Messages in the Museum
While working a summer job at a local museum, a group of teenagers stumbles upon a series of hidden messages scrawled in ancient languages on some of the exhibits. As they decode the messages, they uncover a centuries-old secret that some prominent town figures would do anything to keep buried.
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 adults well-meaning but wrong.
- Use the way your hero texts to show who they are.
- Write in close first person, as if it's happening right now.
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 School Fair FortuneAt the annual school fair, the fortune teller's tent is the main attraction. But when your character and their best friend get their fortunes told…
- The Missing Sibling's ClueImagine your character receives a mysterious letter that contains only a single clue to their missing sibling's whereabouts. As they follow the trail…
- Letters from the Boarding SchoolIn an elite boarding school, students start receiving anonymous letters that reveal their deepest secrets and fears. The protagonist, determined to…
- Letters in the Antique DeskDuring a summer job at a quirky antique shop, your character discovers a hidden drawer in an old desk filled with unsent letters addressing a serious…
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