Mystery can make your story more…
Article by Carter Cada - Written 12/5/2023
Table of contents:
Alone with his thoughts, he stood, contemplating which of his two choices was the lesser evil. “At it again?”
A voice came from behind him. Startled, he whirled around. A man stood, staff in hand, and dressed in a red flowing toga. “Do…do I know you?” He questioned the man.
The man shook his head. “Not yet. But you will. That’s not important now, though. You have a decision to make, and perhaps I can be of assistance…”
More…Realistic
More…Convincing
More…Vested
More…focused
More…what?
In cooking, there are some seasonings that are dish sensitive. You wouldn’t put cinnamon in tacos, and you DEFINITELY wouldn’t use a Cajun rub in your carrot cake.
However, there are some seasonings that are so universal, it is almost a given that they will be included in your recipe. Salt, pepper, garlic, baking soda, sugar, eggs, and flour, just to name a few.
Are they used in every dish? No. But they are used in a great many, and in most of the recipes they are used in, they are a key ingredient.
While no ingredient is TRULY universal, mystery comes close when it comes to writing.
Mystery is a lot like the second group of ingredients, but unfortunately, is often grouped with the first. Many authors and storytellers remove all traces of it unless they’re writing a thriller, or a mystery. And while a mystery is a genre in its own right, it is also a key element of any good story, whether you’re crafting a fantasy or a history.
But in case you aren’t convinced, here are the top four reasons you’ll want to mix mystery into your world:
1) More…Realistic
History is a lot of fun to read. We can enjoy a good story about a battle from World War Two, or about the troubles brought on by the reformation. But a large part of why we can hear such troubling stories with relative ease is because we know how they end.
We know that the allies won World War Two, and we know that, eventually, religious tolerance became the norm in the western world.
But what about for the people in the time? They had no idea how things would end, and, as a result, they acted in daring and courageous ways.
So it should be with our characters. Most people expect a happy ending to your story, and likewise, as an author, you likely have one planned. Just like with history, from our side of things, we know the end.
Many horrific and tragic events from history have been romanticized in today’s culture. Why? Largely, because we know how it ends. It becomes easier to palate a tale we know ends well.
So, as an author, the trick is to fool your audience into thinking that they don’t know how things will end. They primary way to do this? Mystery.
Perhaps an elusive villain slinks about the corners of the story, reserved for the last chapter. Maybe there is an impending prophecy of doom, and the heroes have yet to find a way to avoid it.
Regardless of how you choose to do it, your readers will be more engaged if the outcome of a story is somewhat shrouded in mystery, just like real life.
Just as I discussed in another article, making sure your story mirrors real life to some degree will make your tale more relatable, and therefore, more enjoyable.
2) More…Convincing
I have known very few stories with a hook so good that, within the first few minutes, I knew I not only wanted to finish that book, but every one after it in the series.
For at least half of these, the hook was one introducing a mysteries (often hooded) figure who would turn out to be the final enemy in the series, coming to visit our protagonist, and inspect him at his weakest.
The mystery, the gravity, and the ominousness of the scene was so compelling, so enthralling…I knew I had found a keeper.
So whether your mystery involves the final villain of the series, or simply a mystical power, I cannot recommend highly enough introducing your history with the tip of a mysterious iceberg, one which has depths that readers will seek for years to come.
A moonlit eve…a stormy night…a hooded figure…a terrifying presence…Any of these auspicious happenings will lend mystery, intrigue, and gravity to any tale.
In order to make a history hook like this work, however, you as an author will need a fairly detailed understanding of the series as a whole before you even begin to write the beginning.
If you opt for this start without that knowledge, your story is sure to be full of retcons, as you seek to make the early mysteries fit with later events.
Even worse, you might never get around to answering the question, leaving readers hungry for something they’ll never have. How to outline a series’-worth of knowledge, then? That’s a conversation for a whole different post.
3) More…Vested
Curiosity is a powerful driving force. It has the power to inadvertently change a life, either for good or for evil. By it, many have met great fortune, and even more an untimely end.
As an author, you have the power to harness this great force of human psychology, and use it to your advantage.
Very few, once presented with a truly intriguing mystery, will lay it aside, never desiring to discover its end. On the contrary, a reader or listener will pay the closer attention until they mystery’s resolution, picking up on any detail they can all the while.
The trick here, however, can be making sure you are feeding your audience just enough to tide them over until the big reveal. Wait to long, and the audience may think you have forgotten what you started, or will simply cease to care.
Either way, the result will be the same: they won’t keep reading or listening.
I’ve heard too many storytellers and writers complain that their audience, especially a child audience, lack the attention span to pay attention to the story being told. People will gravitate towards what is entertaining. If they are not interested, the fault lies with us, not them.
It is important to give enough away, without giving too much away. Maybe the mysterious person shows up in the middle of an intense battle to share a few words of wisdom. Maybe they appear in a cryptic dungeon, where no soul has ever been seen before.
A truly great storyteller will be able to use these opportunities to deepen the mystery as well.
Maybe the figure in question shows up in a location associated with their powers? Maybe a seer sheds some light on an ancient prophecy…making your heroes realize the meaning may not be what they thought.
Regardless how you chose to keep the reader vested with mystery, make sure to find a proper balance between concealment and demonstration.
4) More…Focused
Mystery can held a reader stay interested in many ways, but did you know it can help you the author as well?
Many aspects of a mystery can help a writer stay both interested and vested in their story.
Maybe you have ideas for some red herrings to throw into the tale, which, in turn, can lead to character development and interaction. Or maybe you think of a plot twist to throw in just before the end.
As writers and storytellers, we’ve all been there: you’ve had a great idea for a story, you get two or three chapters in, and then…nothing. Adding some mystery will help you turn a short story into a long-term project. Who knows how far you’ll go?
Most importantly, however, it helps keep a storyteller accountable. An audience with a mystery on their hand will clamor more fervently for further content until the mystery has been resolved.
This demand, in turn, can help a writer or storyteller stay focused on their end-game, namely, the end of their story.
In addition, like I mentioned in a previous point, adding mystery to a story requires development and storyboarding.
Whereas a story centered around characters who go on independent, unrelated adventures requires little to no forethought, a mystery must be planned from beginning to end, with all of the loops, curves, and bumps that go with it.
So how do you add mystery to your story? Well, we’re going to save that info for another article…consider it our mystery.
Whatever story you are trying to tell, whether a historical fiction of a sci-fi adventure, be sure to add just a dash of mystery. You won’t regret it! You may even find yourself Inspired.
About the author
Carter John Cada is the founder of and main author for Quips from the Quiver. In his free time, he loves to read, spend time with his 10 siblings, read, work out, read, work on his manuscript, read, and read.
He also enjoys eating.
