Young Adults Mystery Writing Prompts

Dive into the Enigma: Unleash Your Mystery Skills

Popular young adults mystery writing prompts

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Newly added young adults mystery writing prompts

POEM STARTER

Compose a poem based on a tarot card of your choice.

Tarot cards contain deep meanings and allusions to Greek/Roman mythology that can be used as a base for a poem.

STORY STARTER

Write a short story that follows an archaeologist excavating a city 500 years from now.

What has lasted 500 years, and what hasn’t? What do they discover, and what goes unfound?

STORY STARTER

Write a short story including a letter that was never received.

What impact does this have on the reader's knowledge of the plot and characters?

WRITING OBSTACLE

Create a description of a character based on the following words:

trustworthy,

astute,

beloved.

You don’t have to use these three words directly, but try to use their meanings and connotations when creating and describing this character.

WRITING OBSTACLE

Write a short story that uses delayed decoding to create tension.

Delayed decoding is when the narrator describes an object or event but without all the information needed to fully understand the scene until later. It often relies on sensory information without context.

STORY STARTER

Write a story about a character who has a melody stuck in their head constantly.

Is this just the result of a catchy tune, is there something deeper going on, or is it a sign of something they don't understand yet?

STORY STARTER

Your character sleepwalks. One night, they wake up in the middle of the road, surrounded by police and fire engines.

Continue the story from here.

WRITING OBSTACLE

Create a description of a place that is typically thought to be haunted or scary.

This could be a real place, or somewhere you invent. Try to consider the language you use to create an atmosphere of fear or suspicion.

STORY STARTER

'I have forgotten.'

Write a story with this as the final line of dialogue.

STORY STARTER

Having been invited to this party, the main character isn’t sure why everyone keeps staring at them...

POEM STARTER

Write a poem with the title “Opening the Cupboard”.

There are many routes that you could take in this poem. Skeletons in the closet, scenes of domestic life, a metaphor for revelation?

VISUAL PROMPT

by Fabracio Lira @ Unsplash

Write a story or poem under the theme: Behind the Scenes

Write a story or poem under the theme: Behind the Scenes

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