The Museum's Moonlit Theft
Write a story set in a small coastal town where every full moon, a priceless artifact is stolen from the local museum. The night watchman is baffled, as the security footage mysteriously turns to static during the crucial hours.
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.
- Plant the key clue in the first scene, in plain sight.
- Limit it to one location and one night.
- Let the most helpful witness be the one with the most to hide.
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 Mystery and Crime prompts
- The Manuscript at the Book SigningA crime novelist attends a book signing event, only to receive a manuscript that tells the story of an unsolved local mystery, one eerily similar to…
- The Case from the PastA renowned private detective famous for never having an unsolved case is now retired. However, a letter arrives one morning, postmarked 25 years ago…
- The Pets' Crime CluesIn a quiet suburban neighborhood, all the pets start behaving oddly, leading their owners to uncover clues to a decades-old unsolved crime. Write from…
- The Retired Detective's LettersA retired detective receives an anonymous letter one morning, listing the dates and locations of forthcoming crimes, eerily precise. Driven out of…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
Plans from $9.99 a month. Cancel any time. Your words are always yours.