by Chase Brimrock

Created on: October 06, 2007

"Without her knowing, them man slipped up behind her, threw his dirty palm over her mouth, and pulled her back into the shadows, where the repetitive sound of a knife slicing into flesh could be heard. He walked out of the alley, sweaty and bloodstained, the task was finished."

Ever wonder who "He" is? When you're writing a murder mystery, your characters need names. Basic names work for minor characters, but for the murderer, the murderer's name should be dark, mysterious, but yet at the same time... confident.

A murderer in a story is one of the hardest characters a writer may face to create, because he is not simply a character you can mould out of the air... no. A murderer takes time, patience, study. Characterization for a murderer should be indirect, not so straightforward as some may write. If you tell your audience that your character is dark, evil, and has malicious thoughts about the person they intend to kill later on, then the surprise will be taken out of that moment of the kill. Foreshadowing is a good way to make your murderer appear evil, but not directly, have tidbits here and there that show your murderer has dark thoughts, or is extremely loatheful of another character.

Now, the victim, the victim is a cruciual part of your murder mystery, without them there would be no murder, and thus... no mystery. Your victim should be portrayed as someone that another person could or would have reason to loathe in the real world.

For example: Your murderer is poor and lives on the streetside, whereas your victim is wealthy beyond imagining, and uses his wealth for his own selfish needs. A good way to portray them is also somewhat weak or vulnerable... but don't take that word into great consideration, because it would be less expected if a strong man or woman were suddenly murdered. Foreshadowing, again, is another good way to characterize these people, because if you directly let your audience know everything about your characters in the beginning, it won't leave any element of shock later on.

There are two of the main component characters of a murder mystery, the Murderer and the Murdered. Another great tip is to read some of the amazing Edgar Allen Poe's short stories, such as "The Tell Tale Heart" or "The Cask of Amontillado". These will show you the great structure he used to build up the characterization of his people, bringing them to life as if watching a play on stage.

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