Mystery Factory

Comedy and Mystery writing have at least two things in common. One is to ‘expect the unexpected’ AND it still has to make sense. The second is ‘know your character’ and then reveal that character by their actions.

For example: A man who just died is delivered to a local mortuary wearing an expensive, expertly tailored black suit.. The mortician asks the deceased’s wife how she would like the body dressed and points out that the man does look good in the black suit he is already wearing. The widow, however, says that she always thought her husband looked his best in blue, and that she wants him in a blue suit. She gives the mortician a blank check and says, ‘I don’t care what it costs, but please have my husband in a blue suit for the viewing.’

The woman returns the next day for the wake. To her delight, she finds her husband dressed in a gorgeous blue suit with a subtle chalk stripe; the suit fits him perfectly . She says to the mortician, ‘Whatever this cost, I’m very satisfied. You did an excellent job and I’m very grateful. How much did you spend?’ To her astonishment, the mortician presents her with the blank check. ‘There’s no charge.’ ‘No, really, I must compensate you for the cost of that exquisite blue suit!’ she says. ‘Honestly, ma’am,’ the mortician says, ‘it cost nothing. You see, a deceased gentleman of about your husband’s size was brought in shortly after you left yesterday, and he was wearing an attractive blue suit. I asked his wife if she minded him going to his grave wearing a black suit instead, and she said it made no difference as long as he looked nice.’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘ So I just switched the heads.’