Here are some tips to get you started.

You’re ready to start writing your first mystery novel; maybe you even have a plot in mind.

But how and where do you begin?

You’re in the same position I was in a few years ago. So, not to worry. I’ve written and published two novels set in Michigan, and I’m at work on a third. They're all mysteries, but these tips can apply to almost any genre.

So here we go:

Tip #1: Organize your thoughts into a workable outline.

Create an outline and view it as you would a vacation itinerary. You know you’re going to start in your home town, they proceed west to, say, Des Moines, Iowa. Then, you’re going to drive northward to Bismarck, North Dakota, and west to Helena, Montana. You drive south to San Francisco, east to Las Vegas and Dallas. Then you return east to your home town.

That’s your schedule, your outline. But you don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen at each of those places. And something that happens along the way might redirect your journey.

Writing a novel is a lot like that.

Tip #2: You don’t have to start at the beginning.

There’s nothing as daunting as a blank page – or blank computer screen. You’re thinking, “Where oh where do I start?”

Well, you don’t have to start with the first chapter. If you have a plot in mind, you probably also have a few “scenes” blocked out in your head.

Start by writing the scene or scenes you already have in mind. As you write, more will pop into your head. Before you know it, you’ll have enough pages to start piecing together your novel. And by that time, you’ve probably already thought of a great beginning.

So start writing those scenes today.

Tip #3: What if you don’t have a plot in mind? How do you get one?

Plots are everywhere. Today’s newspaper is full of possibilities. You can start with the bare bones of one story, and add flourishes that make it your own.

Write about what you know. I've written novels set in Michigan, because Michigan is my home state. I probably wouldn't be as successful setting my novels in a state I don't know anything about.

If you’re writing a mystery, start with the crime. Plot it out through the eyes of the perpetrator. Once you’ve done that, it’s easier to weave your protagonist around it.

I learned that the hard way. I had my protagonist all fleshed out; she was the main character from a previous novel. But I found myself looking at that blank computer screen without an idea of where the story was going until I realized I didn’t know the details of the crime she was supposed to solve. 

I went back and put myself in the mind of the “perp” and plotted the crime from start to finish. Only then could I begin to tell the story of how my protagonist would go about foiling the antagonist and solving the mystery.

Tip #4: Don’t tell the story; show it.

Use dialog and description to show your reader what’s happening in a scene. Go back and reread your favorite author and absorb how he/she moves the story forward by showing instead of telling.

Tip #5: Write with all your senses.         

Your protagonist is walking across a meadow. What does that person hear? See? Smell? Put yourself into your character’s shoes and take your reader along.

You don’t use all your senses every time you write a scene, but remember to use enough to them to put your reader into the story.

And don’t forget to mention weather. Not every day is sunny. Use weather to bring your story alive and make it more believable.

That’s enough to get your started. Here are a few books that helped me along the way:

How to Write Mysteries – Shannon Ocork  Published by Writer’s Digest

The Weekend Novelist Write a Mystery – Robert J. Ray and Jack Remick Pubished by Dell

The Writer’s Complete Crime Reference Book – Martin Roth  Writer’s Digest

And, of course, any books by your favorite author. Read and reread them to see how the pros do it.

Now, if you'd like to see how I've done using these and other tips, visit http://www.bdavidwarner.com. You'll find the first few chapters of both Dead Lock and Freeze Frame 2016 there. Hope you enjoy them.

And, by all means, please sign my guest book.