Murder at the Town Festival
Set in a small, seemingly peaceful town, write about a young detective faced with their first major case involving a local celebrity's murder during a town festival. As they investigate, they uncover the dark undercurrents of small-town politics and rivalries that run deeper than they ever imagined.
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.
- Make the detective wrong at the midpoint, for a good reason.
- End with the solution in a single line of dialogue.
- Plant the key clue in the first scene, in plain sight.
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 Detective prompts
- The Investigator’s Hidden HeritageCreate a tale set in the roaring 1920s about a private investigator haunted by their past, who takes on a seemingly straightforward case of espionage…
- The Hometown DisappearanceA detective specializing in unsolved cases returns to his small hometown to solve the only case that eluded him: the disappearance of his high school…
- The Taxi's Unknown DestinationIn a bustling city, taxi drivers begin to disappear one by one, each after dropping off a mysterious passenger. Despite the lack of communication…
- The Investigator's Missing TwinDuring a high-profile charity gala, a celebrated private investigator is startled by a familiar face — her long-lost twin, presumed dead after…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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