Working on a creative writing exercise can be a great way to develop new plot ideas and story prompts for your next thriller novel. This blog post will discuss several different exercises that will get your creative juices flowing. We will also provide examples of crime thriller plots inspired by these exercises. So, if you’re looking for some inspiration, keep reading!
Story prompts
There are many ways to come up with new story ideas. Some people might be inspired by real-life experiences, while others may draw inspiration from other stories or films. However, there is one surefire way to come up with new story ideas, where creative writing skills come from, and that is by simply letting your imagination run wild.
Writing prompts are a great way to get your creative juices flowing, but sometimes it can be hard to come up with ideas. If you’re struggling to come up with plot ideas for your next crime thriller, consider one of these prompts:
– If you love animals, you could write a story about a young girl who dreams of becoming a veterinarian but faces many obstacles along the way.
– If you enjoy puzzles or problem-solving, you could write a story about a detective who is trying to solve a string of murders.
– After years of being in a coma, a woman wakes up to find that her husband has been murdered. She sets out to solve the case.
– A woman tries to clear her name after being accused of a crime she didn’t commit.
– A man is released from prison after serving time for a crime he didn’t commit and has to find out who really killed his family.
The possibilities are endless, so have fun and be creative! Don’t worry if your ideas seem far-fetched or impossible at first.
Here are a few plot ideas to consider
Crime thriller plot idea #1
The Wrong Man
In this exercise, you will create a crime thriller plot based on the concept of the wrong man. Imagine that an innocent person is accused of a crime they did not commit. They must now clear their name and find the real culprit before it’s too late. This story can be suspenseful and thrilling, as your protagonist races against the clock to solve the case.
Crime thriller plot idea #2
The Serial Killer
In this exercise, you will create a crime thriller plot based on the idea of the serial killer. Your protagonist must track down a serial killer who is terrorizing the city. As the body count rises, the pressure mounts to find him before he can kill again.
Crime thriller plot idea #3
The Heist
In this exercise, you will create a crime thriller plot based on the idea of the heist. Your protagonist must convince the police that they can stop a group of criminals from robbing a bank. But when the time comes to act, things quickly go awry.
Crime thrillers are always suspenseful, and they can be even more so when you add in a dash of mystery. Try mixing and matching different elements to create hybrid stories if you’re looking for ideas. For example, what would happen if you combined the best parts of a heist movie with a murder mystery?
Crime thriller plot idea #4
The Kidnapping
In this exercise, you will create a crime thriller plot based on the idea of kidnapping. Your protagonist’s child is kidnapped and held for ransom. Her kidnappers are a group of ruthless criminals who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Can she find her child before it’s too late?
Crime thriller plot idea #5
The Alien Invasion
This exercise will create a crime thriller plot based on alien invasion. An alien invasion has begun, and the only people who can stop it are a small team of scientists who have been working on a secret project to fight back against the aliens.
Writing prompt for a crime thriller story
How do you feel about writing prompts? Do you find them helpful, or do they make it harder to come up with your own ideas?
Prompts can be good ways to learn how to develop ideas for your own stories.
Start with a prompt and see where it takes you if you find it helpful. If not, come up with your ideas first and use the prompt as a way to structure your story.
Think about what would make your average, law-abiding citizen turn to a life of crime. Maybe they’ve been pushed too far and have had their family threatened, or perhaps they’ve been swindled out of their life savings.
The key is to create a believable world in which crime is a way of life and keep the action rolling relentlessly. So grab your guns and knives and start writing!
Writing exercises
Start by thinking about the kind of crime thriller you want to write. Is it a murder mystery? A police procedural? A psychological thriller?
Once you know the genre, come up with a basic plot outline. What’s the story about? Who are the main characters? What happens in the beginning, middle, and end?
1. Start by brainstorming a list of possible crime thriller plot ideas.
2. Once you have a few ideas, flesh out one of them in more detail.
3. Write a brief scene or two that introduces your characters and sets the stage for the action to come.
4. End with a teaser that will leave readers wanting more.
5. Repeat the process until you have a full-length story.
6. Bonus challenge: write a short story in under 1,000 words.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Plot ideas for a crime thriller
– A group of criminals teams up to pull off a heist, but things go wrong, and they are forced to fight for their lives.
– An FBI agent investigates a series of murders that seem to be connected, but the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she is in.
– A woman wakes up not remembering who she is or what happened and must piece together her past while being hunted by a killer.
