The Bakery Money Trail
After receiving an anonymous tip, a young investigative journalist discovers that a beloved local bakery is a front for laundering money. Delve into the moral dilemmas they face as they unravel the connections between the bakery, organized crime, and potentially, city officials.
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.
- Set it all in one day.
- Make the conflict something the reader has faced themselves.
- Keep what the hero wants and what they need in tension.
Writing contemporary fiction
People like us, now, in trouble we recognize.
Contemporary fiction is set in the present day and deals with life as it's actually lived: families, marriages, friendships, work, loss. It sits between literary and commercial fiction, often shelved as book club or upmarket fiction.
What readers expect
- A present-day, realistic setting
- Relatable, flawed characters
- Emotional stakes over action
- Issues readers face themselves
A tip before you start
Today is your setting, so use it: the group chat, the parking ticket, the brand of cereal. Specifics make it feel true.
More Urban Fiction prompts
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- The Spirit of the Unsolved CaseExplore the life of a professional medium who can communicate with the spirits of a city, leading ghost tours by day and helping unsettled spirits…
- The Rooftop Lockdown VentureWrite a story about a group of neighbors in an urban high-rise who start an unconventional venture from their rooftop during the city's strictest…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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