What advice would you give to someone trying to write mystery plays or short stories?

I want to be able to write a good theatre play or short story without it being predictable.What advice would you give to someone trying to write mystery plays or short stories?
Become a regular at your area's theatres, from professional productions to high schools, any time there's a mystery, thriller, or suspense play in performance. You will note that the playwright can get away with things on stage that would never fly in a movie. (Note that mystery movies made before the 1960s are often very play-like, so renting them is worth the time.)





Read short mystery stories, dozens of them, hundreds. Read the classics, read what's in collections and anthologies in stores now, read what's in the two surviving mystery magazines (they're going to be your main markets, at first anyway). Which types of mysteries appeal to you? What about them do you like, and what doesn't suit you in the others? Analyze your own tastes.





If twists and unpredictability are important to you, then planting misleading information subtly, without cheating the reader or audience, is paramount. Not only do you need to come up with each story's or play's twist, but you need to direct the viewer's attention in another direction without being dishonest about it. This is not easy.





Because you've seen the plays and read the stories, you'll have seen how it's done.What advice would you give to someone trying to write mystery plays or short stories?
I write short stories in my spare time and my advice to you would be to choose a topic and stick to it. Don't go with a title thet isn't going to take you anywhere. It is a waste of time. Every time I reread a story of mine i find a way to make it betterbso keep on reading them. For theater plays make sure you write something people can accualy say. Not like a real story where you describe everything.


I hope I've helped!
I suggest reading some. All good pieces of work start by reading someone else. Read some and see their styles, get their ideas, then integrate them into your own story.
If it is gonna be a mystery make sure all of the clues are given at the right time