I am thinking about making a "Solve it yourself" type of book. Where every chapter revolves around discovering clues and then ends in the mystery being solved, without the explanation. The explanation would then be left up to the reader and an actual explanation would be included in the appendix of the book. This would be a mystery book with multiple mysteries, maybe a series of vignettes, but I believe I could tie in a plot that will string along each chapter. Is anyone else attempting something like this? This sort of Encyclopedia Brown -esque book? I want to write a very interactive story, so the reader is completely engaged, and this seems to be a extremely fun and imaginative way to do it.
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10,345 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2007 - 10 12
That sounds like a great concept book, but overly ambitious for NANO and the limited timeframes. This is something that would have to be intricately mapped out beforehand, otherwise, you'd quickly write yourself into corners.
This is the type of thing that would perk up the ears of an agent. Once the ears were perked, the writing would have to carry the day.
Best of luck, but this does seem like a longer than NANO effort.
50,030 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2007 - 17 09
This sounds like a great idea. I loved those types of books as a kid. The only complaint I had with them as a grown-up is that they were often just riddle books dressed up with crimes. To have a meta-mystery driving the whole story forward is great twist. Consider "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" which is written as a series of cases and interactions with a larger, more sinister mystery over-arching the whole thing.
And I think it's a perfect choice for a NaNo because if you do write yourself into a corner, you can just move to the next vignette/chapter, and worry about fixing the rough spot when you edit the book in December.
An Encycolopedia Brown-type story with mature crimes, compelling prose, and well-developed characters sounds like a fun book to read. But most importantly for November, it sounds like a fun book to write. Good luck!