A red herring is a ‘fake clue’ that leads the hero away from the true solution. Its purpose is to frustrate, confuse, and misdirect both the hero as well as the reader. Variations of Red Herring:
- The discovery of motive, means, and opportunity of multiple characters;
- Physical evidence with multiple interpretations. For example, objects founds at a crime scene may lead to false assumptions (on the part of the sleuth as well as the reader);
- The actual location of the crime scene may lead the reader down the wrong path;
- Dialogue may spark a hunch that leads the reader away from the truth. Why did character x say that?
- In Speculative Mystery stories prior knowledge (e.g. scientific fact, beliefs of the realm, known occurrences) presented to the reader may have a similar effect.
- In scientific mysteries, it is helpful to remember that people are quite willing to believe anecdotal evidence (e.g. stories / experiences of a few individuals) when there is a lack of genuine evidence supporting an alternative theory. The writer may play with this phenomenon.
It’s not always necessary to use red herrings in short stories, but if you do you should place them carefully. There should be plausible explanations for the presence of the false clue. It should be noted that these ‘clues’ tend to lengthen the story, because the hero has tofollow up on it and then discover that it doesn’t lead to the ‘who, why, or the how’ of the mystery. “Darn, back to square one!” For that reason, the writer should be wary of planting too many red herrings. Above all, even when dealing with red herrings (devices designed to mislead), play fair with the reader.
Keep writing, keep them guessing, and keep submitting!
