Missing at the Outpost
Imagine a scenario where a small group of soldiers stationed at a remote outpost find their communications cut off, and one by one, members of the team start to go missing. Describe their survival attempts and the chilling revelation of who or what is behind the disappearances.
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.
- Let the reader know something the hero doesn't.
- Cut every scene the moment the tension drops.
- Put a clock on it: the hero has until midnight.
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 Military Suspense prompts
- The Researcher's Watchful EyeWrite about a military researcher who develops a groundbreaking surveillance technology. When they realize that their invention could potentially be…
- Codes Around HeadquartersIn a covert military unit, newly assigned members are trained to decode a series of secretive messages hidden in everyday objects around the city.…
- The Veteran Under WatchA story about a veteran who, upon returning home, notices strange coincidences and surveillance in their daily life that suggests they’re being…
- The Submarine Distress SignalThe protagonist, an experienced naval officer, intercepts a distress signal from an unidentified submarine deep in international waters. As they…
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