– A group of friends is out celebrating one of their birthdays when they witness a murder. They become the killers they were never meant to be.
– A detective is investigating a series of murders when he discovers that his own wife is the killer.
– A woman is found dead in a hotel room, and the only clues are a mysterious symbol and a single word scrawled in blood on the wall.
– The detectives investigating a series of murders discover that they’re all connected to the same person – a serial killer who’s been dead for years.
Writing exercise #1
Let’s say you’ve decided to write a thriller story about a kidnapping.
Your protagonist, Sara, is a physiotherapist in Seattle, and her husband, Brian, is a scientist. Brian worked on a secret government contract and didn’t want to be disturbed.
Sara was used to Brian working nights and hadn’t seen him for a week. She knew something was wrong. He had been acting strangely for weeks, and she could tell he was hiding something. When she asked him about the project, he would change the subject.
She tried to call him, but there was no answer. Finally, she called his company. When they told her he hadn’t been in for ten days, she feared someone had kidnapped him.
Sara went to the police. They said it was not their problem, that it was out of their jurisdiction and that she should contact the FBI. Sara was worried sick. Something must have gone wrong; her husband had been working on a secret government contract, and the mafia had been known to kidnap scientists.
When she called his company again, they told her his lab was abandoned and missing all his equipment.
Sara filed a missing person report, but it seemed like the police didn’t care to get involved. She decided to investigate on her own to collect data for the police, using Brian’s private computer to check his user history. After discovering how to break into his email account, she found that he had met someone in Venice, Italy.
Sara called a Canadian friend living in Venice and told her what had happened. Her friend hadn’t seen Brian and promised to find Sara a place to stay and meet her at Venice Marco Polo Airport. So Sara booked a flight, hoping to find Brian still alive.
When Sara arrived, her friend, Mary, met her and helped her get settled. Then they sat down and created a search plan to find a scientist.
For days, Sara roamed the streets. She could only guess where Brian might be. He loved Italian food, so she visited many Italian restaurants, showing a picture of him and asking if anyone had seen him. She was starting to lose hope that she would ever see him again.
Someone was following her. She had seen the man several times. She’d heard that Italian men were generally kind, so she turned around and smiled at him. He froze, then he was gone.
Sara had been close enough to see a stocky man with olive skin, dark eyes, and thinning hair. He looked to be in his forties.
The next day, another man was following her. Sara suspected that the two men had something to do with Brian’s disappearance. As she turned a corner, she looked back and saw a physically fit, well-dressed man with thick eyebrows approaching. He gave her a hard stare, then disappeared through a door.
Feeling threatened by this man’s stare, Sara hurried home, worried about her safety. What was she going to do?
She couldn’t sleep. The thought of confronting anyone following her frightened her. When she finally fell asleep, she had a strange dream in which Brian appeared to her, saying he was safe and would be coming home soon.
The next day, Brian was found in Rome. Sara received a call from the US embassy. Her husband’s kidnappers had intended to transport him there from Venice, but their small plane had crashed outside the city. Her husband had escaped without serious injuries and made his way to Rome. He had taken refuge at the embassy.
Sara rushed to reunite with her husband, who promised her he would never keep her in the dark again. Sara vowed she would never distrust him again, feeling like a different person. They spent a romantic weekend in Rome before returning to the US.
Writing exercise #2
The protagonist is a criminal mastermind who has outsmarted the police for years.
He grinned as the police officer walked into the room. It was all going according to plan. The officer would investigate the scene, find nothing, and eventually leave frustrated. Then he would be able to get back to his life of crime without any interference.
But the mastermind had underestimated one thing – the detective’s determination. The detective was brilliant and refused to give up, no matter how many dead ends he hit. Finally, after months of investigating, the detective found a clue that led him straight to the mastermind’s doorstep.
The mastermind was shocked and tried to find a way out, but it was too late. The detective had him cornered and arrested him for his crimes.
Conclusion
An excellent way to develop ideas is to begin writing daily writing exercises. Crime thrillers are always popular, and with good reason. They’re exciting, suspenseful, and can keep readers on the edge of their seats. So if you’re looking for a new writing project or just some inspiration, consider trying your hand at a crime thriller.
These plot ideas should help get you started, but don’t hesitate to come up with your own twists and turns along the way. And be sure to check out our writing exercises for even more help getting into the mood to write a thrilling crime novel.
If you’re working on your first novel and are looking for more help with your writing, please check out my other articles at https://ullahakanson.com/blog/
Good luck with your writing exercises!
Ulla