Novels and short fiction
Mystery novel — case, clues, solution in 20 chapters
Build the clue table (real clues, decoys, red herrings) and the suspects' timeline first, then assign 20 chapters across discovery → investigation → second incident → solution. The table protects fair-play, where mysteries most often collapse.
- Who it's for
- Writers planning a fair-play or social mystery novel
- Scale
- 20 chapters · ~7,000 chars each
- Format
- Novel
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What gets created
Bracketed placeholders like [Protagonist] are renamed once in the story bible.
Documents
- NotePlanning note — clue table and timeline
- ChapterCh. 1 — Discovery
- ChapterCh. 2 — Five people
Bible seeds
- Character[Protagonist]The investigator. Job: [detective / reporter / insurance investigator / …]. Habit of seeing one thing others miss.
- Character[Victim]Who they were. The 24 hours before.
- Character[Suspect A]Has motive, has alibi (false).
- Character[Suspect B]Seems to lack motive.
- Character[Suspect C]The most suspicious — the red herring.
- Place[Crime scene]Paths, exits, sightlines — the basis of the timeline.
- Plot threadThe second incidentCh. 11–13. Breaks the first theory.
- TimelineThe day of the crimePer-suspect timetable. Same as the planning note.
Beat table
| Beat | Range | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Ch. 1–3 | The body, five people, five lies |
| First investigation | Ch. 4–8 | Clues shown; alibis tested |
| Wrong theory | Ch. 9–10 | The red herring works |
| Second incident | Ch. 11–13 | The theory collapses |
| Re-investigation | Ch. 14–17 | Strip the decoys |
| Solution | Ch. 18–20 | Every clue paid off; aftermath |
First steps after creating
- 1
Fix the four truth cells first: culprit, motive, method, time.
- 2
Make sure every clue has a 'shown in' chapter.
- 3
Fill the suspect timeline and check for contradictions.
- 4
Plant one real clue as background in chapter 1.
- 5
Run the AI panel's consistency check every four chapters.