A study in scarlet

A d’Verse prosery prompt

Watson, you don’t still maintain that the Duchess is innocent? Haven’t we been inspecting the same evidence together? Her hospitality must have been a ruse from the very start.

Come, let us examine this entry with discernment. Surely you must see it? Our culprit is clearly sinistral!

Further, what do you make of this ink, Old Chap? When were these words penned? Watson, haven’t you been reading what I have?

Just written!

I now believe… indeed, I am quite certain these lines were composed by the killer!

Yes, take another whiff… the odor is pungent, sharp, almost… painful, isn’t it? Surely a man of your profession would recognize it.

She has been toying with us, Old Chap, but we shall expose her! Miserly nobles don’t simply vanish, leaving behind their vast estates with nary a final will and testament!

Suppose he’d discovered her infidelity?


It’s prosery time at d’Verse. The rules are simple:

  1. Use an assigned line in the body of your prose. You may change the punctuation and capitalization, but you are not allowed to insert any words within the line itself. You can add words at the beginning and/or at the end of the line; but the line itself must remain intact.
  2. Your prose can be either flash fiction, nonfiction, or creative nonfiction. YOU CAN NOT WRITE A POEM for this prompt. AND, your prose should be no longer than 144 words, sans title. It does not have to be exactly 144 words. But it can be no longer than 144 words.

The assigned line was:

Reading what I have just written, I now believe…

52 thoughts on “A study in scarlet”

  1. You really got the tone of Sherlock down here! And you hooked me with so few words. I know I’d have struggled with the limit of 144 words! Great job, and excellent use of punctuation to make the line your own!

    1. It actually began with the punctuation, Baldecus… I deliberately wanted to make the line my own, and the Sherlock Holmes story took shape around it 🧐

      All best,
      David

  2. Clever use of the prompt with the changed punctuation! I had to use Sherlock’s magnifying glass to find the full line! Thanks for posting to the prompt!

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