Mystery – February 20

“One is what one has the nerve to pretend to be.” -Alan Furst, born this date in 1941. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s nerve to pretend to be someone else fails half-way through the bluff.

Mystery – February 19

John Frankenheimer was born on this date in 1930. One of  film history’s greatest directors of mystery thrillers, he once said, “I have gotten to a point in my life where I don’t want to have dinner with someone I don’t like.” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protag must share a meal with someone s/he dislikes.

Mystery – February 18

“If the storytellers told it true, all stories would end in death.” -George Pelecanos, born this date in 1957. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist tells an untrue story to avoid hurting a vulnerable crime victim.

Mystery – February 17

On this date in 1847, Edgar Allan Poe was awarded $225 in damages — plus 6 cents for legal costs — in a libel case in which Thomas Dunn English called him “thoroughly unprincipled, base and depraved … not alone an assassin in morals but a quack in literature.” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must defend her/himself from charges about her/his character that are...

Mystery – February 16

William Katt was born on this date in 1951. Writing prompt: Write a scene from your protagonist’s childhood in which s/he first pretends to be the superhero your protag want to be when s/he grows up.

Mystery – February 15

TV-show Batman’s The Joker, Cesar Romero, was born on this date in 1907. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist encounters a “bad guy” s/he’s confronted too many times to count.

Mystery – Valentine’s Day

On this date in 1929, in what became known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, gunmen believed to be working for Al Capone killed seven members of the rival George “Bugs” Moran gang in a Chicago garage. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist, investigating a brutal murder, discovers a clue suggesting the victim thought the killer was a cop.

Mystery – February 13

Georges Simenon, who averaged writing one book every 8 days — including more than a few about Inspector Jules Maigret — was born on this date in 1903. When once asked if he trusted a man, Inspector Maigret replied, “He’s a politician!” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is forced to explain why s/he does not trust a particular type of person.