The Pirate in Disguise
Imagine a tale aboard a pirate ship in the Caribbean Sea in the early 1700s. One of the pirates is actually a nobleman in disguise, seeking revenge on an old rival who destroyed his family. Detail his struggle between his yearning for vengeance and the camaraderie he develops with the crew.
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.
- 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.
- Make the dialogue sound of its time without becoming hard to read.
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 18th Century Historical Fiction prompts
- The Apprentice's Secret PlotWrite from the perspective of a young apprentice in colonial America who uncovers a plot against the British Crown. Detail their internal conflict…
- Letters from Edo JapanDevelop a tale centered around a mysterious traveler who arrives in a small village in Edo-period Japan. Through a series of letters back home…
- The Castle SymphonyImagine a story where a struggling 18th-century European composer receives an unusual offer: to write a symphony for a mysterious patron who lives in…
- A London Family in 1800Write about a day in the life of a middle-class family in 18th-century London amid the Industrial Revolution. Incorporate historical details that…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
Plans from $9.99 a month. Cancel any time. Your words are always yours.