18th Century writing prompt
The Mapmaker’s Secret Cipher
Write a story set during the height of the French Revolution, where a Parisian mapmaker is unwittingly thrust into espionage. After crafting a map for a mysterious patron, he realizes the map is a cipher leading to a secret meeting spot. How does he navigate the dangerous political waters that follow?
Suggested length: A short story: 1,500 to 5,000 words, or flash fiction under 1,000
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Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- 1Make the dialogue sound of its time without becoming hard to read.
- 2Tell it from someone the history books ignored.
- 3Write it as a letter that took weeks to arrive.
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