The Pharaoh's Power Struggle
The Pharaoh has just passed away, and the transition of power is anything but smooth. Told from the perspective of an advisor in the royal court, explore the intrigue, alliances, and betrayals as different factions vie for control. This advisor must use all their wits and knowledge of the court’s underbelly to survive and protect their family during this turbulent time.
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.
- Make the dialogue sound of its time without becoming hard to read.
- Tell it from someone the history books ignored.
- Write it as a letter that took weeks to arrive.
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 Ancient Egypt prompts
- The Dancer of OpetWrite from the perspective of a temple dancer preparing for the grand festival of Opet. As the political tension between Thebes and a rising power in…
- The Laborer and the Lost PharaohCraft a tale about the discovery of a new tomb in the Valley of the Kings through the eyes of a lowly laborer who finds himself suddenly thrust into…
- The Scribe's Hidden MessageWrite a story from the perspective of a young scribe in ancient Egypt, who discovers a hidden message in hieroglyphics that could change the course of…
- The Egyptian Bride AbroadDescribe the dramatic and emotional journey of a royal woman from ancient Egypt who is married off to a foreign prince as part of a political…
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