The Merchant's Daughter on the Silk Road
Set against the backdrop of the Silk Road during the height of its use, a merchant's daughter in love with tales of faraway lands concocts a plan to disguise herself and join a caravan heading towards the Byzantine Empire. Along the journey, she grows close to a seasoned trader who begins to suspect her true identity, sharing stories and dreams under the desert stars.
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.
- Show the moment one of them almost walks away.
- Give them a deadline: the contest, the wedding, the last train.
- Let a secondary character see what's happening before either lead does.
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
- The Disguised Medical StudentCraft a story about a young Egyptian woman in the early 1900s who disguises herself as a man to study medicine. Along her journey, she falls in love…
- Jazz Love in MontmartreImagine a tale set in 1920s Paris, where an aspiring American writer falls in love with a French jazz singer. Detail their passionate and tumultuous…
- The Invitation to the BallWrite a story set in Victorian England, where a young woman from a modest background receives a mysterious invitation to attend a grand ball at a…
- A Nurse and a Confederate SoldierSet during the American Civil War, explore the forbidden romance between a Confederate soldier and a Union nurse. Describe how they meet in secret and…
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