Monday, February 18, 2013

Monday Mystery - Killer Ideas

Just like writing any type of story an idea is needed to spark the what if's that can be strung together and dissected to come up with a premise and plot for a mystery.
I've been working on a new mystery series set in the Bitterroot Mountains of Northern Idaho. Any time I hear of a real life crime that could be made to fit a book set in this area my ears perk up and I pay more attention. Or if an injustice has happened and it could be used to get a fictional character murdered and then work in the ski resort I've set up or the reservation community of the main character's family again, my interest is piqued. 

While walking with my dad during his daily strengthening walk after his bypass surgery, he was telling me about a prominent person who came into the county and bought up lots of land, then brought in his friends and business acquaintances to shoot elk on his land. Only because these people were out of state and didn't have licenses of tags, he used the tags of his employees for the "outsiders" to fill. They all got caught and not only did the landowner and his people get fined, but the employees who's tags they used were fined and couldn't hunt for five years.

As soon as the words were out of my dad's mouth, I began playing what if in my head and came up with a similar situation that would give me multiple suspects, a great way for my amateur sleuth to get involved, and a plausible reason for it all to happen. Once we returned home, I jotted it all down and you can wait to see which book ends up with this scenario. 

Have you read a mystery, thriller,or suspense book that had a plot similar to something factual? If you're a writer did you write a book based off something factual you learned?

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