s.

Reminder: every action of one character is going to cause a reaction from one or more other characters. The extent of the action and reaction will determine whether you are writing a short story, novella, full length novel, or a series. The shorter the time it takes to resolve the character's goals, the shorter the tale will be.

In your third column, under "conflicts", list those characters that will be in direct opposition to the intended goal. Be sure that you note why on both character's individual page. There must be a good reason, and not just because you need conflict for the story. If there isn't a solid reason behind the character's opposition you've only got a plot device, not a solid piece of characterization.

Goals are important; to you, to me,

Writing a mystery story is like trying to make the perfect maze. You want your reader to be surprised at the end. But you also want to be sure your reader isn't so frustrated while reading that they put the story down and never finish it. Finding the perfect balance between surprise and frustration is the trick to writing a great mystery.

One way to keep the reader interested is to understand what your character's goals are. Not just your detective's goal of solving the crime and the criminal's goals for committing the crime. You want a clear picture of why they do what they do. Why does your detective need to solve the crime? Why does the criminal need to commit the crime? Knowing your character's goals can help you better understand their motives for doing what they do and help you show your readers those motives.

To have a clearer picture of what your character's goals are, you'll need to ask questions of each main character; Hero, Heroine, and Antagonist. Take one piece of paper for each main character. Make three columns on each sheet and head them - goal, time, and conflicts.

You need to decide what each of your main characters is trying to achieve. Does your hero just want to solve the mystery, or is he also trying to get back into the good graces of his boss by bringing the antagonist to justice? Is your heroine just looking for love, or does she also want revenge against someone too? Why does your antagonist do what he did? Does he hate, envy, or is he just using the victims as a means to an end?

In the first column list the goals of the character. Prioritize each goal in relation to the others. Which is most important to your main character? List the goals in the highest to lowest order.

Reminder: the ability of the character to compromise will depend largely on the importance he or she puts on each goal in relation to how they feel about the other characters.

As with people, each of your main characters should have more than one goal. Think about your own goals. You don't just have just one, you have many goals, and some of them even contradict each other. This is the way everyone is and it's also the way your characters should be. Your characters should be as multifaceted as the rest of the human race.

Now you'll need to break down your character's goals into time groups. How long will it take your characters to achieve each goal? Is what they want something which that will take a lot of time, or is it something they can fairly quickly?

Reminder: not all character goals are likely to be way down the road, beyond present sight. On the paper with the columns put in the second column which time group each goal falls into within the story's time frame.

Very short term is less than 6 months
Short term is 6 month to 2 years
Mid term is 2 years to 5 years
Long term is more than 5 years

If their primary goals are long or mid term, you'll need to break the goal down into shorter steps and write down those steps. This will help you to plot out what actions your characters are going to take to resolved their goals.

Reminder: every action of one character is going to cause a reaction from one or more other characters. The extent of the action and reaction will determine whether you are writing a short story, novella, full length novel, or a series. The shorter the time it takes to resolve the character's goals, the shorter the tale will be.

In your third column, under "conflicts", list those characters that will be in direct opposition to the intended goal. Be sure that you note why on both character's individual page. There must be a good reason, and not just because you need conflict for the story. If there isn't a solid reason behind the character's opposition you've only got a plot device, not a solid piece of characterization.

Goals are important; to you, to me, a

and help you show your readers those motives.

To have a clearer picture of what your character's goals are, you'll need to ask questions of each main character; Hero, Heroine, and Antagonist. Take one piece of paper for each main character. Make three columns on each sheet and head them - goal, time, and conflicts.

You need to decide what each of your main characters is trying to achieve. Does your hero just want to solve the mystery, or is he also trying to get back into the good graces of his boss by bringing the antagonist to justice? Is your heroine just looking for love, or does she also want revenge against someone too? Why does your antagonist do what he did? Does he hate, envy, or is he just using the victims as a means to an end?

In the first column list the goals of the character. Prioritize each goal in relation to the others. Which is most important to your main character? List the goals in the highest to lowest order.

Reminder: the ability of the character to compromise will depend largely on the importance he or she puts on each goal in relation to how they feel about the other characters.

As with people, each of your main characters should have more than one goal. Think about your own goals. You don't just have just one, you have many goals, and some of them even contradict each other. This is the way everyone is and it's also the way your characters should be. Your characters should be as multifaceted as the rest of the human race.

Now you'll need to break down your character's goals into time groups. How long will it take your characters to achieve each goal? Is what they want something which that will take a lot of time, or is it something they can fairly quickly?

