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This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
| Writing Historical Fiction – Basics AbbyAG asked about how to write historical fiction because they like reading it. As such, I reached out to a friend who does just that. Her first book I was fortunate enough to be a beta reader for, set in the Australian Gold Rush. As such, she suggested for people just beginning to write in the genre the following as a nice way to cut your teeth: 1) Choose the historical period. Of course, this is logical, but it must be the first thing you do. It always works better if it is one you really like already and have some knowledge of. To write historical fiction, you need to be invested, because readers will be invested. They will know if you mixed up Georgian with Victorian England. So pick one period and make sure it is one you can mentally inhabit for a long time and be happy there. 2) Research some of the important events of the period. This is where you look at the big events that happened. These are easy enough to find, especially looking at popular periods. But you need to be aware of how the events are linked. For example, the creation of the English Doomsday Book comes from the victory of William in 1066, which came from Harald having already faced his brother and Vikings before facing William, which came from Harald giving his brother up to maintain peace… All of this is going to inform your story and the time period you choose! 3) Research the minutiae This is when you look at the things that made that period what it was, and different to our own world. This is where historical fiction writers often lose themselves; they love the research aspect of looking at the small details of everything about their time period. And this affection shows through in their work. My friend does warn that researching a period must also involve food and the words they used. That is where most historical fiction falls down. People are great at researching events, places, clothing, weapons, jobs, etc., but those two aspects become anachronistic in too many works. The further back you go, the more you need to make sure the words mean what you think they mean. Some words today have a different meaning even compared to Medieval times! Then you can go in two ways... 3a) Write about a family/ person greatly affected by one of these events This is taking someone from the lower or middle classes and how the event you have decided to focus on affects them. You invent your characters whole-cloth and set them into your realistic time period. or 3b) Choose a famous person involved in a historical event and invent a character who is in close proximity and helps them out. This will involve even more research because you will need to get the historical character as close to how the records indicate they were as possible, and their actions and reactions will have to match them, but it is also putting your character in the heart of a great event, so engaging your reader more. My friend recommends that you start with a short story or two with the same character. This will get you used to writing in the period without worrying about filling out a whole novel. It will help get your research chops down, and give you a chance to focus on one or two aspects first. She says you can then take one of these shorts and use it to extend if you want to write a longer work, because you are already in that character/ event. The short story can even become a prologue or the like. Of course, she points out, this is her suggestion, and a longer work, once you have incorporating the research stuff into a story down, can be brand new. I hope that helps someone. |
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