You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

i am the moon — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:22:44 +0100

You know you're writing mystery/thriller/suspense when... ...the soundtracks to Inception and Requiem for a Dream are an absolute necessity for getting your mood right. ...you start trying to Sherlock Holmes everything you see in real life. For "research purposes." ...you've googled so much info about crimes, weaponry, and forensics that you're undoubtedly on some watchlist somewhere. ..you use your lab's collection of photos of mutilated corpses (don't ask) as inspiration for describing some of the bodies your killer leaves in his wake.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MandyBroughton — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:33:41 +0100

... you have been told (repeatedly) not to ask everyone "how would you murder someone" at dinner. ... your husband refuses to let you talk to his accountant about "how would he embezzle funds if he wanted to" ... your kids regularly ask you how many people will you kill off in your book. ... you use your Bible to research the "seven deadly sins" for possible motives (FYI--I'm having redemption and mercy thrown in as well!)

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

i am the moon — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:00:25 +0100

Haha I love the idea of using the Deadly Sins as motives. I've also heard a famous phrase that says there are only four motives for murder: love, lust, lucre, and loathing. :)

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MandyBroughton — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:12:34 +0100

The gluttony motive is giving me a difficult time but I will find a way to make that a motive... And I may have to give my red-herring suspect with the sloth (apathy) motive some anti-depressants to get their rear in gear...

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Riddle — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:16:03 +0100

- you have more characters that are dead than alive - there's always profiling - you use your anthropology training to know exactly how certain bones will break

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

jillydreams_jillydoes — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:58:19 +0100

... "need help to kill someone off" is a totally appropriate subject heading for a forum thread.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

soretudaaa — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:52:30 +0100

...you' talk so much about killing people (sometimes without mentioning the literary reasons behind this) that people are hesitant to spend time alone with you or give you their private information...

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Shiiuga — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:04:34 +0100

as is "Which US city should I blow up with a nuclear bomb?"

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:58:57 +0100

You watch so many crime shows, that when you watch a comedy, you're picking out the one who should be the intended target. Someone around you does something ordinary, and you start trying to work out a way this action could kill somebody. At some point in your planning/writing, you actually consider the no survivors as a perfectly reasonable conclusion to your story. Someone accuses you of being bloodthirsty. You spend your time at work, or elsewhere where you can not write, pondering the perfect crime.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

S.A. Hollow — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:38:21 +0100

... you think that spending your time looking up different methods for deadly poisons is reasonable. ... you're people watching you think, "s/he's going to be the next target." and "how easy would it be to dispose of the body?" ... crimes shows are research too.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

sharp.object — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:04:05 +0100

You realize that the Body is probably the most important character in your story and know him/her better than your actual MC (at the moment the Body has twice as much info on her profile than the MC does).

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

leavetheviolinalone — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:11:32 +0100

...when you list out possible causes of death out loud in school. ...when watching every version of Sherlock Holmes ever made isn't fun, it's for Research (Serious Business!) ...when you have characters who don't need names.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Dannii — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:54:15 +0100

...when you announce to your parents and partner that you can't work out why someone wants to kill the Prime Minister

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Lady_L — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:01:51 +0100

...you write at night, it's more atmospheric! ...you need to the know the structure and history of foreign intelligence agencies. ...you are fascinated by details of a suicide bomb. ...you look up loads of foreign names and their meanings to make your characters more authentic.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

icekitty1820 — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:54:07 +0100

...asking someone about what form of torture they think is worst sounds like a good idea. ...questioning friends on how they would get revenge is now a nightly event. ...it's tempting to grab a few of the weapons of choice and hit things with them to describe the attack with more detail. Also: when your little sister is now afraid to make you angry because you said you were looking up the best ways to kill people without being caught.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Madkatt — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:50:42 +0100

