{"id":55,"date":"2022-08-30T01:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T01:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/?p=55"},"modified":"2022-08-30T01:28:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T01:28:00","slug":"worldbuilding-in-the-cozy-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/?p=55","title":{"rendered":"Worldbuilding in the Cozy Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

Whether you are planning a stand-alone mystery or an entire
\nseries, the setting of your cozy will play a large role in the success of your
\nstory.<\/b> Before you even start writing, it\u2019s a good idea to give serious thought
\nto the world of your sleuth and how this world will interact with the other elements of
\nyour story.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

There are two main components to worldbuilding: the physical
\nsetting and the intangible elements.<\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin by thinking about the physical environment of
\nyour story world. When is your cozy set? Is it present-day? Is it some time in
\nthe past? Where is the setting geographically located? Are you modeling your
\nsetting on a real place you\u2019ve been or a composite of places? Is your setting
\ncompletely made up?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to define for yourself the climate, topography,
\nflora, and fauna of your setting. What season is your story set in? How can
\nweather play a part in your storyline? Do the plants and animals in your
\nsetting play a role in your storyline?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

When describing your setting, work it into the action
\ninstead of one big dump of description. <\/b>Below is an expert from my cozy The
\nGood, the Bad, and the Pugly<\/i> in which our sleuth, Emma, discovers she\u2019s
\ninherited a rundown roadside tourist attraction called Little Tombstone. During
\nthe course of the conversation Emma has with her late aunt\u2019s lawyer, we
\ngradually find out what Little Tombstone is rather than having all that
\ninformation dumped in one fat paragraph.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAunt
\nGeraldine is leaving me Little Tombstone?\u201d I asked.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAccording
\nto the terms of her will, Mrs. Montgomery has left you nearly everything she
\npossessed, yes,\u201d Mr. Wendell said. \u201cThe few exceptions are addressed in the
\nlater pages.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

He
\nsmiled an impersonal smile, displaying a row of very white, very straight
\nteeth. I doubted Mr. Wendell ever went around for hours, oblivious to the fact
\nthat part of his lunch was on display every time he opened his mouth. At least
\neveryone I\u2019d seen since noon would know I was the sort of responsible citizen
\nwho ate her vegetables and did her part to keep rising health care costs at bay
\nby practicing preventative medicine.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nsmiled back at Mr. Wendell with my lips pressed firmly together. Smiling with
\nmy mouth shut makes me look slightly deranged, but as Mr. Wendell had obviously
\nhad extensive dealings with my Great Aunt Geraldine, he shouldn\u2019t be surprised
\nto discover that being slightly deranged runs in the family.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m
\ngetting the caf\u00e9 building?\u201d I asked.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes.
\nThe Bird Cage Caf\u00e9 is included on the deed.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd
\nthe little shop with that funny old man\u2014Hank? He runs that weird museum
\nthingy?\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe
\nCurio Shop and Museum of the Unexplained, yes. Hank Edwards leases that portion
\nof the premises, although I understand his rent amounts to a purely symbolic
\nsum.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHank
\nwill become my tenant?\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn
\nthe latter half of the will, Mr. Edward\u2019s use of the premises is discussed. It
\nseems your aunt had granted Mr. Edwards tenancy for life at what seemed to me a
\nrather reduced rent.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow
\nreduced?\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe
\nwill stipulates the rent to remain, in perpetuity, at ten dollars a month.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

If
\nI hadn\u2019t been so shocked by the will in its entirety, I would have asked a lot
\nmore questions about the relationship between Hank Edwards and my Great Aunt
\nGeraldine\u2014not that Mr. Wendell would have been in a position to answer them\u2014but
\nI didn\u2019t. At the moment, I had more pressing concerns.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAunt
\nGeraldine left me the trailer court too?\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,
\nalso with several long-term tenants, although I won\u2019t deceive you that the
\nrents amount to much. You are free to raise those rents, unlike Mr. Edwards\u2019,
\nat your discretion.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd
\nthe motel?\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere
\nare the two tourist cottages as well as the eight-room motel, all of which are vacant
\nand virtually derelict.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf
\nAunt Geraldine was this loaded,\u201d I pointed down at the documents on Mr.
\nWendell\u2019s desk, \u201cwhy is Little Tombstone in such bad shape?\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m
\nafraid Mrs. Montgomery did not confide in me her reasons for allowing things to
\nrun into such disrepair.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The more your characters interact not only with each other
\nbut with their environment, the more interesting your story will be.<\/b> The more clearly
\nyou, as the writer, understand your story world, the more likely you are to make
\nyour characters interact with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Describe the physical aspects of the community your cozy is
\nset in. How big is your town? How sprawling? How does the settlement interact
\nwith the topography?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Consider establishing a few \u201csets\u201d within the larger town
\nwhere much of the action will take place and decide in advance what these \u201csets\u201d
\nlook like. How are the buildings where the action occurs laid out? Are they
\ntidy or unkempt? In pristine or falling apart at the seams?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to an example from The Good, the Bad, and the
\nPugly<\/i>, Emma sees Little Tombstone for the first time in three years in the
\nfollowing passage, and we get an excellent feel for the condition of the place
\nand are introduced to the Bird Cage Caf\u00e9, an often used \u201cset\u201d during the course
\nof the entire series.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

