Freedom in the Revolution
Tell a story about an enslaved African American who gets entangled in the revolutionary conflict, seeing it as a path to freedom. Highlight their internal struggles, encounters with historical figures, and participation in significant battles.
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.
More American Revolution prompts
- Women Behind the War EffortDescribe the secret meeting of several key women from different colonies who band together to support the war effort in their own unique way. Explore…
- A Soldier and a Colonial WomanCraft a narrative around an unlikely friendship between a British soldier and an American colonial woman. Explore how their relationship develops…
- The Spy and the RedcoatWrite a story from the perspective of a spy working for the American patriots, who must pass a crucial piece of intelligence to George Washington.…
- Franklin's Philadelphia SpyImagine the life of a spy working for Benjamin Franklin. Create a thrilling narrative involving coded messages, secret meetings, and narrow escapes…
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