The Watchmaker of Warsaw
Imagine a Jewish watchmaker living in Warsaw, Poland, during the Nazi occupation. Describe how they use their skills to secretly sabotage German military equipment, while also shielding their family from the harsh realities of the war.
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.
- End with a choice that history would never record.
- Let your character believe something about their world that turned out to be wrong.
- Give the hero a rule of the era they have to break.
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 World War 2 Historical Fiction prompts
- The Child and the German SoldierWrite from the perspective of a young child in occupied France who unknowingly befriends a German soldier. Detail their interactions, the soldier’s…
- The Shipyard SaboteurSet your tale in a bustling shipyard in England during WWII, where men and women work tirelessly to support the war effort. The main character, a…
- The U-Boat's RescueSet sail on the Atlantic with the crew of a U-boat who stumble upon a life raft carrying survivors from an Allied ship they had previously attacked.…
- A Teacher in HiroshimaSet your story in Hiroshima just days before the dropping of the atomic bomb. Follow the life of a schoolteacher trying to maintain a semblance of…
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