Mystery – January 5

Brogan-Moore: Touching isn’t it? The way he counts on his wife. Sir Wilfrid: Yes, like a drowning man clutching at a razor blade. -Harry Kurnitz, born this date in 1909, in his screenplay Witness for the Prosecution. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must reject the assistance of someone your protag should be able to count on.

Mystery – January 4

“Trust is like that. You can break it for a good reason. But it still remains broken.” -Harlan Coben, born this date in 1962. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is forced to trust a person who earlier broke trust with your protag.

Mystery – January 3

Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist discovers four clues using senses other than sight.

Mystery – January 2

On this date in 1981, British police caught serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, better known as the Yorkshire Ripper, after he killed 16 women during a five-year spree. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist catches a bad guy for a minor crime unrelated to his/her more dastardly deeds.

Mystery – January 1

The crime that inspired Judith Rossner’s Looking For Mr. Goodbar occurred on this date in 1973. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist encounters a crime so pointless and tragic that just s/he gives up.

Mystery – December 31

Bill Vaughn said, “Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to.” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your antagonist tells another character about an important event or object that appears utterly different to him or her from the perspective of youth and maturity.

Mystery – December 30

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin married Percy Bysshe Shelley on this date in 1816, 2.5 years after eloping. She once said, “The same energy of character which renders a man a daring villain would have rendered him useful in society, had that society been well organized.” Writing prompt: Write a scene that reveals what your story’s villain would have done if his/her productive energies had been better...

Mystery – December 29

“Justice? — You get justice in the next world. In this one you have the law.” -William Gaddis, born this date in 1922. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which the law eliminates your protagonist’s opportunity to do justice.