Mystery – January 16

“Artists are always good for conversation, so long as you want to talk about their art.”- Craig Johnson, born this date in 1961. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist tries to have a conversation with someone who wants to talk about anything else.

Mystery – January 15

“A riot is the language of the unheard.”- Martin Luther King, Jr., born this date in 1929. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a conversation turns violent because one person can’t understand what the other is saying.

Mystery – January 14

“The essence of fascism is to make laws forbidding everything and then enforce them selectively against your enemies.”- John Lescroart, born this date in 1948. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist manipulates the outcome of a conflict by selectively enforcing rules to favor one of the participants.

Mystery – January 13

“Nouns and verbs are the guts of the language. Beware of covering up with adjectives and adverbs.”- A.B. Guthrie, Jr., born this date in 1901. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a person’s overly descriptive language persuades your protagonist that the person is hiding something.

Mystery – January 12

“It was a great game, and exciting and dramatic and even at times tragic — but funny it emphatically was not.”- John Cecil Masterman, author of An Oxford Tragedy among several acclaimed mystery novels and head of the Twenty Committee, born this date in 1891. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist fails to find any humor in another person’s wit.

Mystery – January 11

“There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.”- Raymond Chandler, who met Dashiell Hammett at a dinner for contributors to Black Mask on this date in 1936. Writing prompt: Write a scene that foreshadows a rivalry between two great talents.

Mystery – January 10

“Let me tell ya something. Nowadays, everybody’s gotta go to shrinks, and counselors, and go on ‘Sally Jessy Raphael’ and talk about their problems. What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type. That was an American. He wasn’t in touch with his feelings. He just did what he had to do.”- Tony Soprano, who premiered on this date in 1999. Writing prompt: Write a scene in...

Mystery – January 9

“Sometimes when you’re too close to something, you can’t see it clearly.”- Stuart Woods, born this date in 1938. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist earns a new perspective by backing up.