The Soothsayer Comes to Rome
During Julius Caesar's rise to power, an expert soothsayer from a distant land arrives in Rome, bearing prophecies of the future empire’s downfall. Through the eyes of a young Roman boy intrigued by the soothsayer’s predictions, explore the impact of these prophecies on various social classes and political factions within the city.
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 Rome prompts
- The Roman Slave’s ScrollIn the bustling heart of Ancient Rome, a young slave gains possession of a scroll that contains dangerous political secrets. Amidst the chaos of an…
- A Soldier in BritanniaImagine the life of a Roman soldier stationed in distant Britannia. Explore his adaptation to local customs, the conflicts he faces with both the…
- The Vestal and the ConspiracyDescribe a day in the life of a young vestal virgin, sworn to protect the sacred flame of Vesta. On the eve of a significant religious festival, she…
- The Gladiator and the LionYou are a scribe in Ancient Rome tasked with documenting the daily events of the Colosseum. Describe a particularly extraordinary day involving an…
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