New Lo & Behold! Today is Craft #3: Mystery. Many people believe that conflict is the essence of story, but I disagree. I believe that MYSTERY is the essence of story. https://loandbehold.substack.com/p/craft-3-mystery

The concept of conflict as the central driver of plot is a particularly Western concept, and not all fiction is Western! Eastern narratives often aren’t centered on conflict, e.g. the Japanese storytelling technique known as kishōtenketsu, which is often used in manga.

Mystery drives a story forward in multiple ways, but it is not the plot. Plot is the structure of events in a story. Plot is the engine, but mystery is the fuel. In today’s issue, I offer an exercise for how you can figure out the central mystery of your novel.

Read about Mystery and catch up on Craft #1 (Identity) and Craft #2 (Vision) at my newsletter archive! You can sign up for free, or if you’d like to support my writing financially there’s a sliding scale starting at $2.50/month. https://loandbehold.substack.com/