Civil War writing prompt

The Union's Secret Spies

Create a narrative featuring a group of spies from different backgrounds (including a former actress, a disillusioned soldier, and a young widow) working together for the Union. Explore how they plan and execute a crucial espionage mission, their dynamics, and the personal sacrifices they make for their cause.

Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000

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Make it yours

Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.

  1. Let your character believe something about their world that turned out to be wrong.
  2. Give the hero a rule of the era they have to break.
  3. Choose one real detail of the period, like a price, a law or a song, and build a scene around it.

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 about historical fiction in our book genres guide

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