The Detective and the Coded Art
After receiving a mysterious letter in the mail, an aging detective comes out of retirement for one last case. The letter leads to a series of coded messages hidden in famous artworks around the city. As each artwork reveals a new part of the puzzle, the detective begins to suspect the sender may be someone from a case long thought to be closed.
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.
- Plant the key clue in the first scene, in plain sight.
- Limit it to one location and one night.
- Let the most helpful witness be the one with the most to hide.
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 Detective prompts
- The Missing SpousePen a story about a retired detective who is drawn back into the field by a personal plea from an old friend whose spouse has suspiciously…
- The Stolen WatchesFollowing a high-profile robbery at a luxury watch store, a rookie detective is assigned her first major case. She quickly realizes that each stolen…
- The Academy's Murder CaseAt a prestigious private detective academy, students are assigned cold cases to solve as their final exam. One student uncovers new evidence in a case…
- The Politician's Erased DayIn an alternate reality where everyone has the ability to erase a single day in their life from everyone's memory once they turn 18, a detective…
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