Writing tools
15 Crime-Related Writing Prompts
Break into the vaults of your creative mind!
I have been sharing a list of writing prompts every week, each with its own theme. And it has been amazing to see people use them, and share their stories on Medium!
If you are doing the 💯 Story Challenge, or just want to increase your output of short stories or flash fiction, check out a list with all my prompt articles here, or read on…
This week we are focusing on crime, and it’s my longest list so far!
- Crime is no doubt one of the biggest elements across fiction, with mystery and crime novels the leading example.
- These prompts are not just for crime writers, though, and could help to stimulate ideas for any genre.
If you give any of them a try, please do tag me in your story, and I will be happy to share your work on social media.
Idea 1
Write a pair of linked scenes. The first one covers the planning of a crime or heist (e.g. a robbery), and the second shows the actual event. No doubt things won’t go entirely to plan.
Idea 2
Write a scene or a drabble in which someone is killed, but there is an element of humor or absurdity. Perhaps the killer is very incompetent, or their attempts to cover up the action get increasingly surreal. ‘Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead’ could be a good comparison.
Idea 3
Money is the root of so many problems… Write a short story that begins with the reading of a will, after which grievances over the inheritance leads to a conspiracy and/or crime of your choice.
Idea 4
Write a fantasy flash fiction in which a group of characters are exploring a dungeon and find some treasure. It is a much richer haul of loot than they have ever found before, and one or more of the characters try to steal more than their fair share. Do they get away with it?
Idea 5
Give a first-person account of character who committed a crime by accident, but is being convicted nonetheless, and handed a very severe sentence. The piece could be a letter or diary written in their cell, the day before sentencing.
Idea 6
Begin a piece of flash fiction with the line: “We may be criminals, but we have values.”
Idea 7
Focus on a character who killed someone or committed another major crime in the distant past. Nobody in their life knew anything… until one day, someone shows up and starts dropping hints that they know the secret. Describe the first scene where they meet. And now, what is your character going to do? (Prompt repeated from this list).
Idea 8
Write an account or a conversation where a character has been regularly committing a crime of some kind (your choice), and thinks it’s fine to do so. The other character in the scene should persuade them otherwise.
Idea 9
A dead body is discovered. Pick a location that you know well, and choose a very unusual object as the murder weapon. For the protagonist, this is the very first time they have encountered a murder — could they become the next Hercule Poirot?
Idea 10
Is there ever a good reason for identity theft? Try writing a conversation where someone who has carried this out tries to justify their actions. Perhaps they do this over dinner on a first date…
Idea 11
For a reason of your choosing, a particular character has had enough of crime and corruption. They decide to take matters into their own hands and become a vigilante. Decide what happens next. (Prompt repeated from this list).
Idea 12
Write a short story in which a character begins a role (politics? Business?) with good ideals, but rapidly gets caught up with corruption. Perhaps you could begin with the line, “I was horrified by what I saw around me.”
Idea 13
Craft a short story where one small crime leads to another… and then another, and another! Fit in as many as you can in a chaotic chain of events.
Idea 14
Write a single scene or a short story where a young man/woman is a member of a terrorist cell, and decides to pull out (perhaps they get cold feet about an impending attack).
Idea 15
Write a flash fiction story that begins with one character stabbing another, and ends with them both laughing and becoming firm friends.
I hope you found these helpful as part of your creative process!
Of course, crime-related fiction tends to focus on things like theft and murder, but feel free to choose a lesser-explored crime (tax evasion? fly tipping? drink-driving? trespassing?) as the focus where relevant, e.g. for prompts 5–8.
And again, I’d love it if you would share links to your responses in the comments. Check out this piece by Jann Christoph von der Pütten in response to prompt 7, for example!
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