Mystery Party Writing Checklist

As we get into the nitty gritty of writing the mystery party, I move to a checklist as opposed to an outline.  I personally start with the theme.  I then move on to character names.  Character names are not the first thing that has to be done but they are one of the quickest steps and so I tend to do them at the beginning of my process.  It also helps me to lean in to the obvious motives and assumptions that the audience will make.  That generally leads me to writing those down as the character description which gives me a framework to plug in motives to the story.  That doesn't have to be how it works for you.  

No matter how you write your mystery party, or in what order, I think it's vital to have a checklist of things you need to get done so that you can be sure you don't arrive at the event with huge gaps.  Give yourself milestones so you aren't rushed the day, or even week, of.

1. Ready a minimum of 3-4 weeks before event
1. list of characters
1. character names
2. 1-2 sentences general intro
3. costume suggestions
4.  character description paragraph 
2. plan for how to determine guilty party
1. Is it important to you that the character know they are guilty?
1. Will they find out when they receive their character intro before the event 
2. Will they find out in the first act information 
3. Will they find out during final reveals
2. Do you want to randomly determine at the event
1. slips of paper to draw from a bag? 
2. special intro page for one lucky participant?  
3. No matter what, make sure your organizer/host can easily handle the particulars.  Think it through and how it will go at the event.  
3. Do you want to predetermined based on the story?
1. how will you ensure this character is present.  
1. Some scripts will rank the importance of the characters so the most important characters to the story are chosen first.
2. Some scripts assume all characters are present even if noone chose to embody them.
4. Do you need to include a special bit of information?
1. Some scripts include a story line that will help the audience, in theory, to determine who the guilty party is.
2. Some scripts include an event, drama, or reveal that will draw attention to the guilty party.
3. Outline of the story
1. You need to at least know the sequence of events or what happened so that you can work your clues off of that based on what your cast would have been present for.  This information is just for you.
2. Do you want your  host to be able to participate in the party or not.  Most hosts want to be able to play along and so information should be included but sealed so they can look at it only if they need to.  If you are the host, you can write yourself a special place in the mystery so you can still enjoy watching your mystery unfold.
3. A plan for who to reveal what information too.
4. Think of time allotments
1. Have a plan for how long the event is going to last.  This will not only serve you well as you inform your guests of how long the evening will last so they can plan accordingingly, it will also give you a general guide for how much information to use.  
2. This is also why a host is often suggested.  The host needs to be able to move the group from one act to the other.  
3. If you have alloted an hour and a half for your evening you could dvide it like so: 20 min for Act 1, 60 min for act 2, 10 min for act 3.
1. Act 2 is longest because of the logistics of a meal.  If you are not having a sit down meal, or your group is larger, you will have to think about how much time you are going to alot to accomodate.  It will also change how much information you are providing to your guests and how complicated the mysteries are.  
2. In general, Act 3 is the shortest even if you have a large group.  It's the wrap up and once people know who "did it' the natural conclusion to the end of the evening.  You can include 3rd act clues for a final round of accusations before the conclusion if you choose.
5. Most murder mysterys are divided into 3 parts:  The Intro, or Act 1, where horderves are served and people can mingle; Act 2, where the sit down meal is served; and Act 3, where the guilty party is accused/revealed which is a good time for dessert and coffee if you are including that.  Clues for each character for each round will have to be written.
1. Act 3 can be organized in several ways
1. read in order from least suspected to guilty
2. read in random order with the guilty party being instructed to stay silent until accused
3. allowing accusations or a vote to occur so the guests can test their detective skills before the reveal
4. a single character being asked to read the final reveal which explains what happened and gives context for clues revealed during the course of the game.  
6. I recommend having an aid to keep track of how people and plots are connected.  I have absolutely used walls to visually track the connections.  I now utilize software like Mindmup to help me keep track.  Having a way to organize that information will help you make sure you're not dropping information you thought about and planned for but ultimately forgot to write down in clue form for your guests.
4. Review
1. I can not emphasis this enough.  READ YOUR WORK!  
1. Edit your work for spelling and grammar and give yourself enough time to think about what you've written
2. Think about the flow of each individual character and of the group.  
2. Make sure you have revealed all the information that needs to be revealed
1. If your group is large, make sure multiple people have the clues so they move and flow around the group.  
2. make sure that the revelations connect where they should connect and follow through where they should follow through.
1. If you are writing an accusation style clue format then the accused should have corresponding answer/information.  They should know what they are being accused of.  
2. Ensure that the clues make sense
3. make sure all the character information, clues and revealations are consistent
2. Ready a minimum or 1 week before event
1. Clue Envelopes 
1. guests should begin with an envelope (or however you are sharing information) that tells them if they are guilty (if that's how you are organizing it) and what information the character knows as of that moment.  
1. This includes specific information they should be encouraged to hide or reveal.
2. It also includes a reminder of the setup of the event and a reminder of their personal bio with maybe a few more details than was provided in the initial character list.
3. Depending on your group, this may need to include conversation propts, specific instructions for how to play the game or quirks that the character has.
4. You will generally need two envelopes with clues for acts 1 and 2 and a final paragraph for act 3
2. Each character should have a clue envelope for each act printed out and ready
1. organizing this in advance means you're not scrambling last minute
2. the guilty party will need an extra insert or an additional envelope with what they need to know
2. Supplimental information
1. Some mystery parties include evidence that the guests can examine.  This allows you to write/create one document that can be shared.  
2. If you have other information that needs to be share with the group at specific times, whether you are having your host read something out or you choose to include another crime happeneing in the midst of the event, you will need to have this prepared and ready with instructions on the envelope.  
3. there are plenty of gimicks that can be used in a mystery party.  Feel free to get creative, just make sure you have a doable plan that won't be too stressful to impliment at the event.  
3. Food
1. Most mystery parties are organized around food.  This neccesitates that allergies are considered, the menu is planned in advance and a plan for who makes what is in place.

Writing a mystery party can be intimidating but knowing what you need to do is half the battle.  Just start creating and have fun!  I've had so much fun brainstorming with you.  It has definitly helped me!