was killed by a newly discovered new element such as ultraradium. Or, it is not good to kill people with extremely rare or even imaginary poison.

Fifteen, the truth of the puzzle must be clear and organized, so that readers with keen insight can see through it at a glance. I mean, after the case is exposed, the reader will reread the novel and clearly find that the key to solving the case has always been in front of him, and all the clues point to the same murderer. If he is as smart as a detective, he can solve the case by himself without waiting for the last chapter. Of course, such readers do exist. My basic theory about mystery novels is that if the structure of a mystery novel is fair and reasonable enough, it is impossible for readers to find the answer by themselves. As can be expected, there must be some readers as clever as the author.

Sixteen, too long narrative text, subtle character analysis, excessive atmosphere creation or playing with words for some side details should not appear in mystery novels. These are completely unimportant in the process of criminal record and reasoning. Our main purpose is to state the problem and make satisfactory inferences through analysis. And this kind of writing will only hinder the development of the plot and add irrelevant things to the theme. Of course, the necessary narration and description of characters can make the novel more realistic. When the author describes the story in a fascinating way, the reader's emotions can be completely devoted to the development of the plot and the characterization of the characters. In this regard, he has raised the skills of pure literature to the same level as the authenticity and compatibility required by criminal documents.

Seventeen, don't let professional criminals bear the criminal responsibility in mystery novels. As for the bad things done by thieves and villains who break into empty houses, it is the responsibility of the police, not writers and outstanding amateur detectives. This kind of illegal thing belongs to the routine work of criminal groups. The truly attractive crime should come from a respected figure in the church or an old lady who is famous for her charity.

18. In mystery novels, criminal events must never turn into accidents or end in suicide. This anticlimactic ending is tantamount to playing an unforgivable joke on readers. If someone buys this book and finds that all the contents in it are deceptive and asks for a refund, any fair court will stand by and severely punish the writer who deceives loyal readers.

Nineteen, the criminal motives in mystery novels are all personal. As for the political game of international intrigue and strategy, it belongs to another kind of novel, such as stories like secret service organizations. The plot of murder must be approachable to a certain extent, so as to reflect the readers' daily life experience and vent their repressed desires and emotions.

A self-respecting mystery novelist usually won't use it again, because all fans of mystery novels are familiar with these methods.