PROMPTS TO INSPIRE YOU, PART FIVE, by Max Jason Peterson

For our January meeting of Mystery by the Sea – The Southeastern Virginia Chapter of Sisters in Crime, I presented a session of prompts to inspire us all to create new material. I figured others might also enjoy this Micro Mysteries session of Max’s Writers Café. (This is an offshoot of the ongoing series I present for Hampton Public Library. Sessions are for ages 18+ and are free via Zoom, but registration is required for each individual session. I hold sessions each spring and fall; we have more coming up in April 2026).

The purpose of my inspiration sessions is simply to help fellow creatives get started on something new. It can be refreshing to let yourself dream up something unexpected from a prompt; and something about writing with a time limit, especially in the company of others, with an idea you didn’t expect, can help overcome that “stuck” feeling. So I wrote these with the intention of inspiring some new rough drafts. Don’t expect them to be perfect!

For each numbered concept below: read the prompt first, then set a timer for ten minutes and start writing. Stop when the timer ends. Though you’re writing on your own, obeying the timer should still help train your brain to take the prompt seriously and get down to business. (For me, this can help circumvent how daunting it can be to get started.) You might be surprised by how much comes to you that you didn’t expect! And I hope that some of these rough drafts will intrigue you enough to polish and/or continue them later.

1. The Spooky Side: Beyond crimes themselves, there’s something inherently creepy about the mysterious. Think about some elements of paranormal mysteries; supernatural tales with mystery elements; and spooky or haunted situations that might be surprisingly real, or turn out to have a mundane origin hiding a crime. Write a vignette in which your character encounters something truly mysterious that awakens their sense of wonder or dread. Bonus points if discovering this mysterious something—or the truth behind it—also provides a clue about a mystery they’ve been looking into.

2. Secondary Secrets: There’s always a reason for keeping secrets, and it may not be what you think. Think about a particular secret your character may have. When you think about why they keep it, a reason will probably spring to mind. But dig deeper. What are some more unusual or unexpected reasons for keeping that secret? The reason for keeping the secret might in fact be a secret in itself. What if someone discovers the secret or the person keeping it realizes they have to reveal it? They might still hide the reason they kept that secret in the first place. Write a scene about discovering that secondary secret and the impact it has on your characters and the mystery.

3. Puzzles and Games: Think about some of the puzzles and games you enjoy. Use a favorite or two in a scene that solves the mystery or uncovers a deeper truth. For instance, what if the sleuth examines a puzzle solved by the murderer? Or think about two or more people playing a game together; maybe one of them committed a crime, and another is trying to figure it out. Let the game-play and their interactions help bring out the needed insight or clue.

4. Family Resemblance: Those who share their lives may come to resemble one another in various ways. Think about portraits of pets and their humans, couples who have spent decades together, or a group of friends from a certain period in time. It might be a found family, chosen family, or a biological one, either close-knit or reunited after many years apart. What if an elusive sense of family resemblance, the similarities of close friendship, shared tastes, or shared traits could help unravel a mystery? Alternatively, think about how family members who bear a strong resemblance might be confused for one another, or even use this to deliberately protect one another, as your sleuth investigates the crime.

If you’d like more prompts, here are some earlier installments in this series:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

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Max Gardner (he/they) is a fiction writer & award-winning poet published under a variety of bylines, including Max Jason Peterson and Adele Gardner. A poetry collection, Halloween Hearts, is available from Jackanapes Press, while over 500 stories, poems, art, and articles appear in Analog, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, PodCastle, Daily Science Fiction, and more. Gardner serves as literary executor for father and mentor Delbert R. Gardner; Muse Mansion, a collection of poems by both father and firstborn, will be released soon by San Francisco Bay Press. 

PROMPTS TO INSPIRE YOU, PART THREE, by Max Jason Peterson

With so many tasks, it can sometimes feel challenging to take time to create. For me, participating in creativity sessions with others helps free my brain. Sharing new creations without judgement, and getting to hear others' wonderful works, sparks joy for me. 

