The Missing Artist's Letter
The chief of a small coastal town's police department retires, leaving behind a sealed letter only to be opened when the first major crime after his retirement occurs. Write about the new chief's reaction and the ensuing investigation when a prominent local artist is found mysteriously missing.
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 most helpful witness be the one with the most to hide.
- Tell it from the point of view of a suspect who is lying about something else.
- Give the victim a secret the reader learns before the detective does.
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 Police Procedural prompts
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- The Warehouse BriefcaseAfter receiving a distressing call from a woman claiming she has been kidnapped, a seasoned detective tracks the call to a seemingly abandoned…
- The Social Media CrimesImagine a scenario where a seasoned detective pairs up with a tech-savvy intern to solve a series of crimes orchestrated through social media. Detail…
- The Moonlit RearrangementsOn the night of a full moon, a quiet suburban neighborhood reports a series of peculiar break-ins where nothing is stolen, but personal items are…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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