Mystery – April 10

“Do you make up these questions, Mr. Holden? Or do they write ’em down for you?”- Leon Kowalski, incepted this date in 2017. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must face the never-confonted truth about him- or herself.

Mystery – April 9

Writing prompt: Plot the rest of the story that follows this famous opening line: “Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested.”

Mystery – April 8

“Plenty of great men were blind — Milton, Homer, they were blind, weren’t they?”- Blind private investigator Duncan Maclain as written by Baynard H. Kendrick, born this date in 1894 and holder of Mystery Writers of America membership card number 1. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a person missing at least one of the five human senses surprises your protagonist with an accurate...

Mystery – April 7

“You don’t need qualifications as an actor or a politician. And I didn’t want to be a politician.”- James Garner, born this date in 1928. Writing prompt: Write a scene contrasting what your protagonist now does habitually or professionally that is the opposite of something that once caused him/her to get in significant trouble.

Mystery – April 6

“Mistakes are very interesting — you look for the behavior that’s not the one you expect.”- Barry Levinson, born this date in 1942. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a character’s unexpected mistake proves a decisive clue.

Mystery – April 5

“The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on.”- Robert Bloch, who based his character Norman Bates on a serial killer and Bloch’s publisher, born this date in 1917. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist discovers something that prompts him/her to imagine a colleague is a psychopathic murderer.

Mystery – April 4

“She might have fooled me, but she didn’t fool my mother.”- Norman Bates as portrayed by Anthony Perkins, born this date in 1932. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist confronts an antagonist with mommy issues.

Mystery – April 3

“I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track.”- Jack the Ripper, who on this date in 1888 committed the first of 11 Whitechapel Murders in London. Writing prompt: Write the scene of the first in a series of unsolved crimes your protagonist desperately wants to solve.