The Historic Break-Ins
A rookie detective is assigned her first major case — a string of break-ins that seem trivial but progressively reveal a pattern connecting them to the city’s historical underworld operations. Investigate how she unravels the mystery with her unconventional methods and what deeper secrets she uncovers about the city’s past.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Limit it to one location and one night.
- Let the most helpful witness be the one with the most to hide.
- Tell it from the point of view of a suspect who is lying about something else.
Writing mystery books
Who did it? You get every clue and a fair shot at the answer.
A mystery opens with a puzzle, usually a death, and closes with the solution. In between, a detective (professional or not) gathers clues and suspects while the reader tries to get there first. A mystery looks backward, at a crime that has already happened.
What readers expect
- A crime or puzzle early on
- Clues, suspects and red herrings
- A detective the reader follows
- A solution that is surprising but fair
A tip before you start
Play fair. Every clue your detective uses should appear on the page first, ideally hidden in plain sight.
More Police Procedural prompts
- The Warehouse BriefcaseAfter receiving a distressing call from a woman claiming she has been kidnapped, a seasoned detective tracks the call to a seemingly abandoned…
- The Social Media CrimesImagine a scenario where a seasoned detective pairs up with a tech-savvy intern to solve a series of crimes orchestrated through social media. Detail…
- The Moonlit RearrangementsOn the night of a full moon, a quiet suburban neighborhood reports a series of peculiar break-ins where nothing is stolen, but personal items are…
- The Crossword TipsterDevelop a story set in a bustling metro police department where officers must solve a crime involving an anonymous tipster who communicates only…
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