Civil War writing prompt

Freedom on the Plantation

Imagine a southern plantation during the Civil War where an unlikely friendship forms between a Confederate soldier's daughter and an escaped slave hiding on the property. Detail their secret meetings, shared dreams, and the plan they devise to secure freedom.

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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