When your family no longer gives you funny looks when you start talking about the details of how you killed someone When you walk in to work and they ask how the murders going When your shelves are lined with books on forensics and true crime When you have drawings of prisons, murder scenes and bomb schematics among other things When you make your brothers lay on the floor and pretend to be dead so you can sort out some of the small details in the scene When your brothers get you to sort out their halloween costume because you are so good at making them look realistically gruesome

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Mischief Managed. — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:06:32 +0100

When you know so much about forensics, you could probably take a degree in it and pass within the first year. When your biggest puzzle to solve is who you kill off next. When you seriously consider killing off any and all MCs. When you know more about justice systems in America than you do in any other country, including your own. When you spend more time describing the victims than you do the MCs.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

angitiger — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:19:49 +0100

When you go to the airport to figure out where to place your character when the bomb scare is called in. When going to the shooting range is research. when you make it onto the NSA's watch list. Then they show up in black suits and "Talk" to you When you're driving through traffic and imagine that the other cars are bad guys following you. then you fight the urge to use evasive techniques. when you make your friends fight out a scene so that you can make sure its believable.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

CAByrnes — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:29:09 +0100

When you see something happening, and you think, "That would be a good way to kill someone off."

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:20:39 +0100

When you always find room to include The Traveling Shovel of Death somewhere in your novel. When you suddenly develop the ability to predict who-done-it in almost every mystery you read or watch, no matter how confusing the web of suspects and clues get. When you seriously consider making a seperate office for yourself, just so you can decorate a rug with white outlines of human forms... (Yup, I'm 36 and I really want to do that.) When watching Forensic Files and other shows ike that is research. When your solution to writer's block is to kill someone off. When you develop characters for the specific purpose of killing them off. When you see something that actually disturbs you, it is worthy of consideration for your novel, with your own twist on it, of course.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

writerwoman — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:27:05 +0100

When your husband looks skittish when he beholds your array of DIY murder books. When you know "Castle" is rubbish but you love it anyway. When you go out to find the best location for your brooding detective to suffer in great lighting and atmosphere. When you go on vacation and see a great spot for a murder. When you have trouble regaining your American accent after watching a BBC mystery marathon. When you go house/apt. hunting and you wonder if the closets would be good places to hide a body.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MandyBroughton — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 03:17:35 +0100

...you are busy plotting your story in the church foyer while the kids are in Wednesday night church. While plotting, you find a reason for a suspect to have a Gluttony murder motive. You are so excited that you announce to perfect strangers in the church foyer what you have just thought up.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

belle_laide — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:52:22 +0100

When you analyze any location for possible hiding places and escape routes. When you start always sitting with your back against the wall and a clear route to the exit. When you start toying with the idea of touring a "bad neighborhood" to pick up some atmosphere. When you wonder if the local cop would agree to you roughly handcuff you and shove you in the car just to see what it really feels like. When you wonder who you could ask to punch you in the kidney, just to get the details right. (You guys, I'm really obsessed with this one.) When you're at work and you realize you could use your rattail comb to stab someone at the base of the skull. When you're driving and you start noticing places that would make a good body dump site.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Renalae — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:31:40 +0100

(Noir/hardboiled style!) ... you google early-to-mid 20th century racial insults, slang, and popular varieties of alcohol. ... you spend all your time thinking of creative body tableaus (dangling from a noose over a dark alleyway! chopped up in a garbage can! sprawled in a lady's bathroom or coat room!). ... you panic because you don't think you're citing the correct varieties of guns in your novel. ... you spend hours on Wikipedia trying to sort out which guns would be historically correct. ... you spend way too much time agonizing over caliber. ... you try to come up with ethnic gangster names that aren't stereotypical. ... you write nearly 3 pages on what the femme fatale is wearing. ... you realize every one of your characters drinks, smokes, has skeletons in the closet, and is attracted to entirely the wrong type of person.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

angitiger — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:02:41 +0100

You are stuck in traffic and look over to see a propane station then think to yourself how you would go about blowing it up and why would your character do it..... Then you think to yourself where can you put a propane station in your book and how should I blow it up....

