Vincent H. O'Neil

In my latest short story, I ran into a snag that I'd never encountered before. For a while, I was working with a plot that didn't seem to provide a plausible way for the killer to get caught.

This is definitely one of those "good" problems to have, because it probably means the case is a tough one and the readers will find it a challenge. But before they could do that, I did have to figure out how the perp gets caught--or, if the perp doesn't get caught, how the story ends.

As background, I set out to write a tough, tight "whodunnit" murder mystery with only two suspects and a remote location. Putting them there, and crafting the motivation for the killer, left a case that would not be easy for investigators to solve.

I was being very strict with myself and the circumstances I created for the murder. So no "dumb moves" by anyone in the story.

As an added degree of difficulty, the investigators aren't sure the death wasn't an accident.

Because of that, there was very little pointing toward the killer in the first place and the killer didn't have much time or opportunity to make a mistake that could tip anyone off.

To resolve this, I used an approach that I imagine some investigators take. I went through every one of the killer's actions and words to see if they provide anything that could point to that character as the perpetrator. That actually didn't work, but then I tried the "it's not what you see, but what you DON"T see" approach. In other words, if the available evidence doesn't solve the mystery, what evidence is missing that the investigators would expect to be there?

I'm still being strict with myself, but think I figured it out in a way that is realistic, believable, and in character. It's been a rewarding exercise, and it's definitely stretched my brain. 

Now to write the story. 

 

I've given a lot of writing workshops over the years, and have posted most of the slide presentations on Slideshare, where they're free to view and download.

 

Four of these workshops were given at the Sleuthfest mystery convention in Boca Raton, Florida, and audio recordings of those workshops are available for purchase as MP3 or CD. They follow the slide presentations saved on Slideshare, so if you download the presentation (for free) and purchase the audio recording, you'll get the experience of the workshop.

 

Please go to vwtapes.com and type "Vincent O'Neil" into the Search box to see the audio recordings.

 

Here are the slideshows available for free on Slideshare:

 

 

Don't Miss a Thing: Brainstorming the full potential of your story, your characters, and your plot (Sleuthfest 2019)

 

https://www.slideshare.net/vincent287/dont-miss-a-thing-brainstorming-for-writers

 

Writing Action Sequences: You'll be lucky to survive (Sleuthfest 2018)

 

https://www.slideshare.net/vincent287/writing-action-scenes-youll-be-lucky-to-survive

 

The Never-ending Brainstorm: Taking your inspiration from a gentle breeze to a full-blown hurricane (Sleuthfest 2017)

https://www.slideshare.net/vincent287/brainstorming-workshop-2015

 

The Brute Force & Ignorance Approach: Writing when you have no plan, no plot, and even no point (Sleuthfest 2017)

 

https://www.slideshare.net/vincent287/the-brute-focre-and-ignorance-approach-writing-when-you-have-no-plan-no-plot-and-even-no-point

Harlequin just released my theater-themed murder mystery DEATH TROUPE in paperback, and they did a fantastic job. They already published paperback versions of all four of the Frank Cole mysteries, and I've loved the cover art they've developed for every one of them, but they outdid themselves with DEATH TROUPE.

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Hey gang,

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