A German Soldier's Journal
Imagine a tale situated in the trenches of World War I. A British soldier finds a journal belonging to a German soldier. Through reading this journal, he gains insights into his enemy's life and struggles, challenging his preconceptions and leading to a life-changing decision once the war is over.
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.
- Write it as a letter that took weeks to arrive.
- End with a choice that history would never record.
- Let your character believe something about their world that turned out to be wrong.
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 British Historical Fiction prompts
- The Great Fire of LondonTransport your readers to the era of the Great Fire of London in 1666. Follow one Londoner through the four days the city burns: what they save, what…
- The Manuscript in FlamesFocus on a group of disparate characters from different walks of life—such as a baker, a priest, and a street urchin—who find their fates intertwined…
- A Soldier at WaterlooImagine a British soldier's experience during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Write the battle from the point of view of a soldier who doesn't know…
- The Palace Maid's ConspiracySet during the reign of Queen Victoria, explore the life of a maid working in Buckingham Palace. She overhears a conspiracy involving the royal family…
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