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

fairieimp — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:22:11 +0100

- when you're basing your novel the final paper you wrote for your Profiling the Serial Offender course (truth) - you use your college text books as research because you're in the Criminal Justice program - you agonized for DAYS over creating the perfect "trophy" for your killer to take

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stellameimei96 — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 06:22:56 +0100

- You decide to kill one of your characters just for being a Mary Sue (or in my case, a Gary Stu)... only to come up with a backstory showing that s/he's not really the special snowflake that everyone thought s/he was in the first place. - You draw up a chart to rule out suspects based on motive and opportunity. - Even your dead characters have motive and opportunity. - The revisions of your previous NaNo in another genre now includes an elaborate blackmail plot resulting in several cross-examination scenes. - You're tempted to use "Sing A Song of Sixpence" as a plot point, just because Agatha Christie got away with it first. (And you justify your use of "Sing A Song of Sixpence" by 'updating" it for contemporary times.)

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Mountain Woman — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:24:48 +0100

... you're at a busy restaurant, and you stare at some object on the wall, then say WAY TOO LOUD from excitement: "I just thought of a cool way to kill someone!"

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

quillandink — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:47:31 +0100

. . . the first words out of your mouth this morning were, "my detective's sitting next to a body with it's brains sucked out through a hole drilled in the back of its head. Do you think that could happen?" And your husband continues to scramble his eggs while thinking of something to say.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

17Tracker — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:43:02 +0100

-You have a constant first person, past tense narrative running in your head concerning the mundane activities of your life. -You know way too much about insurance fraud for an art teacher. -You have actually mourned after killing a major character that you really loved.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

aurora17 — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:47:51 +0100

This thread made me laugh, and laugh... ... and realize that I had been thinking way too much about the physics of breaking somebody's neck. Not that I don't contemplate that in real life, but usually it's nonspecific and cartoony. :)

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Wahgooshdidit — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:01:11 +0100

... when a co-worker thinks you're you're checking out their ass and what you're REALLY trying to figure how is how many tall kitchen trash bags you'd need to dispose of a body that size. "Can I cut the torso into two pieces, or whould I have to make it three?"

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Wahgooshdidit — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:05:14 +0100

... when you look around the table at a family reunion and are so-o-o-o tempted to say "The reason I've called you all together is to reveal the identity of the killer."

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

T.O.G. — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:36:40 +0100

You refer the place you walk your dogs and "The Body Dump Park" and other people know where you mean. (Yes, I do this) You've been followed out of a jewelry store by security so they could get your license plate number just for asking a few innocent research questions. (Yes, this happened) You take notes on mystery programs explaining who you think did it, so that after the show has ended, you have a list of five or so variations on that same story. (Yep) People at work don't bat an eye when you say, "that bit of string o the floor is the edge of a cliff. I'm going push you over it. Ready? (I needed to see if the foot that stepped back had anything to do with handedness) You've sent plans to distil cyanide from apple seeds to an organic chemist and asked if it was plausible. (He's a mod on another forum, and then said "why don't you just buy it from these guys," and sent me a link) You've set non-hazardous traps in public places to see what people do. I don't mean obvious traps, I mean things like putting a single crumpled napkin on a table in a mall food court to see if the person sitting down crumples it further before throwing it away. Never know where a good place to hide a poison needle might be. You have a collection of GI Joe action figures you use to position bodies at a crime scene. Also includes a drawer full of full scale guns. You spend more time researching the car your killer used than the one you drive.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Yirin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:44:47 +0100

When a friend catches up on you as your walking home from grocery-shopping and the first thing you say is "Oh mate, you ruined your chance! I didn't see you coming, you could have easily sliced my throat or pushed me into that ditch!" When in class, instead of actually listening to the lecture you keep noticing things like "My teacher was late this morning, look the way he made his tie!" or "Hey, my friend's writing is really neat instead of her usual sloppy writing. She must find this subject really interesting."

