Building a Mystery

It was an unseasonably chilly June day…

At our Build Your Own Mystery event on June 6, we started off the afternoon with some announcements, including the presentation of grants to this year’s WCYR grant winners. Due to the generosity of some of our speakers, who waived their fee, we were able to give out two additional grants this year. Four winners instead of two! And the winners are:

Elaine Jackson: Publishing grant (the WCYR) for editing expenses

Kris Cudlip: Publishing grant (the WCYR) for editing expenses

Allison Danger: Publishing grant (the Bookshelf) for publicity expenses

Sandy Day: Publishing grant (the York Regional Police) for publishing/cover software expenses

All of the winners have been informed of the good news and will have until the end of 2019 to claim their prizes. Be sure to look for their individual blog posts reflecting on how the spent their winnings 😉.

Helmed by our own Board Chair, MJ Moores, we quickly moved to the main event, building a mystery together! MJ asked us, what are the expectations of a mystery? The group answered: a victim, a detective, suspects, a red herring, and a really good setting. MJ then asked each participant for two items from their purse/pocket/wallet. We chose items, created characters and narrowed them down, and decided on plot and setting. Each task had a time limit (we all know how indecisive writers can be), and great ideas were thrown into the mix. There were some ups and downs (literally, standing up and talking about character development like a school presentation). There were interviews, evidence and deliberations. It was all raw, unfiltered imagination. The meeting was one of the most fun I’ve attended.

But who committed the murder? Stay tuned. You will become the detective’s assistant and work through the case file, then we’ll all find out together. MJ will be putting together our creations here on the blog. We will get to read the story, find out what happened, and who the murderer was in the end.

Upcoming Events:

Open House with Kristen Koza – September 8, 2019, 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Ray Twinney Recreation Complex

 Paranormal Investigation: Helping the Haunted – October 6, 2019, 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Ray Twinney Recreation Complex