The Billionaire’s Last Will
Detail the intense psychological and legal battle between a small-town lawyer and the powerful estate of a deceased billionaire, who seemingly left behind a will that threatens to destroy the ecological balance of a whole community. The will’s authenticity is dubious, yet its directives are legally binding unless the lawyer can prove foul play — facing not just a legal battle, but personal threats and ethical dilemmas.
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.
- Raise the stakes from personal to public halfway through.
- Open with the threat already in motion, not the setup.
- Make the person helping your hero the one to worry about.
Writing thriller books
Something terrible is coming. Can they stop it in time?
Where a mystery looks back at a crime, a thriller looks forward at a threat. The reader often knows more than the hero, and the tension comes from watching danger close in. Short chapters, high stakes and a ticking clock are the tools of the trade.
What readers expect
- A clear, escalating threat
- A hero under pressure
- Twists and reversals
- Pace: little time to breathe
A tip before you start
Put a clock on it. A deadline the reader can count down turns every scene into a race.
More Legal Thriller prompts
- The Judge's Last CaseAfter a well-respected judge is found murdered, a retired attorney is called back to uncover the complex web of corruption that may have led to the…
- The Law Firm's Missing GirlA legal assistant at a small family law firm stumbles upon a hidden file on an old computer that details a cold case involving a missing girl and a…
- The Prosecutor's Leaking CaseDescribe the intense week in the life of a prosecutor who has found irrefutable evidence linking a respected civic leader to a series of unsolved…
- The Prosecutor's False VerdictThe story starts at the end of a sensational trial where a celebrated prosecutor secures a major victory in a serial murder case. However, when one of…
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