By Steve Bradshaw
Before
one can plant them,
one needs to know clues are the seeds
in a story that lead to truth. Whether you’re writing a mystery, romance, or an
action adventure, clues are the vital building blocks to telling a story. When
properly selected and purposefully placed, they make a story come alive. I’m going to limit my definition of clues to three kinds:
physical, verbal, and thematic.
The physical clue is the easiest to understand and recognize in a
story. The blood drop on the wall is a physical clue. DNA convicts. A
photograph of Mary kissing John is a physical clue. Fingerprints, the bullet, a
glove left behind, the knife with the serrated blade, a black ballpoint pen, a
lipstick smudge on a shirt, all are physical clues. They can be seen and
touched. They can be in front of your nose or artfully missing.
The verbal
clue seems to be an easy concept to understand. But is it? Verbal clues can
be found in dialogue, or not. They appear a number of ways; what is said or not
said that should have been said or should not have been said. Who said what,
when, and how, and to whom, and why. That mouthful of qualifiers represents
just a few on the list.
The Thematic
clues are
settings and descriptions and everything else that may not be verbal or
physical. A thematic clue creates a feeling or mood. If the story begins on a
stormy night in Transylvania, the seed leading to truth says a vampire will make
an appearance. If a clown parade breaks out, they better be vampires. Thematic
clues can be as simple as the man dressed in black or the girl with the halo or
the rolling waves of golden wheat. Thematic clues set the stage and carry the
story from beginning to end.
Clues lead to truth. They can grow into questions
and provide answers and point readers in directions. The clues a
writer selects and how they are planted can affect the strength of a story because
clues are intended to capture and hold readers on a journey.
There are three ways to plant clues. One
way is when an author works out their story in advance and plants their clues
then. Another way is when the author writes their story and then goes back to
plant clues. The third way, and probably most popular, is when the writer does
both.
Red herrings. they do not lead to truth.
They are tools to bait the reader and draw attention away from truth. They are
intended to mislead, confuse, delay, and/or setup. Red herrings appear just like clues when done well, but they have
the exact opposite purpose. The use of red
herrings is an art and can backfire. Readers expect to work for truth but
they do not like to be tricked. Everything must be worthy of the journey.
To master the art of selecting and planting
clues, a writer should beware of the traps that can weaken their story.
The NEON SIGN clue: If a ballpoint
pen is the key clue leading to the killer, talk about more than one ballpoint pen.
If you don’t, you are likely to draw undue attention to the one ballpoint pen
and your reader will pick up on it early and get ahead of your story.
The OBSCURE or complicated clue: Know your
audience. Try to avoid planting clues that may not be within the realm of your
reader’s knowledge base. For example, unless you’re writing for people in the
medical profession, do not say the cause of death is idiopathic cardiomyopathy.
Tell your audience the heart stopped for unknown reasons.
The OVERDONE clue: If you’ve seen
something a hundred times before, don’t use it. Don’t set a scene with...it all began one stormy night. Refrain
from saying...the butler did it? Do
not write... it was Colonel Mustard with a
candlestick in the study. If your clues involve a military man,
candleholder, and a room say... it was
General Smith with a candelabra in the dining room.
The LIE clue: Remember clues
lead to truth. Don’t say a pen is just a pen and then make it a laser gun at
the end of the story. There was no reason for the reader to think the pen was a
laser gun unless you did your job early. The reader trusts the author to tell
the truth.
The UNFAIR clue: The volume of
clues can be unfair. If only one clue in a dozen is relevant, the reader may
feel abused. Meaningless information in a story is clutter and the best way to
lose reader interest. Unfair clues mislead and confound. Building a story with
well framed and perfectly placed clues is a key to a good experience and book
sales.
The LEAP of faith clue: When a character
in the background of a story has not been developed, and is asked why he killed
the person, stuttering does not mean automatic guilt. If the author hangs his
hat on that he loses readers. People that stutter are not necessarily killers. Clues
must have a reasonable foundation to work.
As a writer, I treat clues the same
way I did as a forensic investigator. I use them in my stories to guide my
readers to a meaningful truth. I plant them like I found them in the real world,
but there is a difference. When investigating a homicide, I did not know the
ending. I was like the reader of a story. Often there were death investigations
I would have dropped if I could: too many bad clues, too many red
herrings—overwhelming confusion. Now, as a writer, I know the ending to my
stories. I don’t need to confuse and irritate and overwhelm my readers. I want
to give them an experience that brings them back for more.
_______________________________________________________________________
Steve Bradshaw has been a forensic investigator, biotechnology
entrepreneur, and suspense thriller author—received his BA degree from the
University of Texas and trained at the Institute of Forensic Sciences where he
investigated 3,000+ unexplained deaths for the Medical Examiner’s Office. His
career with FORTUNE 500 medical companies, and as the founder President/CEO of
an innovative biomedical company, led to the introduction of new medical technology
advancing healthcare around the world. Today Steve draws upon his experience in
the fascinating worlds of leading edge biotechnology breakthroughs and chilling
forensic investigation. Author of The
Bell Trilogy, Steve’s debut novel, BLUFF
CITY BUTCHER, is
a 2013 Darrell Award finalist—best science fiction, suspense thriller in the
MidSouth. Book II of the trilogy, THESKIES
ROARED, was named 2014
Darrell Award finalist. Book III, Blood
Lions, releases nationally,
today, October 31, 2014. You can read excerpts from his first two books at his
website http://www.stevebradshawauthor.com/ View Steve’s YouTube trailer by clicking on the book titles THE SKIES ROARED and on his first book, BLUFF CITY BUTCHER.
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