Mystery – January 11

Raymond Chandler met Dashiell Hammett on this date in 1936 at a dinner for contributors to Black Mask. Writing prompt: Write a scene that foreshadows a rivalry between two great talents.

Mystery – January 10

The Sopranos premiered on this date in 1999. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist catches a bad guy who’s more concerned about a minor detail of her/his family life than the fact that s/he’s just been busted.

Mystery – January 9

Stuart Woods was born on this date in 1938. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist finds among a collection of family mementos an antique law official’s badge spattered with dried blood.

Mystery – January 8

Wilkie Collins was born on this date in 1894. He wrote 30 “sensation novels,” the precursor to modern detective and suspense fiction, and his work famously highlighted social challenges of the time. Writing prompt: Write a scene revealing your protagonist’s response to a social issue that s/he believes too many people ignore.

Mystery – Leap Day

“You hurt anybody else, when this is over, I’m gonna find what you love the most and I’m gonna kill it.” -Mike Torello, as portrayed by Dennis Farina, born this date in 1944. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your antagonist threatens to destroy what your protagonist loves most dearly.

Mystery – September 11

On this date in 1971, thieves tunneled into a branch of Lloyd’s bank in London and ransacked the vault’s safe deposit boxes. No one was ever arrested. No one knows everything they stole. Virtually all authorities know about the crime comes from a recording made by a ham radio operator who listened to the communications between the thieves and their lookout as the robbery took place. Writing prompt:...

Mystery – October 21

On this date in 1910, a bomb exploded in the Los Angeles Times building when a union tried to kill the paper’s publisher. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns that a dramatic crime was intended to cover a far more pedestrian crime.

Mystery – May 11

Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist considers the merits of trading places with the person s/he most admires for one month.