As a mystery author, I get to decide which of my characters will be murdered. I also get to decide who will do the murdering. The big payoff for mystery readers is discovering the killer's identity at the end of the novel. Equally intriguing is learning why he or she committed the crime.
Murderers in traditional and cozy mysteries are not always the most obvious characters. While some are inherently malevolent and carefully plot their misdeeds, others are ordinary except for the reason why they see killing someone as the necessary solution to their problem.
Why does a character murder? A simple list might be reduced to revenge, jealousy, money, and the fear of being exposed. But unless the murderer's a serial killer or a hired assassin, his or her reason for killing is personal and driven by strong emotions, misguided information, or despair. Or possibly madness. Then there are characters who become murderers through so-called accidents and explain: "I didn't mean to hit him so hard," or "I only meant to teach him a lesson."
Sometimes a character murders for reasons that have roots in the past. The impact of an earlier murder affects the present and another victim is murdered. This occurs in Death Overdue and Checked Out for Murder in my Haunted Library series as well as in Death on Dickens Island.
I make sure that my murderers play an active role in my mysteries. I once stopped reading a well-known author because in one of her books the murderer rarely appeared. Not fair. Readers should have the opportunity to get to know the murderer as well as he reveals himself to the other characters. And he'd better have a darn good reason for killing.
How do you decide who your murderers will be?
Interesting points. G.K. Chesterson said to look for the person who became desperate.
ReplyDeleteGrace, I agree that desperation is a strong motivation.
DeleteI don't write cozies, and many of my thrillers include multiple POVs including the murderer. Under those circumstances, we are more likely to understand the motivation from the killer's perspective (as warped as that may be).
ReplyDeleteJim, I always find it interesting when we read the killer's POV.
DeleteI'm afraid I have very little to do with the decisions, either the victims or the murderers. The characters appear in my brain either fully formed or they gradually reveal themselves as the story unfolds. Over which I also have very little control. I realize they originate in my mind, so you'd think I'd be able to make some of the decisions, but for me, it doesn't work that way.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, That's so interesting. I usually have the murderer in mind, though a few times, while moving on, I've changed the murderer.
DeleteI'm a little weird... I listen to the characters. When I push the point myself, I often get it wrong. For example, when I wrote One Taste Too Many, I knew who I wanted to have done it, so I wrote it that way. The second half of the book was flat. It finally dawned on me that I had the wrong murderer declared. I threw out half the book and rewrote it the way the characters were demanding. Rewritten and published the book was named a Woman's World book of the week.
ReplyDeleteDebra, I think we always have to listen to the characters. After all, it's their lives.
DeleteSo fun I love the thought of the characters deciding who the killer is. I am not a writer but this is intriguing. Deborah
ReplyDeleteDeborah, Our characters come from our minds. I can only write a few pages at a time because more of the story comes to me each time I sit down to write. The new pages are based on what I've already written.
DeleteThis is the fun part of writing mysteries for me! First, I decide the manner of death. Then, who committed the murder and why. My murderers always have a justifiable reason - to them, at least!
ReplyDeleteLori, How interesting that you first choose the manner of death.
DeleteI define the motive first: a police officer in a PD James book listed four--lust, loathing, lucre, and love. And then the method, victim, and perp.
ReplyDeleteI saw that list re motives. I suppose I always start with the victim's story, or at least the victim's role in the plot.
DeleteExcellent blog, Marilyn. I generally know my victim from the start and let the characters help me find whodunit. I learned that the hard way. When I’ve begun the book with a suspect in mind, and shaped clues to fit my idea, I’ve always been wrong. The strange thing—I’ve discovered when I finally learn the real culprit, the clues were there all along and very little massaging is needed. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteKait, Right now I'm near the end of my WIP. What I had to figure out was how my sleuth was going to reveal the murderers. Yes, two murderers in this book.
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