2A. Set the sleuth on the path toward solving the murder mystery. Offer plausible suspects, all of whom appear to possess logical motives, means and opportunity to commit the unique crime. Select the most likely suspects and have the sleuth question them. One of these suspects will turn out to be the actual perpetrator.
The insurance inspector received word of the fire and structural failure on the evening news, while eating a bowl of cereal that served as his dinner.
Entering emotional state of the point-of-view character
Character objective: What do they want?
Conflict: What impedes them from what they want?
Motive for antagonism: Some understanding of the other characters’ motivations
Character’s worldview: What belief system is he/she operating in?
Tactic: What actions the character takes in the scene to achieve their objective (remember, dialogue is action)
Turn: Does the character get what they want in the scene? What comes out of the conflict? What causes their emotions to change?
Objective achieved: Yes or no?
Exiting emotional state: If not the opposite of the entering emotional state, it must at least be different