In our last blog, we looked at how online resources have transformed a writer’s research process. So let’s explore this idea with a creative writing prompt.
Writing Prompt: Historical Fiction
Write down a daily task or hobby that interests you. Now, choose a specific historic period and location. Come up with a close approximation of your interest that may fit with the period and location. Write down what you already think you know about that activity. Now, set a timer. Give yourself 15 minutes to research that specific activity online. Read everything you can about it. Look at illustrations. Become an expert in something very precise.
An example for this writing prompt:
Present day interest: racing cars
Historic period/location: Roman Empire
Approximation: Chariot racing; how the Romans built their chariots
Research: What was it like to attend a Roman chariot race?
Now, it’s time to write. Inject your imagination into the research you have done; make the general specific! Begin your creative writing piece by creating a character. Maybe the character will be inspired by an illustration you found online, or by someone you saw recently. Perhaps your fictional character will begin with nothing more than a name, and grow as you write. Describe the character undertaking the activity you have researched. Intrigue the reader with the precision of your description – because this is how you draw us into the world you are creating. At the same time, remember other facets of good writing remain equally important. Give your character a reason to do that they are doing; a precise and personal motive. As you write, expand their world to include other characters. Perhaps this way, your piece of action-description will become one scene in a larger story you may later choose to write.
Historical Fiction: Creative Writing Prompt 2
Write down the name of a historical character who fascinates you. Now, decide on a pivotal moment – perhaps in their youth – that may have set them on the journey they later took. Use this idea to inspire your creative writing.
Example: why did Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat?
After you have finished your creative writing prompt, do some research to find out whether the piece you have written fits with the facts known about that character. Adjust accordingly.
Historical Fiction: Creative Writing Prompt 3
Choose a pivotal moment in history and imagine in a different outcome. Write from there.
What if Rosa Parks had given up her seat on the bus? Would the world be different today? What if Hitler had died in his childhood?
Historical Fiction: Creative Writing Prompt 4
Choose a different moment from history, and place a fictional character within it who has a unique perspective. The character should be an ordinary person, caught up in events outside of their control. Allow us to see events unfold from their point of view.
Julie Hartley
Director
Centauri Arts
https://centauriarts.com
https://juliehartley.ca
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