I have more prompts for you in this post, but especially since the new workshop season is right around the corner, I'm first sharing the details on the upcoming live workshops.

As I've mentioned, I regularly run micro poetry and prose workshops every spring and fall, newly retitled Max's Writers Cafe. They're free, hosted by Hampton Public Library, and held entirely online. We have five fall sessions coming up (ages 18+, free, but registration is required for each individual session via Eventbrite).

Fall 2025 Eventbrite Collection (You’ll need to register individually for each event you wish to attend)

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/maxs-writers-cafe-micro-poetry-prose-3651389

Max’s Writers Café: Micro Poetry & Prose

Fall 2025

Every Wednesday from Oct. 29-Nov. 26

Noon-1 PM Eastern

 

Max’s Writers Café: Micro Poetry & Prose, Fall 2025, every Wednesday from Oct. 29-Nov. 26, Noon-1 PM Eastern. Join us via Zoom (free, ages 18+) to make & take tiny poems and flash fiction. Prompts provided by host Max Gardner, award-winning poet & writer. Attendees must register via Eventbrite for each individual session. The theme for Oct. 29 is Micro Horror.

For more details about how this works, and to enjoy more prompts, check out previous blog posts in this series:

Part One

Part Two

We write for ten minutes per prompt, so set a timer and see that if it works for you. For me, having a short, set time gives me focus. I don't expect to finish it during that time, but it can help me get started. Ten minutes also feels like a welcome break, a treat for myself between other tasks—so especially if you're stressed and short on time, you might enjoy a creativity break!

So, here are some more prompts that I've created for your enjoyment! Try making a poem or piece of flash fiction, or even exploring your current protagonist's feelings on any of these subjects (to include in your work in progress, or just for greater depth). You might be surprised by what comes out!

Long Time: Think about time’s duration. What makes time long? Is a long time a good time (or not)? Time separated from someone can be painful, but can make reunion all the sweeter. Long-lasting relationships and connections provide meaning—good or bad. For long-lived beings, time might move at a different pace. Or explore an expression: “It’s been a long time.” “Longtime companion.” “A long time ago.” “A long time coming.” “Long gone.” “Long time, no see.” “Longtimer.” “Long-standing.”

High-scoring tiles: K, J, X, Q, Z: These are the letters that earn 5-10 points in the crossword-style word game Scrabble. Try writing a poem using some of these letters! Bonus points if you write an acrostic, in which the first letter of each line, read vertically, spells something out—using at least one of these letters.

The Shadows: What lurks in this old house, behind this mirror, in the back of your mind? Think about what would scare your character the most if they entered an old house that had clearly seen better days. At night. Alone. Because they heard a distant scream and wanted to help. Alternatively, write a ghost story or something uncanny; the ghost can be positive if you prefer; the story can be happy or touching—or scary or sad.

Motive/Motivation: We all need it: motivation to create or get through things; motivation for our characters to drive the plot. It’s also the “motive” in a mystery. In the moment of acting to save someone (including ourselves), we don’t often have time to stop and think about why. But afterwards the realization can be all-important. Focus on motive or motivation in some way.

Who Was I? Your character wakes up after a long absence from themselves. Maybe they were under a sleep spell for a century, or in a long coma. Maybe they’ve been deep undercover for so long that their prior self seems like a distant memory. Maybe they had amnesia, were possessed, or underwent a magical disguise or body swap that temporarily turned them into someone else. Or maybe they’re recovering from something (physical, mental, or both), or awakening to new revelations about themselves, their life and how to live it. How do they experience who they were then, in the context of who they’ve been recently and/or who they want to be now?

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Under byline Adele Gardner, Max's poetry collection Halloween Hearts is available from Jackanapes Press:

https://www.jackanapespress.com/product/halloween-hearts

Themes of Halloween, horror, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ray Bradbury. The press has seasonal discounts.

Max Jason Peterson has two stories in the new anthology Coastal Crimes 2: Death Takes a Vacation from Wildside Press.