Any tips for writing: A) A prince stuck with commoners And B) A ghost from the 60's in a futuristic environment
Well to start, both of these sounds like really fun and unique plots, both on the “fish out of water” spectrum with a confused character very much out of their element. I’d look forward to reading about either!
Focus on confusion over objects. It may help to split up your world into two parts and keep track of both. For example, you might make a list of things that are different in the 60′s than in the future or specifically: a) things in the future that did not exist in the 60′s and b) things in the 60′s that are obsolete in the future. This will help you to keep track of what the ghost might be familiar with or unfamiliar with, and what they might be searching for that is lacking in this new environment. For the prince this might be a) things that are common in a royal environment that commoners would not have and b) things commoners need or do (such as chores, maybe) that a royal would never have had to.
Focus on confusion over language. A prince would not speak the same as a commoner. Their dialects, almost in all societies, are very different. They might have different ways of greeting people, different words for different objects or lifestyles, and most likely different accents. Historically, accents were based on class, and this can still be seen in Britain today. for example. Make sure you’re taking note of the difference in education, the access to books and knowledge the prince might have that the commoners would not. Similarly, someone from the 60′s is going to have different vocabulary than someone from the future, so it might help to research which words were more common in both eras. Just look at how many great jokes and confusion has been started off by the fact that a ‘thong’ is a shoe to an older generation but an underwear to the young; or that ‘boner’ used to mean a serious problem in need of fixing, and now generally only means an erection.
Remember to zone in on their mindset. All jokes and confusion aside, a character in either of these situations is likely to feel displaced and to have a lot going on mentally. The prince might feel entitled, for example, and need to reconsider how he sees the gap between the classes, and he might realize some things about himself. The ghost might be scared of the future–or maybe they’re excited by it and bitter that they can’t interact with it properly or that they didn’t get to live long enough to experience it. Whatever the case may be, take the time to figure out how this will affect your character mentally and allow them to have those emotions.
Over all, good luck, and have fun with those stories! They should be a wild ride. resource