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Write a mystery our sleuths will love

Thousands of readers, from classrooms to retirees, solve our mysteries one clue at a time. Write one in an evening, mark the clues, and send it in. If it catches on, it joins the official pool and we send you a $50 check.

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1,000–1,500words: about five minutes
4–5suspects
3+clues, mixed
Grades 6–8reading level

How a 5 Minute Mystery works

Readers go through your story sentence by sentence. When a sentence points toward a suspect, or clears one, they click it and say which. Then they accuse someone.

The pie was still warm when the judges arrived at noon. Only Rosa had flour on her sleeves, though she said she hadn't baked in weeks.Incriminates Rosa Mr. Patel had been in the cattle barn all morning, as three farmers swore.Exonerates Mr. Patel

  • Mark at least 3 clues.
  • Mix them: some should incriminate the culprit and some should clear the others, so readers have to weigh them.
  • Readers earn 2 points for each clue they find and lose 1 for each wrong mark, so clues should be findable but not obvious.
  • A perfect solve (the right culprit and every clue) earns a bonus that grows with the difficulty.

The basics

A title, a category and how hard it is. The title also becomes the mystery's web address.

  • Keep the title short and intriguing: "The Case of the Missing Pie" beats "A Mystery About a Pie at the Fair".
  • Pick the category that fits. In Geography mysteries the suspects are places, and readers pick a location instead of a culprit.
  • Be honest about difficulty: a perfect solve earns a bonus that grows with it.
EasyClues are stated plainly.No bonus
MediumSome clues take reading between the lines.+3 bonus
HardClues hide in small details, among red herrings.+5 bonus

Your suspects

The four or five people (or places) readers choose between. Mark the one who did it.

  • Names only, exactly as they appear in your story: "Bob Jones", not "Bob Jones, a lonely ex-con".
  • Make them easy to tell apart. Different first letters help.
  • Every suspect should appear in the story and be a believable choice, and the culprit must be someone the reader meets.

The teaser

The hook readers see in the archives and at the top of your mystery, before they start reading.

  • Two to four sentences: who, where, and what went wrong.
  • End on the question the reader has to answer.
  • Give away nothing: no clues, no hints at the culprit.
ExampleWhen the prize-winning pie vanishes from the judging tent at the county fair, four people had the chance to take it. Sheriff Molly Pike has until the ribbons are handed out to find out who.

The story

The mystery itself. Readers go through it sentence by sentence and click the ones that hold clues, so the spacing matters.

  • Aim for 1,000 to 1,500 words: about five minutes of reading.
  • Write for a sixth- to eighth-grade reader. Many of our sleuths are students.
  • Put two spaces after every sentence. That is how we tell where one sentence ends, and each sentence becomes something a reader can mark. The editor can fix the spacing for you.
  • Leave a blank line between paragraphs.
  • Introduce every suspect, and plant your clues so a careful reader can find them.
  • Keep each clue to one sentence: a reader marks a whole sentence, never half of one.
  • Stop at the moment of decision, with something like "I know who did it." The reader takes it from there.
  • Revealing the answer in the story ("Bob, it was you all along!").
  • Listing the clues at the end. You mark them in the clue editor next.

Spacing, exactly

Rain drummed on the roof.··Nobody had heard the door.··Then the lights went out.

Ten minutes later, the pie was gone.

·· marks the two spaces after each sentence; the blank line starts a new paragraph. The editor counts your sentences as you type and can fix the spacing for you.

The solution

Shown once a reader has made their accusation: how the clues point to the culprit and clear everyone else.

  • Name the culprit and the clue that gives them away.
  • Explain why each of the others is innocent.
  • Refer to the clues as they appear in the story, so readers can find them again.

Marking the clues

After you save, you mark the clues right on your story: click a sentence, then choose a suspect it incriminates or exonerates.

  • Mark at least 3 clues.
  • Mix them: some should incriminate the culprit and some should clear the others, so readers have to weigh them.
  • Readers earn 2 points for each clue they find and lose 1 for each wrong mark, so clues should be findable but not obvious.

After you send it in

  1. ReviewOur editors read it. If something needs work, they send it back with notes and you can fix it and send it in again.
  2. PublishedOnce accepted, it joins the user-submitted mysteries for anyone to play.
  3. OfficialIf it proves popular, it bubbles into the official mystery pool, where solving it earns points, and we send you a $50 check.
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