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Lyla Elizabeth Calm — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 23:18:27 +0100

...Your mother says, "When you get published and you're famous, PLEASE remember to tell your fans/publisher that I did NOT drop you on your head when you were a baby." ...You discuss killing characters in public with your friends, but you don't say that they're characters and everyone around you is giving you strange looks because they think you're referring to killing an actual person. ...You search for a hidden motive in everything just to give yourself story ideas (like, the time the mailman was two hours late delivering your mail, you assumed it was because he's a murderer and he needed to finish disposing of some evidence).

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MysteriousFlower — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:41:53 +0100

You are writing profiles for a serial killer in a way that makes you sound like they should hire you for the next episode of Criminal Minds

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

KellyinCA — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:13:47 +0100

If you're not afraid of being on those gift watch lists, you know its inevitable When you use real life experiences in your writing (truth, the sniper in DC, getting evacuated by an armed swat team, bombing in oklahoma, living in 2 places where serial killers killed or dumped bodies nearby...) When you play "who's the killer?' in public places. If your family sees 'the most evil women in history' on your bookshelf and aren't even surprised anymore. When amazon keeps suggested darker, and darker and darker reading materials. If you've announced in public, "I love serial killers" upon finding a discounted copy of Hannibal for sale. If you've stated to yourself "I love psychopaths!" and it took you awhile to catch yourself and remember why that's bad.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

BatchSan — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:07:51 +0100

...you debate on what might be considered 'too much' for the opening scene that contains murder. ...you've found yourself alone with both people you love and strangers and have imagined all the possible ways a killer could kill them right then and how it would be possible to get away with it. ...you realize that all the years you've been fascinated with forensics, crime shows, mysteries, weapons, and anatomy actually have a use. ...you go through this entire list and realize you were BORN to be a mystery/thriller/suspense writer!

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Hayato — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:12:45 +0000

... you come up with all sort of weird quirks and hobbies to get a wider variety of suspects (there was a fight, now he's dead, there's a broken nail.... turns out it was just the friend biting his nails by custom) ... you think of changing the country your novel is placed in, just because elsewhere driving is a much more dangerous matter and "accidents" much more common ... you come up with weird new methods of killing fantastic creatures to get the crime story back into what was supposed to be a fantasy novel

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

1-800-AQKHAN — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:42:43 +0000

. . .halfway through doing anything mundane you always ask yourself, "alright whats this a distraction from in this scene"

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MayaSmurf — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:06:26 +0000

... you're first line involves a funeral ... you realize that killing your characters seems far more fun than keeping them alive ... you stay up all night researching serial killers ... you've accidentally terrified your brothers friends by rambling on about how to kill someone in the middle of the night in the middle of forest ... you don't think crime shows are disturbing anymore

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

smithk654 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:26:47 +0000

When you have a folder for each victim so you can keep their details all straight...

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MysteriousFlower — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:30:50 +0000

You come up with so many different ways of killing people that in any other time and place you would be locked up in a padded cell. You have print outs lying next to you detailing how to sever a coratid artery and have prints out bruises, broken bones and a detailed description of how to perform autopsies.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Tanya897 — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:43:01 +0000

... you planned the perfect murder with your best friend to kill off the substitute teacher we hate and it seemed completely normal (It really would have been the perfect murder. No one would expect us. Ironically, I'm the least likely person ever to kill someone) ... you watch Criminal Minds like a documentary. ... you spend history class wondering how one would kill someone in a different era. ... you know how to perfectly frame someone. ... you freak yourself out by thinking that someone is waiting in the shadows to kill you.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

soniczll — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:27:08 +0000

...you keep having to create new main characters because you keep killing off your former ones

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MandyBroughton — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:37:58 +0000

[quote=Wahgooshdidit] ... when you look around the table at a family reunion and are so-o-o-o tempted to say "The reason I've called you all together is to reveal the identity of the killer." [/quote] Dare you to do that at Thanksgiving... Oh, wait, this is the wrong thread for that! (-=

