Codes in the Classifieds
Write a story where a small-town journalist discovers a series of coded messages in the classifieds section of their local newspaper. The journalist's attempt to decipher these codes leads to a dangerous meeting with someone who claims they can explain everything.
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.
- Let the reader know something the hero doesn't.
- Cut every scene the moment the tension drops.
- Put a clock on it: the hero has until midnight.
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 Thriller and Suspense prompts
- The Locksmith's ConfessionAn expert locksmith, known for his ability to break into any security system, attempts one last job before retiring — cracking a safe that supposedly…
- The Librarian's Coded ChaseAfter receiving mysterious instructions through an encoded message in an old library book, an unassuming librarian is thrust into an international…
- Locked Inside Father's HouseTwo estranged siblings reunite to settle their deceased father's estate only to find themselves locked in his secure, tech-savvy house. As they try to…
- The Journalist's False InformantA young journalist receives an anonymous tip about a high-ranking government official’s involvement in an international smuggling ring. As she delves…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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