How Do You Create A Believable Amateur Sleuth?
Writing a mystery that an amateur sleuth solves saves you some research time in police procedures and crime scene technicalities. It’s not always the best choice, though, especially if only a professional would be likely to stumble upon certain crucial details. An amateur, however, can create strong reader identification and build into the suspense. Here’s how to create one who’s believable. Decide on your amateur sleuth’s occupation. This can be a great way to inject believability into how she manages to find clues the police missed. Give her some special knowledge from hobbies, her education or things she learned from others that are necessary to solving the case. That way, you can unobtrusively expand her crime-solving skills. Find a compelling reason for your amateur sleuth to be involved in the investigation. The most common is he’s a suspect and has to clear himself. Another is he has to save his lover from being prosecuted for a crime she didn’t commit. Make your protagonist int
