A Soldier Follows Alexander
Set in the time of Alexander the Great, write from the perspective of a soldier who follows him from Macedonia to the reaches of India. Explore the cultural encounters, the battles, and the personal transformation that takes place during this epic campaign.
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.
- Keep the famous event offstage and show its ripples.
- Make the dialogue sound of its time without becoming hard to read.
- Tell it from someone the history books ignored.
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.
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- The Poet's Athenian TrialCreate a story about a poet in ancient Greece who is accused of blasphemy against the gods with their latest work. Follow their journey to the great…
- The Parthenon's Hidden PlansDuring the building of the Parthenon, a humble stone carver discovers a hidden message within the plans that suggest the temple is also a treasured…
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