The Museum Heist Coin
You wake up to headlines that scream about a major heist at the museum you visited yesterday. Things get mysterious when you discover an ancient coin in your pocket that you're certain wasn't there before. Now, you must uncover how and why you're connected.
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 with the solution in a single line of dialogue.
- Plant the key clue in the first scene, in plain sight.
- Limit it to one location and one night.
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 Hacker's Cold Case FilesA hacker who usually assists the police with their cyber security needs receives a peculiar file that seems to decode to dates and times of unsolved…
- The Cursed Gala JewelDuring a high society gala, a renowned jewel, reported to be cursed, goes missing. The host hires a down-on-luck private investigator to find the…
- Secrets in the Snowbound LibraryIn a small mountain town isolated by a snowstorm, the local sheriff discovers a series of coded messages hidden in library books. Each code deciphers…
- The Fugitive in the High-RiseThe residents of a high-rise apartment building receive an anonymous text claiming one of them is a fugitive in disguise. The message includes a time…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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