Smugglers on the Mississippi
Write a story set in 19th-century New Orleans during the height of the steamboat era. The protagonist is a young deckhand who uncovers a smuggling ring that threatens to destroy the city's economy. In the mix of their adventures, they encounter a mysterious woman who is seeking justice for her slain father, a former riverboat captain.
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.
- Give the hero a rule of the era they have to break.
- Choose one real detail of the period, like a price, a law or a song, and build a scene around it.
- Keep the famous event offstage and show its ripples.
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 19th Century Historical Fiction prompts
- Railroad BrothersImagine a tale set during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. It centers on an Irish immigrant and a former enslaved…
- Mapping the African InteriorDetail the journey of a mid-19th century explorer who joins an expedition to map the uncharted territories of Africa. Describe the discoveries, the…
- The Clockmaker's SecretWrite a story about a young apprentice clockmaker in Victorian London who discovers a hidden message inside an ancient clock that leads to a city-wide…
- The Bakery Before the FireOn the eve of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, a struggling immigrant family must make a critical decision: fight to save their small bakery, or flee to…
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