The Ancestral Pocket Watch
You are a teenager in Victorian England who discovers they can time travel after finding an ancestral pocket watch. Each location and time period you visit reveals a secret about your family's past. Detail your journeys and the historical events you experience firsthand.
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.
- End with a choice only this hero would make.
- Make the adults well-meaning but wrong.
- Use the way your hero texts to show who they are.
Writing young adult books
Ages 12 to 18: firsts, identity and everything at stake.
Young adult fiction is written for teens, with protagonists usually 14 to 18. Every genre lives here, from fantasy to thrillers to romance. What makes it YA is the voice: immediate, intense and inside a teenager's head.
What readers expect
- A teen protagonist
- An immediate, close voice
- Identity and independence
- Big feelings, taken seriously
A tip before you start
Write from inside a teen's head, not from an adult looking back. That immediacy is what separates YA from an adult book with a young hero.
More YA Historical Fiction prompts
- The Sculptor's Apprentice in RomeWrite a story set in the bustling streets of ancient Rome. Your protagonist is a young apprentice to a famous sculptor, struggling to leave their mark…
- The Viking Girl's First VoyageEnvision a young Viking girl in the late 10th century, determined to become a revered explorer like her forebearers. As she embarks on her first…
- The Pharaoh's Stolen ArtifactWrite a story set in ancient Egypt, focusing on a young apprentice who discovers a plot to steal a priceless artifact from the Pharaoh's tomb. How do…
- The Poet of Revolutionary ParisSet your story in Paris during the French Revolution. Your main character is a young poet who uses their writings to convey messages of freedom and…
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.