Mystery – September 6

“Because horror on Earth is real and it is every day. It is like a flower or like the sun; it cannot be contained.”- Alice Sebold, born this date in 1963. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist becomes convinced s/he is hearing the voice of someone demanding justice.

Mystery – September 5

“Surrender had played out for good with me.”- Jesse James, born this date in 1847. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist confronts an adversary who refuses to surrender.

Mystery – September 4

“The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.”- Dick Tracy, born this date in 1909. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist misses the opportunity for much-needed assistance because of moral rectitude.

Mystery – September 3

“We believed then that these leaks constituted a national security crisis and needed to be plugged at all costs. But we were wrong, and the price paid by the country was too high.” – Egil Krogh, one of Richard Nixon’s “Plumbers,” who on this date in 1972 conducted the gang’s first break-in when they burgled the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist to find dirt that Nixon’s...

Mystery – September 2

“Son, this is a Washington, D.C. kind of lie. It’s when the other person knows you’re lying, and also knows you know he knows.”- Allen Drury, born this date in 1918. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist and antagonist come to an agreement by lying to each other.

Mystery – September 1

“Judges are the weakest link in our system of justice, and they are also the most protected.”- Alan Dershowitz, born this date in 1938. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a judicial decision frees a person your protagonist knows to be guilty.

Mystery – August 31

“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 killed his first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, on this date in 1888. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes the event s/he is exploring is the second instance of a very particular antagonist’s...

Mystery – August 30

“People sometimes pay with their lives for saying aloud what they think.”- Anna Politkovskaya, born this date in 1958. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a crime committed against a reporter leads your protagonist to suspect larger forces are at work.