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Lozchic — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:49:29 +0000

..you have L.A. Noire's Torched Song on repeat just to get you in the mood to write a scene. ...you have talked about ways to kill someone with your friends and said friends pitch in. ...you spend a good hour or so studying up on forensic science and criminal psychology just to get a grasp on the killer's actions and motives.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

GEG — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:40:12 +0000

...your friends are surprised that only one person got killed in your writing that day ...you start having dreams that you are the murderer/victim in your book ...you have a list of methods of death written on the front of your notebook which keeps getting odd looks in lectures

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MusicalRaven — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:18:29 +0000

You see a grate and think of how a childs corpse could fit perfectly in there, but debate yourself on how to make it non-noticable, at least for a few days. (Really did this. Kinda freaked myself out, though I concluded it wouldn't be plausible)

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:11:51 +0000

You pull over to let a police car pass, and start writing the call out in your head. You rarely watch anything that isn't a crime story. You discover a new forensic show and actually squeal. You kill off your detective because you feel he's outlived his usefulness to your story. You think World's Dumbest Criminal is prime entertainment.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

DanaBea — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:49:17 +0000

- you start out only planning on killing one character, and two pages in realize they're all going to have die, for the good of the plot. You're sure they'll understand.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

isadorjoutinandvioletmanson — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:03:45 +0000

...you get through the first 15k words without killing someone and get instantly worried that you're not writing in the right genre .....cry at the thought of your detective being an alcoholic, and the fact that you're gonna have to kill him before he can sober up ...rethink killing the detective, but decide, 'no, he needs to die' ...re-rethink killing the detective, and think 'what the hell, he can survive a little longer' ...your MC has been taken off the force so that you don't have to kill him yet ...You start to kill people off without saying how they got killed, but somehow still grossing your entire family out.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Brindabelle — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:49:57 +0000

...you read something in a history book, think, Keeping that secret would make a great motive to kill someone, and proceed to plot an entire novel around exactly that idea.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

belle_laide — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:44:22 +0000

I guess I wasn't really thinking today when I asked one of my customers, without any prior explanation: "So what are some kinds of drugs could you give someone to knock them out but then be able to give them something else to control when they came to. Oh, and not orally or IV, with a hypodermic."

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:14:32 +0000

You drive by a utility crew digging a giant hole in the street and think "That would be a great place to dump a body." You wrote something that YOU actually found disturbing. Your hubby doesn't even blink anymore when you ask his opinion/reaction to a scenario. Your kids talk about murder like it's the family business...and when other people are around you get some really strange looks. Your little one hears The Who on the car radio and yells "CSI!" You have seen EVERY episode of CSI, including NY and MIami, NCIS and LA, Criminal MInds and Bones.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

liamarehorselover — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:03:19 +0000

...When someone asks you this, your first response would be "Cleveland" instead of "I need to call the police now"

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

liamarehorselover — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:04:00 +0000

...you tell your mother that you're going to kill of that character and she actually agrees with you. ...you have actually asked someone, "how much do you think I should have my "fixer" character get per job" ...you use the word "fixer" like everyone should know what it means ...you consider cyanide your favorite poison (so old fashioned) and can't wait to use it in a novel ...you continually analyze people to see where they could be hiding weapons. ...when people want advice on how to torture someone - they come to you ... every single character in your novel (or at least the one's that survive) own at least one gun ...you look around a room and think, "How hard would it be to block off the exits and take people hostage?" and it scares you a little when you realize that really, it wouldn't be that hard.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

BatchSan — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:14:52 +0000

...you're family is a little freaked out by the fact that you're looking up videos about how to suture bullet wounds. ...you've nonchatlantly have told someone you know how to kill them and get away with it, and meant it. (ha, not that I would, don't worry) ...less than 1500 words into your story you've killed off one person and left another to die. ...your second chapter has more action in it then Liam Neeson's last action flick. ...crime shows bore you because you've seen the same story a thousand times and because you tend to think of ways the people could've done the crime better.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

