The Painter at the Ball
In a bustling Renaissance city, a young, ambitious woman painter secretly dresses as a man to sell her art and study with the masters. At a grand ball, she meets a charismatic noble who seeks an artist to capture his visage. Write about their encounters in secret studios and opulent palaces as they struggle with their identities and the boundaries set by society.
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 the first meeting so it goes badly, in a way they'll laugh about later.
- Show the moment one of them almost walks away.
- Give them a deadline: the contest, the wedding, the last train.
Writing romance books
Not whether they end up together, but how.
Romance puts a love story at the center and promises a happy ending: happily ever after, or at least happy for now. Readers know where it's going. The pleasure is in the obstacles, the banter and the moment the two leads finally stop fighting it.
What readers expect
- Two leads the reader roots for
- Obstacles that keep them apart
- Emotional growth, not just attraction
- A happy ending, guaranteed
A tip before you start
The happy ending isn't optional. Without it you've written a love story, and romance readers will tell you so.
More Historical Romance prompts
- Love in Revolutionary ParisWrite a story set during the French Revolution, where a young aristocrat falls in love with a passionate revolutionary. Their love is as dangerous as…
- The Pirate Captain's DisguiseA young woman disguises herself as a man to join a voyage on a 17th-century pirate ship, where she falls for the charismatic captain. Explore the…
- The Manor Diary RomanceIn a quiet English village in the early 1800s, a young woman inherits an ancient manor and discovers an old diary detailing a tragic love story from…
- Love on the Wagon TrailImagine a romance blossoming on the wagon trails of the American West. A young woman, fleeing a betrothal in the East, meets a rugged and mysterious…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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