The Stolen Festival Scripts
At an international women's film festival, a former police officer turned security consultant notices suspicious activity involving the theft of invaluable scripts. She must navigate through a labyrinth of celebrities, die-hard fans, and cunning thieves to protect the integrity of the festival.
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 Female Detective prompts
- The Reunion Death CaseDuring a high school reunion, a woman who is now a private investigator overhears a conversation that rekindles an unresolved case from her teen years…
- The Detective Next DoorIn a gated community known for its safety and uniformity, a series of seemingly random thefts challenge a young female detective who has recently…
- The Book Club BurglariesA renowned female detective, known for her ability to solve puzzles, is confronted with a mysterious serial burglar who leaves behind a rare flower at…
- Dead Fish at Low TideWhen a dedicated marine biologist and part-time detective is called to investigate an unusual phenomenon involving mass fish deaths near a sleepy…
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