What We Do to Make Readers Happy
Very interesting article to read if you write mysteries or thrillers. This author took an old noir-age movie D.O.A. and used the plot gimmick to create her own “solve your own murder” thriller. As King David said, “there’s nothing new under the sun,” so this idea is simply using something that’s been done already and adapting it for your own purposes.
Of course, ever since E. A. Poe’s first mystery story about the giant orangutan whodunit, writers have tried all kinds of gimmicks and twists to attract readers. One of these gimmicks is still going strong: The “Gone Girl” set-up of having somebody disappear for some reason or another in order to pull a switcheroo on the reader later.
I am also doing my own twist in my mystery The Dancing Murders. It came to me when listening to the Zen Guru, Alan Watts. He was talking about how there are two methods of viewing reality: the spotlight (our existential view) and the floodlight (the macrocosmic, big picture view). I simply incorporated these two viewpoints to allow the reader to experience both points-of-view. The “big picture,” of course, will be my twist gimmick. LOL! Cool beans.
P.S., The Dancing Murders is also going to be an audiobook and ePub3 multimedia title, featuring Joan DuKore, a best-selling narrator with a ton of experience. I shall also read some of the chapters, including the Wyatt Earp Suspect monologue.