CAByrnes — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:11:24 +0000

[quote=stephensdemise] You drive by a utility crew digging a giant hole in the street and think "That would be a great place to dump a body." [/quote] We actually had a utility crew digging in our yard a month ago. I wonder whether there are any bodies there now.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

CAByrnes — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:15:36 +0000

You tell a student you're going to put him in your book, and he thinks it's great. Then you tell him he's going to be named Igor, and he's the murder victim, and he says, "That's cool. How do I get killed off?" You say, "Cyanide," and he says "SWEEEEET! I love cyanide!" Yeah, this student is a little crazy.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Brindabelle — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:01:53 +0000

...you hand-wash a length of batik fabric, look at the resulting magenta water, and think, That bled more than my murder victim.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:17:06 +0000

Hmmmmm....that has story potential...

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:16:21 +0000

When you're out in the parking lot having a smoke hear someone scream and start looking for the guy with the knife.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:21:00 +0000

Your favorite channel is Investigation Discovery. Watching said channel, you see a commercial for black widows week and find it hilarious.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

2012Jarrett — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:15:02 +0000

When you have to time your writing so that you don't get caught writing a part of your novel at school that could get you suspended. When you go through your dad's toolbox and look at various tools for inspiration on killing somebody off. When you have trouble writing something because you don't like blood but it's a necessary part of the story. When you don't worry about not having enough content to reach 50,000 because you know your MC can just kill more people.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

PhantomDream — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:37:53 +0000

When you suddenly asked the nearest people how to stab someone non-fatally and still produce a lot of blood. When your story starts and someone's already been killed.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

stephensdemise — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:19:58 +0000

When you abruptly stop what ever you are doing to jot down an idea for an awesome murder method. When you secretly model your killer (or detective) after yourself. When watching crime shows and declaring, "I could have come up with a better ending than that". When people who anger you become characters in your novel just so you can kill them and not have to worry about serving any jail time. when you come across an idea similar to one you already had, and now need to change it because you are striving to find something that hasn't been done to death yet. (pun intended). You see new uses for everyday items, especially kitchen utensils.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

LoverofLiterary — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:52:08 +0000

When you ask your best friend how to kill someone with a spork. When you're supposed to be asleep but suddenly have this great murdering idea that you have to write down before you forget it. When it's fun to kill people off in your story. When your friends and family no longer cringe when you tell them how you've murdered your character because you've mentioned it so often. When everyone you tell your story synopsis to acts as if what you are doing (picturing how you could murder someone in a different way for the sake of your story) is normal for you because they just think you are just a weirdo. When someone you've only just met thinks you're a total freak because you mistakingly asked them if they love killing a character off as much as you do, and if they could tell you any other possible ways to murder people. When even your writing buddies think you're crazy for writing this.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

LoverofLiterary — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:59:21 +0000

Oh yeah... And when you dream about being murdered and then think that this is good material for your story.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

FranOnTheEdge — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:37:22 +0000

...when you find a thread like this and instantly fall in love with everyone because they all think like you! "When your solution to writer's block is to kill someone off." Yup, done that. ...when your opening chapter is written in first person, from the killer's pov and you love it so much - it sounds so real. (although you actually wrote it in first person pov - just to hide who the killer is.) ...when you start stroking knives (because your killer has a knife fetish)

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

MusicalRaven — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:59:53 +0000

You're eating person shaped marshmellows and you think that stabbing one with a needle might be a good way of testing stabbing marks.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

FranOnTheEdge — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:24:58 +0000

when you ask for help with an alibi and everyone's reponse is - "yeah, okay, let me think," instead of running away screaming.

Re: You Know You're Writing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense When....

Gene Marlow — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:31:22 +0100

You ask the person next to you if only having two bodies in four chapters is too little, and you determine that you have to kick it up a notch.