London Friends on Opposing Sides
Set in London during WW1, tell the story of two childhood friends who find themselves on opposing sides of a protest, one supporting the war and the other vehemently against it. Explore how their differing views test the limits of their friendship, as the impact of the war grows closer to home.
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 World War 1 Historical Fiction prompts
- Stories from the Allied TrenchImagine a group of soldiers from different Allied countries stuck in a muddy, isolated trench during a relentless rainstorm. Each soldier tells a…
- A Nurse at WarWrite a story from the perspective of a nurse on the front lines during World War I. Show one long night in the field hospital and the patient she…
- The Boy Courier of FranceA young boy in a small village in France becomes a courier for resistance fighters against the occupying forces. Describe his journey of bravery and…
- Letters from the Western FrontPen a series of letters between a soldier on the Western Front and his lover back home. Explore how their relationship evolves with every letter…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
Chapterly gives a draft somewhere to grow: chapters, daily word goals, and readers when you're ready.
Plans from $9.99 a month. Cancel any time. Your words are always yours.