WRI 150 · Seminar in creative writing
Story. Secret.
Mystery Making
The case
What makes a mystery work?
We'll look at how mysteries are built in fiction and other media: the clue that's hidden in plain sight, the quick character sketch, the detail held back, the reveal that changes what you thought you knew.
This is a discovery seminar. No one has the answer when we start. We find answers together by reading, watching, playing, and, above all, by making mysteries of our own.
- Read and WatchMysteries, to find what makes them work so well. What is left out? What keeps us watching/reading?
- Role-playDrama test and build dialogues that hold up.
- MakeWrite, storyboard, and build mysteries for real audiences.
The evidence
What you'll make
Semester project
A public mystery
As a class, we'll design and build a mystery exhibit or experience for a real audience, at our gallery, at the spring GAMWS showcase, or in another public-facing space.
Mystery short stories
Short fiction that plants clues, builds suspense, and pays off.
Mystery storyboards
Plotting a mystery visually, scene by scene and clue by clue.
Case file
Course details
- Course
- WRI 150: Mystery Making (seminar)
- Term
- Spring 2027
- Meets
- Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30–5:20 PM
- Location
- Classroom and Office Building 1 (COB1), Room 262
- Instructor
- Paul Gibbons
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisites
- WRI 125 or instructor permission
