IT’S A MYSTERY: My Story and the Cat It Rode in on

By Mollie Hunt

Musings on Plotting Mysteries from an Award-Winning Author 

I chose writing mysteries because that’s what I love to read, especially the cozy genre that promises a happy ending. Read what you write, they say. It’s important to know what other authors are doing, too.

Before I started my writing journey, I went to the beach. Alone in a cabin with the sound of the sea as background, I took out a book I’d picked up at the library, The Cat Who Went into the Closet, by Lillian Jackson Braun. I remember my absolute revelation at the awareness it was a mystery that involved cats! I’d never conceived of such a treasure. After that, I read the rest of her prolific series and learned that Ms. Braun was the Queen of the Cozy Cat Mystery.

I’d written nine full manuscripts before I landed on the “Crazy Cat Lady” series. I’d sent numerous queries to agents and publishers, but although I received some kind responses along with the form letter rejections, there were no takers. My answer to their rebuffs was to write another book. I loved writing; I found my endless muse and that perfect process where time slips away and I am one with my creativity. It wasn’t a slam dunk, of course. I had a good education in English and grammar, which gave me a head start, and with dictionary and thesaurus in hand, there was no stopping me.

My writing improved over time. The noted sci-fi author David Gerrold says the first million words are practice. And it was on that tenth project — that millionth word— that I found a footing enough to finally publish.

I am a pantser — sometimes all I know about a story is the title. With Cat Café, I knew I had to write a mystery involving a cat café and went from there. At another point, I decided I needed to challenge myself to write a locked-room mystery with a solution I’d never seen before. Thus Cat Conundrum came about. Quilting is popular, so I wanted to write a story revolving around quilting. Since I don’t quilt myself, I had to make it believably uncomplicated. That was Crafty Cat.

The story idea may be my beginning, but equally important is where the cat(s) will fit and flow. It’s not a cat mystery unless the cat is a prominent and realistic character. They can’t just sit on Granny’s lap in chapter six. Here are some ideas for how to make it all happen.

Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!

Noir can go either way, but must stay within their trademark dark and fatalistic setting. A noir may have an ambiguous outcome, unlike the standard cozy with its happy ending.

Who is your hero?

Is your protagonist a pro or an amateur? A detective or a little old lady? That depends on your subgenre. Does your story have professional or medical setting? Is there a theme, such as animals, cooking, quilting, or other niche hobbies? Holidays? Vacations? Religious? Historical? Paranormal? The possibilities are endless. Your hero should be complex, multifaceted, well-developed, and realistic within those parameters.

Other characters

Your hero can’t do it alone, so introducing a cast of compelling characters, both to aid and to oppose, is essential. In a cozy series, the hero’s helpers are a tribe of family and friends who move from book to book. The villains are usually transitory.

In a stand-alone mystery, thriller, or suspense novel, character arcs have to be tied up within the one story, with all characters having an integral place in the plot. 

In any story, both your good guys and bad guys need ambiguity that keeps the reader (and sometimes the author) guessing.

Non-human characters

Unless your cat, dog, giraffe, or gerbil is only there as a prop or a set piece, non-human characters have to be well-rounded and true to their nature, just like the humans.

Can you put yourself in their head to see how they think, how they view things that happen(ed) — past, present, future?

It can be a fun excursion into your expanded imagination, as well as a chance for greater insight into the people who live in your books.

A hook, a setting, a crime, a sleuth, a villain, an ending 

Whether you are a pantser/discovery writer (writing what evolves in your mind with little or no pre-consideration) or a plotter/planner (prewriting outlines and worksheets before embarking on the draft itself), or even if you are a bit of both, consider these six simple points before you begin.

The Hook: the plot point/question that will instantly grab you reader’s attention from the first page, the first sentence.

Examples: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13 …,” 1984 by George Orwell.

“Where’s Papa going with that axe?,” Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

For pantsers, figuring out the hook may be the crux around which your story evolves.

