1.

Chooseatimeperiodforyourdetectivestory.
Itcanbeanytime,anyplace,fromAncient
Egypttothefutureoritcouldgotoanykindofimaginaryplanetinanewgalaxy.
Dosomeresearchaboutwhathappenedinanycountryanykindofmurder,anykind
ofstrangecaseknown.Ifthecasenevercloses,youcouldmaketheendanywayyou,
please.
TheplaceandtimeperiodthatIresearchedwasbritaininthe1900s.Some
ofthecasesIfoundwerecasesofmanslaughter.
OneofthecasesbeingTheMaryBellcase.MaryFloraBellwas
convictedinDecember1968ofthemanslaughteroftwoboys,Martin
Brown(agedfouryears)andBrianHowe(agedthreeyears)earlier
thatyear.Bellwastenyearsoldatthetimeofoneofthekillings,and
elevenatthetimeoftheother.Shewassentencedtolifeimprisonment
andsenttoaspecialapprovedschool,beingreleasedfromcustodyin
1980.
Anothercasewasin1994,themurderofDanielHandley,thismurder
wasaboutNineyearoldDanielHandleywasluredawaynearhis
EastLondonhomeinOctober1994andmurderedbyTimothyMorss
andpartnerBrettTyler.Theyweresentencedtolifeimprisonmentin
May1996afteradmittingthemurderincourt.Theyhadsexually
abusedhimbeforemurderinghimandabandoninghisbodynear
Bristol,whereitwasfoundfivemonthslater.Thetrialjudge
describedthepairas"vultures"andrecommendedtheyshouldnever
besetfree.Aftertheirtrial,itwasrevealedthatbothhadconvictions
forsexualoffencesagainstchildren.Whenthepair,alongwithtwo
others,received50yeartariffsimposedbyHomeSecretaryDavid
Blunkettin2002,thiswasoverturnedwithin24hoursbythe
EuropeanCourtofHumanRights.

 Alotoftheconsequencesformanslaughterwerebenefitofclergy,branding,or
death.

2.
Developthepersonalityofyourdetectivehe/shecouldbetough,comprehensive,patient
orhe/shecouldbeeventhemurdererofyourstory.
Answeringallofthefollowingquestions
maybeunnecessary.However,beingthoroughinthisstepcanhelpyouwriteabelievablestory
basedonacompleteandroundedmaincharacter.
Thinkofthebasics.MaleorFemale?Whatistheirname?Howoldarethey?What
dotheylooklike(haircolor,eyecolor,andskintone)?Wherearetheyfrom?Where
aretheylivingwhenyourstorystarts?Howdidtheybecomepartofthestory?Are
theyvictims?Aretheythecauseoftheproblemsinyourstory?
Mydetectiveisafemale,VeronicaKing,is18yearsoldandhasdirtyblond
wavyhair.Shealsohashazeleyesandlightcoloredskin.Shewasbornand
raisedinbritainandiscurrentlylivingwithherparentsinaflat.Shebecame
partofthisstorywhenshesuddenlyawokeintoablackandwhitefilmandis
nowthedetective.
Developafamilyforyourdetective.Parents?Siblings?SignificantOther?Children?
Otherrelations?Sociallyproblematicgroups?Adetectivewhichmayknow
everythingbuthasdisappearedintothefabricofsociety.Makethisasnormaloras
interestingasyouwant!
Thedetectivehastwomothersandnosiblings.Sheisbestfriendswithaboy
shegrewupwithaswellasagirlfromherneighborhood.Thedetectiveisnot
veryintouchwithherfamilyandisoftenoutofthehousewithherfriends.
Whenshewasyoungershesufferedfromnightterrorsandparalysis.
Whatkindoflifedotheylive?Aretheyfamous,oraretheyjuststartingout?Are
theyunexpectedlysmart?Whatkindofmysteriesdotheysolve?(murder,theft,a
combination,otherkinds?)

 Shelivesaverynormallifeforan18yearoldgirl.Shegoestoschoolon
mondaysthroughfridaysandhasalwaysgottengoodgrades.Sheisveryshy
sometimesandhasahardtimefittinginwithagroupofpeople.Sheisvery
intocrimeshowsbuthasneveronceinherlifesolvedandactualcrimeuntil
now.
Developtheirtastes.Favoritesentencetosay?Whatistheirfavoritecolor?Placeto
be?Softdrink?Book?TVshow?Movie?Music?Meal?Whataretheyafraidof?
Howpracticalarethey?Dotheywearascent,andifso,whatscent?Strong,soft,nice
ornotpleasant?
Herfavoritecolorisblueandshealwayswearsadistinctperfumethatsmells
ofpeachandroses.
Comeupwiththeirreligion.Dotheyhaveareligion?Ifso,what?Didtheyinvent
oneorcombinesometosuitthemselves?Howdoesthisinfluencetheiractions?Are
theysuperstitious?
Ms.kingisnotveryreligiousbutgrewupinachristianhousehold.Shenever
reallywenttochurchonaregularbasisbutshedidgoforchristmasand
easterandotherreligiousholidays.Thisinfluencesheractionsbecauseshe
believesthateveryoneshouldbekindtoeachotheranddoingthingslike
usingaouijaboardshouldneverbedone.
Developtheirrelationships.Dotheyhavealotoffriends?Abestfriend?Arethey
romantic?Whatfirstimpressiondotheymake?Dotheylikechildren?Dotheylike
smokersordotheysmoke?Dotheylikereading?
Sheonlyhastwobestfriends,andrewwhogrewupwithher,andStephagirl
shegoestoschoolwith.Theyarebothjustlikeher.Theygetgoodgradesand
areverynicepeople.
Howdotheydress?Dotheyusemakeuporhairdye?Howaboutpiercingsortattoos?
Howattractivearethey,andhowattractivedotheythinktheyare?Istheresomething
theywishtheycouldchange,orsomethingtheyareparticularlyhappywith?How
muchtimedotheyspendthinkingaboutphysicalappearance?

 Theydressveryinthenow.Theyarealwaysdressingtotrendsbutadding
theirownstyletoit.Veronicahasametalliclookinglightpurplehairthatis
cutuptohershouldersandisalwayswearinghergotomakeuplook.
Veronicadoesthinksheisprettybutalwaysstruggledwiththethoughtthat
shedidn'thaveaflatstomachanddidnotmatchsocietysbodygoals.
Thoughthismayseemlikealottoworryaboutforashortstory,havingyour
charactersdevelopedtothefullestisanessentialpartofwritingagoodstory.
Ifyoureallywanttowriteagoodstory,thinkofanyoftheseelementsforyourothercharacters
inthisway,too.Afteryoufinishthisassignment,weshouldhaveamentalimageofyour
detectiveandmaybeothercharacters,too.