The Knight and the Jerusalem Merchant
Imagine a scenario during the medieval Crusades, where a knight from a lesser-known European country forms an unlikely friendship with a local merchant in Jerusalem. Their friendship provides unique insights into the complexities of culture, faith, and loyalty during turbulent times.
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.
- Tell it from someone the history books ignored.
- Write it as a letter that took weeks to arrive.
- End with a choice that history would never record.
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 Medieval prompts
- The Templar and the SaracenWrite about a tense alliance formed during the Crusades between a Knight Templar and a Saracen soldier, both left behind in the desert. Detail their…
- The Scribe's Hidden IdentitySet in a medieval court, a lowly scribe unearths a conspiracy to overthrow the benevolent monarch. Having only their wit and knowledge of the law…
- The Squire and the King's PlotYou're a young squire in a medieval court when a highly respected knight takes you under his wing. Soon, you uncover a secret plot to overthrow the…
- The Map to the Unknown IslandWrite a story about a young apprentice mapmaker who discovers a secret map leading to an unknown island. As attempts are made to explore the island…
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