Reminder: not all character goals are likely to be way down the road, beyond present sight. On the paper with the columns put in the second column which time group each goal falls into within the story's time frame.

Very short term is less than 6 months
Short term is 6 month to 2 years
Mid term is 2 years to 5 years
Long term is more than 5 years

If their primary goals are long or mid term, you'll need to break the goal down into shorter steps and write down those steps. This will help you to plot out what actions your characters are going to take to resolved their goals.

Reminder: every action of one character is going to cause a reaction from one or more other characters. The extent of the action and reaction will determine whether you are writing a short story, novella, full length novel, or a series. The shorter the time it takes to resolve the character's goals, the shorter the tale will be.

In your third column, under "conflicts", list those characters that will be in direct opposition to the intended goal. Be sure that you note why on both character's individual page. There must be a good reason, and not just because you need conflict for the story. If there isn't a solid reason behind the character's opposition you've only got a plot device, not a solid piece of characterization.

Goals are important; to you, to me,

list the goals of the character. Prioritize each goal in relation to the others. Which is most important to your main character? List the goals in the highest to lowest order.

Reminder: the ability of the character to compromise will depend largely on the importance he or she puts on each goal in relation to how they feel about the other characters.

As with people, each of your main characters should have more than one goal. Think about your own goals. You don't just have just one, you have many goals, and some of them even contradict each other. This is the way everyone is and it's also the way your characters should be. Your characters should be as multifaceted as the rest of the human race.

Now you'll need to break down your character's goals into time groups. How long will it take your characters to achieve each goal? Is what they want something which that will take a lot of time, or is it something they can fairly quickly?

Reminder: not all character goals are likely to be way down the road, beyond present sight. On the paper with the columns put in the second column which time group each goal falls into within the story's time frame.

Very short term is less than 6 months
Short term is 6 month to 2 years
Mid term is 2 years to 5 years
Long term is more than 5 years

If their primary goals are long or mid term, you'll need to break the goal down into shorter steps and write down those steps. This will help you to plot out what actions your characters are going to take to resolved their goals.

Reminder: every action of one character is going to cause a reaction from one or more other characters. The extent of the action and reaction will determine whether you are writing a short story, novella, full length novel, or a series. The shorter the time it takes to resolve the character's goals, the shorter the tale will be.

In your third column, under "conflicts", list those characters that will be in direct opposition to the intended goal. Be sure that you note why on both character's individual page. There must be a good reason, and not just because you need conflict for the story. If there isn't a solid reason behind the character's opposition you've only got a plot device, not a solid piece of characterization.

Goals are important; to you, to me,

oups. How long will it take your characters to achieve each goal? Is what they want something which that will take a lot of time, or is it something they can fairly quickly?

Reminder: not all character goals are likely to be way down the road, beyond present sight. On the paper with the columns put in the second column which time group each goal falls into within the story's time frame.

Very short term is less than 6 months
Short term is 6 month to 2 years
Mid term is 2 years to 5 years
Long term is more than 5 years

If their primary goals are long or mid term, you'll need to break the goal down into shorter steps and write down those steps. This will help you to plot out what actions your characters are going to take to resolved their goals.

Reminder: every action of one character is going to cause a reaction from one or more other characters. The extent of the action and reaction will determine whether you are writing a short story, novella, full length novel, or a series. The shorter the time it takes to resolve the character's goals, the shorter the tale will be.

In your third column, under "conflicts", list those characters that will be in direct opposition to the intended goal. Be sure that you note why on both character's individual page. There must be a good reason, and not just because you need conflict for the story. If there isn't a solid reason behind the character's opposition you've only got a plot device, not a solid piece of characterization.

Goals are important; to you, to me,

s.

Reminder: every action of one character is going to cause a reaction from one or more other characters. The extent of the action and reaction will determine whether you are writing a short story, novella, full length novel, or a series. The shorter the time it takes to resolve the character's goals, the shorter the tale will be.

In your third column, under "conflicts", list those characters that will be in direct opposition to the intended goal. Be sure that you note why on both character's individual page. There must be a good reason, and not just because you need conflict for the story. If there isn't a solid reason behind the character's opposition you've only got a plot device, not a solid piece of characterization.

Goals are important; to you, to me, and especially to your readers. They want to know why a character does what they do, what their motive is for want to finish their quest. It's one of the things that will give the reader a reason to keep reading.