The Setting: Think of your story’s physical environment as another character. Make it live and breathe as necessary to your plot.

The Crime: It doesn’t have to be murder. One of my favorite British mystery series, Hettie Wainthropp Investigates, shunned the traditional murder for a range of other fascinating crimes.

The Sleuth: Whether your sleuth is proactive (a detective, police officer, or military) or passive (a reluctant amateur who gets sucked into their role by chance), their story has to resonate. A rounded character has flaws and fears that make them human. Even heroes aren’t all good.

The Villain: Someone’s got to have committed “the Crime.” The author should have a good grasp on means, motive, and opportunity before getting too deep into the story. And again, the villain should be a rounded character — not all bad (unless it’s an evil serial killer. Probably not even then — evil humans have a backstory, too).

The ending: There are many ways to end a mystery, but most readers want a believable solution. The hero should have grown through their adversity. The villain’s outcome should be resolved, one way or another. Here is where all the loose ends are tied up and any lingering questions are answered.

In a series, this may be where you want to ask a brand-new question or foreshadow what will come in your next book. I do this in my Crazy Cat Lady series but not in my Ghost Catseries.

Motives for murder

Since most mysteries revolve around murder, it is important to know why people kill. It is said that anyone is capable of killing in the right situation, and I believe that’s true. The simplified version of motives for murder — the ones you will hear most often — are love, lust, lucre, and loathing. Here is the longer and more in-depth list that I work from.

Most of these are motives that initiate a pre-meditated murder, although some can be impulsive, spur-of-the-moment initiators as well.

This list does not include Accidental death, although it is a valid and much-used twist. How many times have I seen two people get into a fight where one is knocked against the fireplace, the coffee table, the brick floor, etc., and dies on the spot. The other, shocked and scared, decides to cover it up instead of reporting it as an accident. They are caught and charged anyway.

A few other notes 

Personal voice

In my opinion, your book won’t truly work until you find your own personal style, also referred to as voice. This can only come through practice. Write a lot. Write all the time. Keep a journal. Try different styles. Try poetry.

Research

For a writer, research is not merely looking things up on Google, but noticing all that is around us, everywhere, every day, in everything we do.

Learning from life

That cold gloom of ocean fog; that shadow in the corner; the potential of that abandoned farmhouse seen along the road. Details matter. Mood is how you make details come alive.

Writers’ block

There are many reasons that writers get stuck in the middle of a story. William Shatner (“Star Trek”) believes that writer’s block is caused by losing your way in your story. Go back to where the story worked and begin again from there.

Also …

• Try writing an honest blurb/sentence/summary before you start your story. Pare it down to a few words. See how that can influence your story.
• Don’t be afraid of change. Stories evolve by themselves, apart from your best intentions.
• Rules are made to be broken — but do it wisely.
• Every story needs an editor.

Every writer’sprocess is personal to them and possibly not useful to anyone but themselves, but here’s a glimpse at mine.

I knew three things about Cold Case Cat before I started the story or had a title:If you have not planned your cats’ care for when you are no longer able or around, please make this a priority this year. It is the ultimate demonstration of how much you really love them and have their welfare in mind.

• The image — Like an artist, I conceive a scene in my mind, then describe it with words and story. This one was a winding uphill dirt road leading to the house of the victim, an important woman who is found dead.
• The weapon — Discovering a weapon that isn’t used in every other murder mystery is one of my goals. I thought up the poison packing pillow, then had to figure out how to make it happen.
• The cats — I wanted the story to feature a sanctuary for senior and hospice cats, a subject close to my heart.

 From those three observations, a book was born.

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About the Author

Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also released a cat-themed COVID memoir. In her spare time, she pens a bit of cat poetry as well.
Mollie is a member of the Oregon Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, the Cat Writers’ Association, Willamette Writers, and Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA). She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and a varying number of cats.