The Entrepreneur's Spy Network
Write a story about a young tech entrepreneur who inadvertently intercepts a spy network's communications through their new security software. Finding themselves in possession of sensitive information, they are thrust into a web of espionage as multiple agencies track them down. With their life now at risk, they must decide to run, fight back, or bargain with what they know.
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.
- End a scene on a phone call, a knock or a name.
- Let the reader know something the hero doesn't.
- Cut every scene the moment the tension drops.
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 Spy Thriller prompts
- The Framed DiplomatImagine a scenario where a seasoned diplomat is framed for espionage as part of a larger scheme to undermine diplomatic relations between two key…
- The Journalist's CoverImagine a scenario where a renowned travel journalist, known for their extensive feature articles on remote destinations, is actually a spy collecting…
- Poker on the MediterraneanWrite a story about a novice spy who is sent undercover to infiltrate a high-stakes poker game on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean. The goal is to…
- The Half-Exposed Double AgentCreate a tale centered around a double-agent during the Cold War, who begins receiving cryptic messages that suggest their cover is blown—but only…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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