The Laborer and the Lost Pharaoh
Craft a tale about the discovery of a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings through the eyes of a lowly laborer who finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of grave robbers, archaeologists, and national pride, as the tomb might be that of an unknown pharaoh.
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.
- Give the hero a rule of the era they have to break.
- Choose one real detail of the period, like a price, a law or a song, and build a scene around it.
- Keep the famous event offstage and show its ripples.
Writing historical fiction
Step into another time and feel what it was like.
Historical fiction is set in the past, usually at least 50 years before it was written. Real events and people often appear, but the story belongs to its characters. Readers come for the immersion: the smells, the rules, the dangers of a world that's gone.
What readers expect
- A vivid, well-researched setting
- Real events as backdrop or engine
- Characters shaped by their era
- Details that feel lived, not looked up
A tip before you start
Research deeply, show lightly. One telling detail in a scene beats a paragraph of facts.
More Ancient Egypt prompts
- The Scribe's Hidden MessageWrite a story from the perspective of a young scribe in ancient Egypt, who discovers a hidden message in hieroglyphics that could change the course of…
- The Egyptian Bride AbroadDescribe the dramatic and emotional journey of a royal woman from ancient Egypt who is married off to a foreign prince as part of a political…
- The Scribe and the PharaohYou are a young scribe in the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Tasked with recording the controversial changes Akhenaten enforces on the religious practices…
- Building the Great PyramidWrite about a day in the life of a builder working on the Great Pyramid of Giza. Explore the complexities of their relationships, the technological…
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