The Manor Diary Romance
In 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 centuries ago. Captivated, she sets out to learn more, finding herself entangled in a centuries-old mystery that mirrors her own developing love life.
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.
- Put them in close quarters they can't escape.
- Tell it from the point of view of the one who falls first.
- Write the first meeting so it goes badly, in a way they'll laugh about later.
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 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…
- The Painter's Secret ModelSet in Victorian England, a talented female painter, who is constrained by the norms of her time, secretly models in disguise for a renowned male…
- A Southern Belle and a Union SoldierSet against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a Southern belle and a Union soldier find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other through a…
- Letters Across Rival HousesWrite a story about two lovers from rival noble families in Renaissance Italy who secretly exchange letters and poems, dreaming of a future together…
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