53+ ‘historical’ Writing Prompts
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The Significance of Place
Explore a real location that holds significant meaning to you, and express why it does.
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Cultural Connection
Describe a tradition or custom from your culture which you feel profoundly connected to.
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Witness to History
Choose a significant historical event whether widely known or local, and write a narrative as if you were there to witness it.
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The Veteran Chronicles
Interview an elderly person about their most significant life event, and recount it in a narrative form.
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Soundtrack of an Era
Examine a popular music album from a particular decade, detailing its influence on society and culture.
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The Evolution of Fashion
Trace the evolution of a fashion trend, and explore how it impacts society’s standards of beauty.
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Gastronomic Journey
Write about your favorite cuisine, how you came to love it, and its cultural significance.
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The Silent Object
Describe a cultural object that has been passed down in your family, and tell its story.
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Local Landmark Lore
Explore a local landmark or historical sight and tell the story from its perspective, incorporating both facts and personal observations.
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The Art Of Everyday Objects
Choose an object in your daily life and write about its history, production process or impact on broader society.
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Historical Point of Interest
Choose a historical event that interests you and explore how it changed the course of history.
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The Silent Spectator
Write about a significant event in history or in your personal life from the perspective of an inanimate object.
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Legacy of a Landmark
Detail the story behind a local landmark and how it contributes to the identity of your city or town.
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Epicenter of Change
Choose a pivotal, historical event and write about it as if you were a reporter on the scene.
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Landmark Reflections
Choose a landmark you visited and describe it not just physically, but emotionally too.
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Unseen Footsteps
Write a biography of a historical figure from the perspective of someone else in their life.
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Family Folklore
Write a narrative based on a family legend or fascinating historical incident in your lineage.
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Beyond the Ink – Historic Letters
Imagine that you can read a letter from a historical figure to another. Unravel the contents of this letter and its implications on the course of history.
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Histories Mysteries Unleashed
Select an unsolved historical mystery and pen down a fictional resolution to it.
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Footsteps of Historical Legends
Choose an influential figure in history and write about their life, struggles, achievements from their perspective.
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Exploring Uncharted Historical Territories
Choose a historical period or event that you know little about, do your research and pen an explorative narrative about it, embodying the perspective of a person from that era.
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Unraveling the Secrets of History
Choose a historical event that you find intriguing and explore it, explaining what it entailed and why it interests you.
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The Interview
Write a fictional interview with a real-life historical figure exploring their life and impact.
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Faces of Nonfiction
Choose three nonfiction genres and compare their writing styles and methodologies.
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The Powerful Paradigm
Write a speech about a significant paradigm shift in society or a field of study.
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Rebirth of King Arthur
King Arthur wakes in modern times. Narrate his adventures as he tries to blend in.
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Across Time and Space
You stumble upon a mysterious artifact that harbors mind-bending power to time-travel. Describe an adventure.
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Time-Traveling Lovers
Create a story where two lovers are reincarnated throughout different time periods, always finding each other again.
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The Secret Diary of a Pharaoh’s Servant
Write a diary entry from the perspective of a servant to an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh.
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Window Into the Past
Research a historical event that interests you and write about it from a personal perspective—like a diary entry or a series of letters.
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Inanimate Interview
You’ve landed an exclusive interview with your favorite inanimate object. Write out the interview and the answers you get.
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Legendary Sporting Event
Write about a historic sporting event and your own interpretation of why it was so important.
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Bridging Worlds: Monuments and Landmarks
Write about a world-famous monument or landmark you’ve visited and your reflections upon seeing it.
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Time Travel Misadventures
Imagine going back in time and committing a funny faux pas. What historic event do you disrupt, and how do you correct it?
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Call to Revolution
Pen a powerful oration that could have been delivered during the French Revolution.
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The Threads of Time
Write about an unusual historical period, and the details that make you feel an unexplained connection with it.
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Family Heirlooms
Write about a prized family heirloom and detail its historical or personal significance.
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Fantasy Family Meetup
Pick any historical figures, celebrities, or fictional characters to create your dream family. Why did you choose them and what role do they play?
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Roots and Heritage
Reflect on the cultural or historical background of your family and how it has shaped you.
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The Birth of Our Name
Write about the historical origin of your family name and what it might signify.
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Resilience Through Generations
Reflect on a significant challenging event your family has faced and examine how it has created resilience among the family members.
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Heirloom Tales
Choose a family heirloom and narrate the story behind it from the perspective of the ancestor who first owned it.
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Parental Past
Describe the world your parents grew up in and how it’s different from the one you are growing up in.