When
\nwe reached Little Tombstone, a mere half-mile north of Mr. Wendell\u2019s office, it
\nlooked much as I had left it three years before. Little Tombstone had looked
\nshabby then, and it looked shabby now.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

According
\nto the deed, which I\u2019d received along with Aunt Geraldine\u2019s will, Little
\nTombstone sat on one hundred and fifty acres, but the buildings were clustered
\non three blocks\u2019 worth of street frontage along Highway 14. The buildings were on
\nthe far north edge of the tiny village of Amatista, but the bulk of the land attached
\nto Little Tombstone extended into rolling hills dotted with sagebrush and
\ncactus interrupted by the occasional arroyo. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Little
\nTombstone proper\u2014a haphazard and truncated imitation of the original historic
\ntown in Arizona\u2014had originally been my grandfather\u2019s idea back in the 1970s,
\nbut his idea had outlived him by forty years. After my grandfather\u2019s unexpected
\ndeath left my grandmother a very young and overwhelmed single mother raising a
\ndaughter on her own, she had invited her sister Geraldine and Geraldine\u2019s husband,
\nRicky, to move to Amatista and help run the roadside attraction\u2014then in its heyday.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Judging
\nby the condition of the place, Little Tombstone\u2019s heyday was over, never to
\nreturn.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.
\nWendell bypassed the eight-unit motel with its broken-out windows and
\ncollapsing roof and pulled up in front of the Bird Cage Caf\u00e9, the only building
\nwithin the three blocks\u2019 worth of weather-beaten structures which had any cars parked
\nin front of it. I pulled into the gravel strip which fronted the dilapidated
\nboardwalk that tied the whole crumbling monstrosity together.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.
\nWendell climbed out of his Land Rover and navigated the broken steps leading up
\nto the elevated boardwalk with a look on his face that plainly said, \u201cThis
\nplace is a personal injury lawsuit waiting to happen.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nmade a mental note to use a bit of the cash my Great Aunt Geraldine had left
\nsitting in the bank to get someone out to fix those steps before some poor soul
\nbroke his neck. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d
\nalways assumed that Aunt Geraldine had let things get in such a sorry state
\nbecause she lacked the funds to do anything about it, but, based on the assets
\nenumerated in the list I\u2019d just received from my aunt\u2019s lawyer, I\u2019d assumed
\nwrong. Aunt Geraldine had been practically rolling in dough.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.
\nWendell held open the swinging saloon-style doors, which led into a small open-air
\nvestibule.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou
\nmay find that Mrs. Gonzales is still somewhat distraught over your great aunt\u2019s
\npassing,\u201d he said as we paused in front of the glass door which led into the
\ncaf\u00e9\u2019s dining room. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I
\nnoticed one of the panes of glass in the door was broken out and had been
\ncovered over with an old license plate screwed haphazardly to the frame.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

As
\nMr. Wendell pushed open the door, a bell jingled overhead. The dining room was
\nempty except for a wizened old man I immediately recognized as Hank, the
\nproprietor of the Curio Shop and curator of the Museum of the Unexplained next
\ndoor. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Hank
\nwas sitting at a table for two in the back corner, sipping a cup of coffee and
\nsmoking a cigar. He\u2019d overturned one of the little plastic No Smoking signs
\nthat sat on each table and was using it as an improvised ashtray.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In addition to imagining the physical aspects of your story
\nworld, you need to consider the people who inhabit it. <\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from your main characters, it\u2019s useful to have a
\nsupporting cast that is anchored to the place and time of your story world and
\nhelps reinforce what makes the community unique and colorful. Part of
\nworldbuilding is creating supporting characters who seem very much at home in
\nyour story world but would stick out like a sore thumb anywhere else. Supporting
\ncharacters should be very much a \u201cproduct of their environment.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

