Blending genres of fiction is a tall order, a truth I discovered the hard way while writing my undergraduate thesis novel at Monmouth University. Adding fantasy elements to a mystery—and writing a novel where a detective solves mysteries by entering suspects’ dreams—is almost an impossible subversion of the mystery genre.

Impossible may sound like an exaggeration, but mystery requires logic, and fantasy denies logic. And dream investigations? How would that even work? 

The Fundamental Problems

Say information is learned in a dream investigation. Physical objects cannot be taken out of a dream, and the claim that a suspect “confessed to the crime in a dream” is not admissible in court. So how could a dream investigation be useful, crucial even, as a tool in the story?

And another problem: if a crime was committed in a dream—with no evidence in reality—how could someone prove it ever happened? And worse, how could I breadcrumb the evidence of an intangible crime? 

Searching for Answers

Since I’m well-versed in fantasy, I decided to pick up a craft book on crime fiction—along with several mystery, noir, and neo-noir novels—to understand how to write mystery, then approach this niche of “supernatural crime fiction.” But nothing had answers. I was in uncharted territory.

Applying Fantasy Principles

S.S. Van Dine wrote in his rules of detective stories that crimes must be solved by naturalistic means only: logical deduction and science-based evidence. My background in fantasy prepared me to argue against this. Brandon Sanderson writes that magic can be used to resolve conflicts, provided the reader understands the rules governing the magic system. If I could build logic-ruled magic, then I could use it to solve conflicts.

So I leaned back on my fantasy teachings—I created concrete laws to govern what the magic could and couldn’t do, and I even worldbuilt a justice system where dream detectives swear oaths to tell the truth—but it didn’t solidify the crimes themselves. I even researched the Salem Witch Trials to understand how convictions were obtained for a supernatural crime, but these convictions, too, seemed flimsy to my modern sensibilities. 

In writing a supernatural crime novel, did I pick an impossible paradox of a genre to write?

The Legal Fiction Breakthrough

The answer oddly came to me in a class about legal fiction. My professor talked about the three concepts lawyers used to convict a suspect: motive, means, and opportunity.

“Motive” is self-explanatory. For what reason did this character commit a crime, and to what end? Do they benefit in some way or have a personal grudge?

“Means” is the character’s ability to commit the crime they’re suspected of. Are they physically able to lift the heavy blunt object that the murderer used to kill? Or did they purchase a poison and have receipts?

“Opportunity” refers to the timing of the crime and if they had the chance to execute it. Do they have an alibi proving they were elsewhere, or did someone place them at the scene?

Finding the Solution

I was so accustomed to relying on my fantasy background for creative problem-solving that I neglected the crime fiction element. To prove that someone committed a crime, even if the crime is supernatural, I had to return to the basics of mystery genres and establish that a suspect had the motive, the means, and the opportunity. 

The inability to prove the means was my main problem. This made me realize I needed to tweak the magic system to leave more forensic evidence of these dream-based crimes, such as scars which show how a victim died in the dream, and I added a way for detectives to change a suspect’s mind through the dream, therefore persuading them to confess in reality.

Redefining the Role of Dream Investigation

The dream investigation, as opposed to acting as the ultimate proof of a crime, had to serve as a psychological insight into a suspect’s mind, which would provide motive or opportunity, both key pieces of evidence. The evidence gathering had to occur in reality, and any physical evidence would confirm or supplement these “dreamscape” confessionals, or the confessionals would provide context for the physical clue.

Charting New Territory

This niche genre I write is a road less traveled where I have few sources to answer my questions, but the exciting part is that I’m charting the complicated intersection of fantasy and mystery each time I sit down to write.

A successful blend of genres requires knowing what is non-negotiable in each genre. While fantasy is more malleable, requiring only supernatural elements and otherworldly settings, mystery necessitates a healthy dose of logic so that readers can puzzle out the mystery themselves. It’s a complicated balancing act, but with each draft, I understand what to subvert and what to adhere to more.