Fortune Seekers in Victoria
Set during the gold rush in Victoria in the 1850s, explore the daily struggles, hopes, and betrayals of a diverse group of prospectors from different parts of the world, each with their stories and dreams, as they cope with the harsh realities of seeking fortune.
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.
- Tell it from someone the history books ignored.
- Write it as a letter that took weeks to arrive.
- End with a choice that history would never record.
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 Australian and Pacific Historical Fiction prompts
- The Tasmanian WhalersTell the story of a Tasmanian family in the mid-1800s, whose livelihood is connected to the whaling industry. Explore their daily lives, the ethical…
- The Settler and the Aboriginal GuideSet in Tasmania during the Black War, your protagonist is a British settler who has befriended an Aboriginal guide. When tensions escalate between the…
- Darwin Under BombsConstruct a narrative centered around the Bombing of Darwin in World War II. Focus on a family whose life is disrupted by the event. Explore themes of…
- A Convict in Van Diemen's LandImagine the life of a female convict sent to Van Diemen’s Land in the 1830s. Through a series of diary entries, depict her life from the harrowing sea…
See all 20 Australian and Pacific Historical Fiction prompts
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