Description
Who Dun It? Literature & Composition Wednesdays 3:15 p.m.
“My favorite class in high school!” – Saxon Smith.
Suspenseful intrigue. Masterfully created characters. A story you just can’t put down.
How does one write such a short story (first semester) and novel (second semester)?
Clever red herrings. Unexpected plot twists. A compelling mystery.
Creating such a book seems daunting.
Not anymore! With this course, you will learn the essentials in murder mystery writing that will apply across many genres:
- Read and discuss classic murder mysteries.
- Learn the history of murder mysteries.
- Analyze and create a unique detective with strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and circle of friends and family using helpful charts to develop each character.
- Create a clever, elusive villain.
- Filling out helpful charts to develop each character.
- Learn how to design sneaky clues (and red herrings) and how to use them effectively.
- Study the anatomy of a good mystery plot.
- Outline your novel and create believable scenes in each chapter.
- Begin and end your story well with a strong inciting incident and a jaw-dropping reveal.
- Yes, you can write your very own murder mystery!
Take a major step forward in your student’s writing development with the popular high school level Who Dun It? Literature & Composition course. Yes, this is a one-credit high school English course.
Required Textbook:
Who Dun It? Murder Mystery Literature & Writing Second Edition
Required Reading:
- Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe(included in Who Dun It textbook)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Conan Doyle
- Favorite Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
- Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
- Where are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark
- “The Ordinary Hairpins” by E.C. Bentley (included in Who Dun It textbook)
- “The Archduke’s Tea” by H.C. Bailey (included in Who Dun It textbook)
“A Singular Abduction” by Rodrigues Ottolengui (included in Who Dun It textbook
Krista R –
My daughter is a freshman this year and has always had a dream to write her own novel, but had no prior experience with putting together a complete book. She loves murder mysteries and when I saw this course I knew she would love it. She has already grown so much in her writing, character development and understanding of the components needed to develop a novel, and it’s only the first semester. Meredith’s course is a dream come true for her, and I can not recommend it enough. It is a solid course with a strong balance between education and enjoyment, and Meredith has done a terrific job of engaging the students and motivating them to put the effort into the course. I am very impressed!