In the following passage from The Good, the Bad, and the
\nPugly<\/i>, we meet Morticia, Little Tombstone\u2019s resident fortune teller.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\ntrailer court occupied a tumbleweed-strewn lot behind the derelict motel. One
\ncorner was taken up by a couple of rundown tourist cottages, and the remainder by
\na double row of narrow concrete slabs with a gravel alley running down the
\nmiddle. Only three of the twelve slots were occupied. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Morticia\u2019s
\nmotorhome, which functioned both as her home and business premises, was easily
\nthe most striking feature of the trailer court. It occupied the prime position
\nnearest the side street.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nwas no danger of anyone passing by without noticing Morticia\u2019s ancient Winnebago.
\nShe\u2019d painted it every color of the rainbow, and the central feature of the
\ndesign was an enormous, vaguely menacing eye painted on the side. Underneath the
\neye were the words: Tarot. Your Future Foretold. Free 10-Minute Readings.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Morticia
\nnever charged for the first ten minutes, but she\u2019d always make some breakthrough
\ndiscovery at the nine-and-a-half-minute mark. Surprisingly often, according to
\nmy Aunt Geraldine, Morticia\u2019s hapless clients would happily fork over her
\nstandard rate of three dollars a minute to hear what the cards had belatedly
\nrevealed.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Morticia
\nanswered the door on my first knock. The smell of incense wafted out the open
\ndoor of the Winnebago, and from within the patchouli-scented interior, I heard
\na miniature sneeze. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSorry
\nabout your aunt,\u201d Morticia said without preamble. \u201cSomebody should have told
\nyou she was sick. I\u2019d have called you myself if I\u2019d known Geraldine was keeping
\nit from you.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

What mannerisms and speech patterns do people in your
\ncommunity have in common? What are their unique cultural practices and beliefs?
\nAre they religious? Are they committed to common causes? Are there annual traditions
\nand celebrations that can work their way into your storylines?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

In the following passage, Juanita, a supporting character in
\nthe Little Tombstone series, is described as a churchgoer, followed by a chunk
\nof worldbuilding description and an introduction of another supporting character,
\nPastor Freddy, who also provides \u201clocal color\u201d throughout the series.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Juanita is a big churchgoer. There are two tiny
\nreligious congregations in Amatista. The Catholics have an ancient adobe chapel
\nthat gets a visit from a succession of random priests who conduct mass about
\nevery third Sunday. The other congregation is a group of nondenominational Protestants
\nwho meet in the back of Freddy Fernandez\u2019s barbershop. Freddy\u2019s barbershop sits
\nright next to the Bird Cage Caf\u00e9, so it\u2019s certainly convenient. Freddy isn\u2019t
\nreally a pastor, but that\u2019s what Juanita calls him anyway.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Considering the history of the community can also be a useful
\nway to make your setting more vivid<\/b> and provide opportunities to come up with
\nunique story ideas by tying the past to the present, as demonstrated in the following
\npassage where Emma discovers a bit of local history which is intertwined in the
\npresent-day mystery.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I
\nmoved on to a scrapbook. It was full of newspaper clippings. They\u2019d been added
\nover a long period of time, perhaps a span of a decade or so from the mid-1980s
\nto the mid-1990s, and the only unifying theme seemed to be local history. <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

There
\nwas one article about the derelict amethyst mine, which closed in the 1960s and
\nwhich was responsible for the town of Amatista\u2019s name. There was another about
\nAmatista being home to New Mexico\u2019s first lady physician in the 1880s (apparently,
\nthe lady doctor wore a gent\u2019s suit so convincingly that the local populace had
\nonly discovered they\u2019d not been treated by a man after she herself fell deathly
\nill). Towards the back of the scrapbook was a series of articles about a
\nstagecoach robbery.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

