The Magician's Missing Audience
At the annual summer carnival, the main attraction is a legendary magician rumored to possess real magical powers. One teen notices that after each show, someone in the audience goes missing. Teaming up with a curious newcomer in town, they investigate the connection between the magician's illusions and the disappearances, uncovering a dangerous secret.
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.
- Use the way your hero texts to show who they are.
- Write in close first person, as if it's happening right now.
- Put a first in the story: a first job, kiss, loss or lie.
Writing young adult books
Ages 12 to 18: firsts, identity and everything at stake.
Young adult fiction is written for teens, with protagonists usually 14 to 18. Every genre lives here, from fantasy to thrillers to romance. What makes it YA is the voice: immediate, intense and inside a teenager's head.
What readers expect
- A teen protagonist
- An immediate, close voice
- Identity and independence
- Big feelings, taken seriously
A tip before you start
Write from inside a teen's head, not from an adult looking back. That immediacy is what separates YA from an adult book with a young hero.
More YA Mystery and Thriller prompts
- The Key in My PocketImagine your protagonist wakes up with a mysterious key in their pocket and no memory of the night before. The only clue is a cryptic note that reads…
- The Teachers' Treasure CodeA high school junior discovers an encrypted digital journal on a USB drive stuck in a library book about code-breaking used in wars. Determined to…
- The Bookshop's Hidden CluesEnvision a scenario in which a teen gets a part-time job at an old, seemingly quaint bookstore, only to discover that certain books contain secret…
- The Town Mystery Was a LieEvery year on the anniversary of an unsolved town mystery, the local teens gather to recount the tale and explore the supposedly haunted site related…
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