Smoke Screens and Red Herrings

 

Thinking about motives has got me thinking about Smoke Screens and Red Herrings.  If you are unfamiliar with the terms, it basically means misleading your audience by either hiding information, trying to obfuscate the information or offering false or unimportant information to muddle the issue.  In writing, these are common, especially in mystery writing.  They have to, or it would be a very short book.  

In murder mystery party games there are multiple schools of thought.  Some people believe that red herrings are hilarious and necessary because they add challenge to a traditionally light mystery.  Others believe that they are unnecesarry because they frustrate the players.  Honestly, I see both sides.  I've played enough Mystery Party Games to know that it can be written very badly and enrage the players because there was no way to "win".  It can also be written very well and not land for the audience because there is too much information and it got lost in the crowd.  It has been my experience that even when I write a red herring that is VERY outlandish, and I think NO ONE will believe it, people will pick it up and run with it to the finish line.  In my experience, people will make up their own red herrings.  I don't include them in large mystery party games at all because the large crowd is already a smoke screen.  Getting all the information requires the character to be intentional about seeking out and prying information from every other character.  Not everyone who plays is going to be an extrovert much less have played enough of these games to focus in on solving the mystery.  People will always be slightly uncomfortable with strangers, being dressed up weird, trying to embody a character and taking in tons of information.  

Whether you choose to include a red herring into your story or not, never over saturate your story with them.  Red herrings really shouldn't be more than 20% of your total clues and I wouldn't personally go over 10%.  The percentage is always scaled down with the size of your group.  Remember that 90% of the story is already leading to false ends.  Only one person is "guilty", the rest just have motive.

It can be tempting to think of writing a mysetery party game as a competition between you and your audience.  If you can trick most of them, you win!  If that's your goal, remember that you still want your audience to have fun.  Including red herrings can certainly help you acheive the goal of fooling your audience but it will also frustrate your players.  So when you are thinking of motive, and including red herrings, don't forget to check your motivation.  You'll have much more fun watching your audience enjoy themselves than hoping they don't figure it out.  

What's the most outlandish red herring you've ever read?  (Communism doesn't count, everyone knows its a red herring ;))

  

Let's talk motive

 

When I first started writing murder mystery dinner party scripts I did what ever modern person does, I searched the internet for how to do it.  There are a lot of great blogs that outline the basics.  Personally, I quickly became frustrated by the lack of detail beyond an outline.  Create a plot?  How is that helpful?  I wondered if  they didn't want to go into detail because then it would be selling the cow along with the milk.  Giving away the tricks of the trade and ultimately diminishing their livelihood.  I think I was being overdramatic.  Most likely it's because teaching someone how to write is more than the scope of a simple blog article.  

I don't make a living writing.  I have not been formally trained in the art of writing. I do love to read and I love analyzing story.  I enjoy editing and I enjoy writing murder mystery scripts.  So with that being said, I wanted to get into the nitty gritty of how I proceed once I have a theme for the murder mystery.  Before I can figure out who the "villian" is or what they have done, I have to create the over arching motive.  Because everyone has motive in a murder mystery party, you need all the ideas you can get in my opinion.

So let's brainstorm on the Mystery Writer Convention Murder Mystery Party!

1. Revenge
1. Revenge for stolen success
2. revenge for specific incident
3. revenge for a perceived slight
2. Murder by Death style
1. If you've never seen Murder by Death ... Just do yourself a favor and go watch it.  It basically means that the motive is that the villian, or characters, are trying to prove they are the best.  The best detective, or in our case, the best mystery writer.  They all had information they were trying to hide that was used as a reveal as potential motive for murder but ultimately only has a way for each detective to reveal information about another that would prove they were the best detective.
3. Fear, the need to hide daming information
1. has a ghost writer
2. stole their last book idea
3. dwindling 
4. To stop a crime or abuse to themselves or a loved one
1. generally considered self defense
5. To eliminate a source of debt; either from blackmail, loan, or favor
6. love, lust, or passion
7. impulse
8. jealousy
9. tradgedy
10. to get an object of desire
1. job
2. acknowledgement of acheivement
3. removing competition for love interest
4. win competition

This is going to be a working list for now.  There are a ton of potential motives and I haven't listed them all.  I personally rank motives in my own head based on the likelyhood someone would commit a crime to fulfill the motive but there are a lot of different people in the world and the range of possibilities are very wide indeed.  Certainly wider than the ones that make logical sense to me.  Don't think of this list as too small either.  Multiple characters can be motivated by jealousy but it will look different and be motivated differently in each character.  The final motives of your villian will evolve as you brainstorm and create.  Don't get too married to one idea at first.  You're going to give each character a story, not just a one word motive.  

Mysteries afoot

Okay, the year has started out nice with gentle progress towards my daily goals and actually getting some things done.  I mentioned that I had started thinking about writing again and I've been given the opportunity to start working on one of my favorites.  I am going to write another mystery dinner party.  I honestly love writing these.  I have written several large group MDP's because there weren't a whole lot of large group ones on the market at first and then there weren't a lot of good ones.  I have written one for the state patrol youth academy which had to adapt to a very large group on a yearly basis.  I have written several for friends and a couple for local games stores.  I have to admit I tend to try and innovate and think outside the mystery dinner party box.  I want it to be unique and interesting.  I want it to be better than what you can buy in a box.  Two things have come from this desire.  I usually make an overly complicated mystery for a dinner party and I always wish I had a team.

I know that probably sounds weird but, I love brainstorming.  Thinking of all the possibilities and discovering the potential connections just makes the mystery write itself for me.  Getting excited with someone else is a big part of that.  Bouncing ideas off of them, having the instant check when you have gone off the rails, it's magic.  Sadly, people are busy.  Plus, I haven't found the person or people who get as much life out of brainstorming sessions as I do.  I also suspect it's the DM (dungeon master in roleplaying games) problem.  Everyone wants to play, they don't want to make the game. Being a part of the creation means you can't participate. 

So I'll take the next best thing.  I'll share little tidbits with you.  That way we can brainstorm together if you're so inclined.

Are you game?

Let's begin....  

I'm pondering three possible themes.  I've already started fleshing out one of them.  We'll see if you can guess which one.  Of the three, which one is your favorite?  Which do you think would make for the funnest Mystery Dinner Party?  But also, just the act of writing up the summary for the ideas has made me want to write them all....so maybe just help me figure out which one to write first.

1. Tournament Trouble - Dangerous games are being played at the Mage Poke Blood Yu Lore Event.  Someone has been picking off competitors and you may be next.  What's worse, you think they might be cheating so they can win the tournaments prize;  A Rare Shiny Mega Ultra Glamour  Evolved Pecunia Concidat
2. Murder by Murder - Welcome, writers, to our annual Murder Mystery Writers Convention.  Our guest list has been meticulously currated with the best in the genre, which is why you're here.  Rumors of our previous key note speakers untimely demise are sadly true but we have rallied from the blow and have secured a last minute special guest speaker we are sure you will all be shocked to hear.
3. Upstairs Downstairs - Who do you think can solve a mystery faster?  The elite rich, or the servants whose presence they forget?  This dueling party mystery will require alliances, observation and loyalty.  Choose wisely.
4. Truth is Stranger than Fiction - True Crime Podcasters have gathered by invitation to share the story they are currently investigating.  Strangely, as each podcaster tells their story, it all starts sounding a bit too familiar.