According
\nto the articles, back in 1910, a stagecoach carrying mail to Santa Fe had been
\nrobbed by two outlaws who murdered the stagecoach driver and made off, not with
\nthe mail, but with a consignment of gold coins the stagecoach had been
\ntransporting. The outlaws had been caught within days, not far from the village
\nof Amatista, but before they were captured, they\u2019d succeeded in stashing the
\ngold somewhere. One of the robbers had died in prison, and the other had been
\neighty and in poor health by the time he\u2019d been released. Whether the surviving
\noutlaw had succeeded in eventually retrieving his ill-gotten gains was
\nuncertain.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

According
\nto one article, it had been a major local hobby for a while to go out with a
\nmetal detector and a shovel and try to find that fortune in old gold coins. There
\nwas even an article featuring a picture of my Great Uncle Ricky wandering
\naround in the sagebrush with his metal detector in front of him. The headline
\nread, \u201cLocal Man Looks for Treasure.\u201d <\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Tucked
\ninto the page containing that clipping was a crude map.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The
\nmap consisted of several sheets of graph paper taped together with yellowed and
\nbrittle tape. I gingerly unfolded the papers and tried to make sense of the
\ndiagram. The buildings of Little Tombstone, the road to Nancy Flynn\u2019s ranch,
\nand the cemetery were all labeled. Even the arroyo I\u2019d fallen into earlier in
\nthe night was shown by a pair of faded squiggly parallel lines.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t underestimate the importance of local lore and
\nsuperstition as part of your worldbuilding. <\/b>Throughout the Little Tombstone
\nseries, several of the characters maintain a belief in Chupacabras\u2014mythical
\ncreatures believed by some to inhabit the desert of the American southwest.
\nThis misapprehension weaves itself into multiple storylines throughout the
\nseries. Choosing regionally-specific oddities adds richness to your story world.
\nIn the following excerpt, Emma\u2019s cousin references her young son\u2019s obsession
\nwith Chupacabras.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to do something about Hank.\u201d<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Georgia spoke quietly as if worried little ears
\nwere listening. I could hear Maxwell back in the spare bedroom he currently
\nshared with his mother. He was solemnly instructing Earp on the hunting habits
\nof the Chupacabra and how the rare beasts could be observed in the wild if one
\nwent out in search of them under the full moon.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I had no doubt where Maxwell had come upon this
\ninformation. The cornerstone exhibit in Hank\u2019s Museum of the Unexplained consisted
\nof a family of stuffed Chupacabras. Grandma Wright and Great Aunt Geraldine had
\nalways insisted the family of mythical creatures were the work of a talented
\nand highly creative taxidermist, but Hank, himself, was completely convinced of
\nthe Chupacabras\u2019 authenticity.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t worry about Hank influencing Maxwell
\nto devote his life to the study of Chupacabras,\u201d I told Georgia. \u201cMaxwell will eventually
\nfigure out Hank\u2019s just a crazy old coot.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to completely define your story world before
\nyou start writing but having some idea of what makes your story world unique
\nand interesting can certainly jumpstart your process and help you come up with more
\ninteresting storylines.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Whenever you define some aspect of your story world, make
\nsure you note it down. Setting details should become part of your series bible.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Early on in your series, settings must be described in
\ngreater detail. By the time you get to book three in a series, you can ease off
\non the details, but you should still sketch out enough that readers jumping in mid-series
\ncan still make sense of what\u2019s going on.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Worldbuilding can be one of the most satisfying aspects of
\nplanning your cozy mystery series. Remember that all those quirky details
\nunique to your setting are what make your story world such a charming corner of
\nthe mystery universe. <\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, you want both your characters and your readers
\nto feel a genuine affection for your story world. Here are the final lines from
\nLonesome Glove<\/i>, the third Little Tombstone mystery where Emma finally accepts
\nthat she\u2019s at home:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t been lying to Maxwell. I was crying
\ntears of happiness. They were also tears of relief. It was as if some invisible
\ncord tying me to my old life with Frank in California had been irrevocably
\nsevered, and I was finally free to throw myself wholeheartedly into my new life
\nat Little Tombstone.<\/o:p><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Little Tombstone might be raveling apart at the
\nseams and its inhabitants collectively several eggs short of an omelet, but
\nnever had any place felt so much like home.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you are planning a stand-alone mystery or an entire series, the setting of your cozy will play a large role in the success of your story. Before you even start writing, it\u2019s a good idea to give serious thought to the world of your sleuth and how this world will interact with the other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-cozy-mystery-genre"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bootstrapindie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}