Thank you for another wonderful response to last week’s prompt! Your stories made me laugh and scared me silly – I particularly loved Polly’s polite haunting victim, Aglae’s rules for being a ghost, Tilly’s terrifying time-slip ghost story and Charlotte’s spooky bookish ghost story.

It’s a new month, Detectives – and that means we’re closer than ever to the release of Murder Most Unladylike 9. It’s publishing on the 6th August in the UK and Ireland (4th August in Australia and New Zealand, and later in the summer in other territories like South Africa). And this week … I’m finally going to be announcing its cover and title! I’ll be giving you a clue on Wednesday, and then posting the full cover in all its glory on Thursday – and to celebrate, I thought I’d give you a fanfiction challenge.

This week I’d like you to write your ending to my series. You can be inspired by the official online blurb, if you want – or you can ignore it completely. You can fill your story with romance or keep it all about friendship, you can give it a happy ending or make us all cry, you can focus on the mystery or set your story after the crime is solved … you’re in total control!

Because this week’s prompt is to write fanfiction, and because I can’t give you any hints about what really happens until the 6th August (I know you want me to, but I think it’s really important that you read it without being spoiled), I’m not going to give any feedback on your stories, or mention them in future posts. This is for one week ONLY, don’t worry – and it doesn’t mean I’m not reading them. I just want you to feel free to discuss, and create, without worrying about my input or whether or not you’re ‘right’!

The rules, updated for this week:

1. It can be as long or as short as you like, and take you as much or as little time as you want.
2. It can be any genre (type) of story you want. If you have an idea for something that I haven’t mentioned (writing a poem! Being inspired by a song you love!), don’t wait for my permission – just go for it! This is your creativity working!
3. You are not allowed to worry about grammar or spelling.
4. You are not allowed to worry if it isn’t perfect, or criticise yourself as you’re writing.
5. You are encouraged to make a plan before you begin, to make it easier for you to get to the end of the story. This can be two words or a whole page! But if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.
6. Get to the end of the story without stopping to go back and fix bits you don’t like. Once you’ve finished, read it through again. If you still don’t like those bits, you can edit them now!
7. If you want (and only if you want!) you’re allowed to post the first 500 words of your story in the comments below. I have to moderate the comments so it may take a while for them to show up – please be patient. I don’t want to see you apologising for your story or minimising what you’ve done when you post – writing a story is a triumph and you should be proud!
8. Please do not use your full name when you comment – first names are fine, or you can make up a username that you like! Also remember to stay safe online and not get into private discussions with anyone you don’t know in real life without telling an adult first.
9. If you like someone else’s story, you are allowed to comment to say so! If you’d like to give them ideas that might make their story even stronger, that’s OK, but please be kind and remember how deeply we all care about our writing. A good format for feedback might be something like: ‘I loved ****! Have you thought of ****? I think it might make your story even better!’ I will delete any comment if I feel it’s critical without being constructive.
10. I will not give feedback on any individual stories – this week you’re in control!
11. This isn’t a competition, and there will be no winners and no prizes.