Building a Mystery from Back to Front with Misa Ramirez

Six Months of mystery and mayhem begins in January 2011. There will be teams, challenges, word count expectations, chats and skyping, mentoring, and more! This is an interactive class. You will get out of it what you put into it.

Teams will be made up of three to five authors who are writing similar styles of mystery (cozies, detective, romantic suspense, etc). You’ll come up with a name, because every group need their own name! Together you will have your own section of the Savvy Authors website to use for brainstorming, inspiration, encouragement, and virtual chocolate (or margaritas). Post your daily word count as you build your mystery. There will be mini incentives along the way. REAL chocolate, perhaps?!

Workshops, writing sprints, mentoring, and chatting are all part of the six month experience. Your team will become your best resource, and probably best friends, too. It’s going to be fun, but it’s going to be work. Put your thinking caps on, dust of your pipe, twirl that mustache, and get ready to build a mystery!



FOCUS: Mystery/Suspense

TRACK
Intermediate + Mentoring – Will cover topics in detail, with the assumption that the student has a basic understanding of the craft elements of writing fiction.

COST
Only $75 per month, or save 10% and pay all at once!


COURSE DATES

TWELVE MONTH TRACK
Jan 24, 2011 - Jan 23, 2012 (Register & Reserve your spot today!)
Includes 6 months of curricula as defined below plus an additional six months of intensive mentoring.


SIX MONTH FAST TRACKS
First Session: Jan 24, 2011 - Jul 24, 2011 (Register & Reserve your spot today!)
Includes 6 months of curricula as defined below plus the option to tranisition into the already running twelve month course for an additional six months of intensive mentoring.

Second Session: July 25, 2011 - Jan 23, 2012 (Register & Reserver your spot today!)
Includes 6 months of curricula as defined below.

*The first six months of both tracks have identical curricula, although the six month tracks require a higher daily page count goal and is for those who write faster or already have a rough draft ready to work with.



Got Questions?
Check here first to see if someone else has already asked, or post your own questions and Ask Misa!



COURSE SYLLABUS


Workshop #1: WHO’S YOUR SLEUTH? AND MORE...

Mystery Shmystery. What to write and where to start? This 4-week workshop will help you figure out the answers to these questions...and more. We’ll dig into the history of the mystery, mystery classifications, and writing what you read, to add romance or not to add romance, and more. With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire by developing the most important element of your mystery: the sleuth. For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.

A Brief Break from Workshops

Workshop #2: STARTING AT THE END


The second workshop in the Building a Mystery series will delve into the supporting cast of characters, as well as your villain/murderer. We’ll tackle the most essential element of building any story...knowing the end. Participants will ‘backwards map’ their mystery, crafting multiple possible scenarios for the murder between the pages. This, of course, will lead to expanding on your cast of characters and the goals and motivations for their actions. Participants will begin to write the ‘discover’ scene of their mystery during this month. With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire by developing red herrings and murderers. For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.


A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #3: CRAFTING THE SYNOPSIS


You’ve made it to the end. Now it’s time to slow down and fill in the rest. Bottom line, whether you’re submitting your manuscript to an agent or an editor, you’ll need a synopsis. This month, we will conquer the synopsis, hook, line, and sinker! So for this 4-weeks, that’s our goal. With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire by having a compass to follow from this point forward. For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.


A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #4: THE INGREDIENTS OF BUILDING THE HERO’S JOURNEY


In today’s mysteries, the sleuth undergoes change. Change means a hero’s journey. This month we’ll write with the sleuth’s ordinary world which includes setting (scene 1) and delve into the call to adventure (introduction of the crime). We’ll begin to write more and lecture less during this month. We’ll also dive into the editing process. Be prepared to really start writing this month. We have a mystery to build! With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire by developing Act I of your story. For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.

A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #5: ACT II: LET THE TRIALS BEGIN


Building suspense is super important to building a mystery. Without it, your mystery will fall flat. We’re solidly into Act II and we’re going to start planting clues and false leads. We’re a community of mystery writers and a built in critique group, so this month’s scenes will get feedback from everyone! Be ready to start participating as a critiquer if you haven’t already. With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire this month by developing diving into Act II, complete with the trials, friends, and enemies of your story. For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.


A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #6: Red Herrings


What’s a red herring and why do we need them? This month we’ll be developing the red herrings for your mystery. They go hand in hand with the alternate killer possibilities you’ve already mapped out. Misdirection is key in crafting the mystery puzzle, and red herrings make misdirection. So put away your linear thinking, pull on your pickup sticks, and get ready to make things convoluted! With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire this month by developing those all important Red Herrings to throw the sleuth...and the reader off the track. We’re logging word count now, so keep the momentum going!! For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.


