Pieces of an Unsolved Case
Write a story where a retired detective is forced to return to work after someone mails him pieces of a cold case he never solved, including notes that suggest the perpetrator is closer to him than he realized.
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.
- Cut every scene the moment the tension drops.
- Put a clock on it: the hero has until midnight.
- Trap your hero in one place they can't easily leave.
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 Crime Thriller prompts
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- The Basement Beneath the Antique StoreWrite a plot that follows two siblings who inherit an antique store from their estranged uncle only to discover a hidden basement filled with stolen…
- The Forensic Expert's BetrayalDevelop a story about an esteemed forensic expert who starts tampering with evidence in high-profile cases. A young, ethical prosecutor discovers this…
- The Missing Hacker's SiblingA notorious hacker, previously involved in several high-profile cybercrimes, is forced back into the world of illegal hacking when his younger sibling…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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