The Disguised Medical Student
Craft a story about a young Egyptian woman in the early 1900s who disguises herself as a man to study medicine. Along her journey, she falls in love with a fellow student, causing her to question whether to reveal her true identity or keep her disguise to continue her career.
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Put them in close quarters they can't escape.
- Tell it from the point of view of the one who falls first.
- Write the first meeting so it goes badly, in a way they'll laugh about later.
Writing romance books
Not whether they end up together, but how.
Romance puts a love story at the center and promises a happy ending: happily ever after, or at least happy for now. Readers know where it's going. The pleasure is in the obstacles, the banter and the moment the two leads finally stop fighting it.
What readers expect
- Two leads the reader roots for
- Obstacles that keep them apart
- Emotional growth, not just attraction
- A happy ending, guaranteed
A tip before you start
The happy ending isn't optional. Without it you've written a love story, and romance readers will tell you so.
More Historical Romance prompts
- Jazz Love in MontmartreImagine a tale set in 1920s Paris, where an aspiring American writer falls in love with a French jazz singer. Detail their passionate and tumultuous…
- The Invitation to the BallWrite a story set in Victorian England, where a young woman from a modest background receives a mysterious invitation to attend a grand ball at a…
- A Nurse and a Confederate SoldierSet during the American Civil War, explore the forbidden romance between a Confederate soldier and a Union nurse. Describe how they meet in secret and…
- The Samurai and the Farmer’s DaughterIn late 18th-century Japan, during the Edo period, write about a forbidden love affair between a renowned samurai and a peasant's daughter. Explore…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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