A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #7: Hitting Your Head Against a Brick Wall


Like Alexander said after his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, some days are like that. In Australia... or wherever you happen to be. Some people call it writer’s block. Others think their muse has abandoned them. Have no fear! We’ll get the juices flowing again. CREATIVITY CAN BE SUMMONED, and we’re going to do just that! With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire this month by channeling our creativity. We’re logging word count now, so push through the pain!! For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.


A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #8: HUGS AND KISSES


Even sleuths need lovin’, toucin’, squeezin’. Even John Grisham has love in his books. Nearly every book touches on love, relationships, heartache, or some other love related emotion. Why? Because love is a universal human emotion! We all want it. We all relate to it. Plus, if done well, it can build tension in you story in several different ways. Another perk: a love interest provides a sounding board for your sleuth, and every sleuth, even Sherlock Holmes, needs a sounding board.

This month we’re tackling that love interest and it factors into your mystery plot. Keep up the pace! We’re almost to the finish line! With lectures posted on Tuesdays and Challenges (assignments/homework) given for posting on Thursday, we’ll build your mystery repertoire this month with hugs and kisses. We’re still logging word count now, so keep going!! For any assignments posted by midnight Thursday (no matter what time zone), comments and suggestions from the instructor will be posted prior to the Tuesday lecture.

A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #9: ACT III: THE HOME STRETCH, aka MENTOR MONTH


This is it! The last full month of writing. We’ve approached the mystery manuscript in a structured and unique way. This month we’re filling in the blanks. You’ll be doing your own read-through, we’ll be brainstorming questions, concerns, sticky plot points, and anything else that arises. You’re *this close* to having your completed manuscript! Let’s get it done this month. We’ll do chat rooms and skyping. This is Mentor Month, so use me, your fellow classmates, and let’s get ‘er done!

Mentoring takes the place of lectures this month. We’ll have a sign up sheet for chatting or skyping.


A Brief Break from Workshops


Workshop #10 – THE FINAL PIECE


Like any class, what you get out is based on what you put in. If you’ve pushed through and stuck with our schedule, you’re ready to edit and revise. This month is all about the revision process. You’ve spent months and months writing a novel. Now it’s time to polish it, give it a good spit and shine, and get it ready to send out to agents.

We’ve had mini editing lessons all the way through, but now it’s time to really dig in. Look at style, consistency, loose ends, gaps in the story, emotion, and more. With lectures posted on Tuesdays, you’ll be editing your way through the month, so full speed ahead! You’ll be done and ready to enjoy your holidays, let your manuscript simmer while you craft your query and polish your synopsis, and shake off the excitement of having a completed book.

At the end of these four weeks, congratulate yourself! YOU DID IT!!

And we’ll have done it all within six (or twelve) months!


You've finished your novel, now what? Don't forget that we're lining up editors and agents eager to read your manuscript and consider it for publication! View list of SavvyU Sponsors.



INSTRUCTOR'S BIO:

About MISA RAMIREZ / MELISSA BOURBON
Misa Ramirez / Melissa Bourbon is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery Series: Living the Vida Lola (Winter ‘09) and Hasta la Vista, Lola (2010) from St. Martin’s Minotaur, as well as the upcoming Pleating for Mercy, the first in A Dressmaker’s Mystery Series with NAL (written under the pseudonym Melissa Bourbon, which is actually her given name).



When she’s not hanging out with The Naked Hero (http://thenakedhero.com ), running Books on the House, a marketing site for authors (http://booksonthehouse.com ), teaching with the CAPE novel writing track at Southern Methodist University, teaching online classes, or performing CEO and CFO duties for La Familia Ramirez, this blonde-haired, green-eyed, proud to be Latina-by-Marriage girl loves following Lola and Harlow Cassidy on their many adventures.

Whether it’s contemplating belly button piercings, stalking Heidi Klum and the Project Runway group, or visiting nudist resorts (all in the name of research, of course), she’s always up for the challenge.

Misa / Melissa is working on two middle grade mystery series for girls. She is published in Woman’s World Magazine and Romance Writers Report, and has a children’s book published.

Visit Misa’s website
Visit The Naked Hero (http://thenakedhero.com )
Visit Books on the House
Visit Books on the House for Kids/Teens
Follow Misa on Twitter
Friend Misa onFacebook