Deborah Halverson

Author & Editor

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The Joy of Red Herrings

March 17, 2011

barrie_cropBarrie Summy may have a successful middle grade mystery series to keep her typing fingers busy, but she still has time to share the secrets of writing a good mystery. Today, she puts on the Guest Editor hat at DearEditor.com and answers a writer’s question about the wisdom of using red herrings in mysteries for middle graders. Here’s the question:

Dear Editor…

Do you think red herrings and foreshadowing are important in middle grade novels? I’m working on a spooky mystery and am wondering if I need to pay more attention to adding red herrings. It seems like a tough element to learn. Thanks for any input you can give me.

Sincerely,
Lynn

Jump over to DearEditor.com for Barrie’s great answer.

I so dont do famousBarrie Summy is the author of the popular young adult mystery series I So Don’t Do: I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky, and I So Don’t Do Makeup. The fourth mystery in the series, I So Don’t Do Famous, pubs May 10, 2011. In it, Sherry goes to Hollywood and figures out who’s breaking into celebrities’ homes. For more about Barrie and Sherry, go to www.barriesummy.com.

Filed Under: Adventures in Writing

Comments

  1. Elizabeth Varadan says

    March 19, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    I get “Dear Editor” as a newsletter, and I particularly enjoyed the post on red herrings.

  2. admin says

    March 21, 2011 at 2:26 pm

    Thanks for the feedback, Elizabeth. I’m glad Barrie’s post struck a chord with you.

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