Reopening a Famous Cold Case
Choose a well-known crime from the past century and reimagine the investigation with today’s technology. How would modern forensics, digital footprints, and social media have altered the course of the case?
Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words
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.
- Include a counterargument and answer it fairly.
- Cut every sentence that only repeats the one before it.
- Find one surprising fact and build around it.
Writing true crime books
A real crime, investigated on the page.
True crime reconstructs real crimes and the investigations that followed. The best of it is serious journalism that asks what a crime reveals about a place, a time or a justice system.
What readers expect
- Deep reporting and research
- Suspense, even when the ending is known
- Victims treated as people
- Questions about justice
A tip before you start
The victims are real people with families who may read your book. Respect earns readers' trust and keeps you on the right side of the law.
More True Crime prompts
- Inside a Puzzling CaseCompile a series of interviews with various professionals in the criminal justice system—detectives, forensic scientists, judges, and defense…
- An Unsolved Local CrimeWrite a detailed account of an infamous unsolved crime from your local area, exploring the lingering impact on the community and the various theories…
- The Tip Inside GovernmentWrite from the perspective of a journalist who receives an anonymous tip about corruption in a high-ranking government office. Explore the challenges…
- A Forgotten CriminalChronicle the life of a lesser-known but equally intriguing historical criminal. Examine their childhood, key influences, notorious crimes, the…
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