The Diary in the Wall
While exploring an abandoned house on a dare, a group of teenagers find a locked diary in a hidden compartment. Curious, they find the key and start reading, only to realize the diary contains clues to an unsolved mystery in their town. As they piece together the clues, someone starts trying to stop them from uncovering the truth.
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.
- Give your hero a secret they're keeping from their best friend.
- Let your hero make a big mistake for a reason the reader understands.
- End with a choice only this hero would make.
Writing young adult books
Ages 12 to 18: firsts, identity and everything at stake.
Young adult fiction is written for teens, with protagonists usually 14 to 18. Every genre lives here, from fantasy to thrillers to romance. What makes it YA is the voice: immediate, intense and inside a teenager's head.
What readers expect
- A teen protagonist
- An immediate, close voice
- Identity and independence
- Big feelings, taken seriously
A tip before you start
Write from inside a teen's head, not from an adult looking back. That immediacy is what separates YA from an adult book with a young hero.
More YA Mystery and Thriller prompts
- The Missing Football StarThe night of the high school's big football game, the star player mysteriously disappears. One shy student who knows a secret about the player’s past…
- The Magician's Missing AudienceAt the annual summer carnival, the main attraction is a legendary magician rumored to possess real magical powers. One teen notices that after each…
- The Key in My PocketImagine your protagonist wakes up with a mysterious key in their pocket and no memory of the night before. The only clue is a cryptic note that reads…
- The Teachers' Treasure CodeA high school junior discovers an encrypted digital journal on a USB drive stuck in a library book about code-breaking used in wars. Determined to…
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