Process of Writing Historical Fiction
Writing a historical novel is a big undertaking. It is not the same as writing straight fiction, where the entire story is made up and can be written faster. Historical fiction has true events woven into the story, and is inevitably a more time-intensive process. It takes as much research time as nonfiction, in addition to taking as much drafting and revision time as any other type of fiction. Here are six steps in the process of writing historical fiction.
1. Research
Research is crucial for many reasons, beyond just gathering facts and details. It provides accuracy. The author won’t include every possible detail into the historical novel, or else it will start to sound like a history textbook. However, the author wants to make sure that the historical details that are included are accurate. Details that are inaccurate or anachronistic will undermine the credibility of the story.
Research is also a source of inspiration. Interesting historical stories tend to be inspired by particular historical incidents, rather than generic situations. History is full of weird and intriguing stories. Including little-known stories from history make the novel more interesting. Research also provides context. Plots don’t occur in vacuums. Even if the story focuses on a small group of characters, it is important for an author to be aware of the broader political context of the time.
Primary sources offer a window into the time period of a novel. The National Archives is an excellent place to find primary source material. Military after action reports, declassified intelligence reports, memos, letters, and diaries are great for developing characters and setting. These personal sources help an author get a sense of what people’s individual, day-to-day experiences were like.
Research may provide photos of buildings from the historical time period an author is writing about. Photos can enable an author to reference specific addresses. Photos help the author describe the setting and give accurate descriptions of military headquarters and government buildings mentioned in the story.
Photos of OSS HQ in London, 1945
Secondary sources help the author get a broader view of a time period. Books, biographies, and documentary films are all useful resources for understanding a period. Specialized books about topics such as intelligence operations, scientific research programs, transportation, or mechanics about the time period often yield the most surprising information.
Two (of many) nonfiction books I used during research for my book The Gryphon’s Shadow
2. Prewriting
The author needs to keep a lot of information straight as he or she works. Working documents help with organization and continuity as the book project develops.
Timelines. Creating physical timelines helps to visualize time in space:
A) Major events in the time period.
B) Major events in the primary characters’ lives.
C) Major plot points in the story
One of the Timelines I used while drafting The Gryphon’s Shadow
Maps. The author must figure out exactly where all the locations mentioned in the novel were. The author needs to know where political borders were drawn at the time the story is set, what transportation networks existed between places, and how long it would take for people and messages to reach their destination. Visualizing this sort of information helps construct the plot.
Character Summaries. Once the author has an initial sense of who the characters are, he or she needs to write out biographical character sketches, including physical characteristics, backstory, personality, etc.—based on both research and imagination.
Character summary for the protagonist in my book The Gryphon’s Shadow
Character summary for the antagonist in my book The Gryphon’s Shadow
3. Characterization in Historical Fiction
An author has a choice when creating characters in historical fiction: write about real historical figures, or construct original fictional characters. Novels with a real historical person as the main character take more time and research. Main characters who are fictional allow the author more flexibility. Paragraphs of static description of a character’s clothing and possessions may establish period authenticity, but they can make a reader feel as if they are sitting through a lecture. A few well-chosen physical details are often plenty for a reader to form a mental image of a character. These details can often be conveyed in action.
4. Historical Settings
Some authors prioritize the construction of historical setting, treating characters and plot as afterthoughts. A better approach is to make character and plot development the priority, and use historical settings to complement them. A story is driven by the characters. Once the author establishes the main character’s goals, these goals can be used to explore their world. Whenever the plot takes the character to a location that is new to them, there is an opportunity for the character to explore and describe their surroundings.
5. Choose the Narrator
An author must decide who is telling the story. The Point of View (POV) the author chooses will affect how to use historical language. If the historical novel is written in the first person, the writer will have to develop a historically-authentic voice. Third person narrators allow an author to step back from the language of the characters. This distance buys some freedom from the obligation of writing in the voice of a historical character. However, the reader’s patience for researched information will be even lower with third-person narration – too much third-person exposition can easily end up sounding like a textbook.
6. Writing Historical Dialogue
Some authors make the mistake of trying too hard to make the language sound historical. This leads to stiff, awkward, and overly-formal dialogue. Focusing on period language more than on the motivations of the character speaking will undermine a scene. At the same time, the writer doesn’t want the characters’ speech to sound inauthentic to their era. It’s best to include just a dash of period-specific language to flavor a character’s language.
Historical fiction is a challenging, but rewarding, type of writing. The author must devote extra time to research, pre-writing, characterization, narration, historical setting, and historical dialogue. The extra time can pay off with a great novel that immerses the reader into the book. The reader is not just reading words on a page—they are transported to another time and place and experiencing the story. Along the way, they learn interesting tidbits about history while they are captivated by a great story.
Expand Our Knowledge: Reading builds knowledge. Novelist George R.R. Martin said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. A man who never reads only lives once.” Books can expose you to new information about locations, inventions, people, and historical events. No matter the genre, you can come across something you have never thought of before. The new knowledge and new understanding can change your perspective.
Ignite the Imagination: Reading books can awaken your imagination. Every book you read opens up a world of different characters, situations, locations, and plots. Reading opens your mind to the world of imagination to experience your own perspective of the story. Reading increases your own creativity, sometimes sparking other ideas in your life.
Increase Empathy: Reading improves your ability to empathize. Reading about different characters and being exposed to their thoughts and vulnerabilities makes you more empathetic in life as well. The ability to put yourself in the shoes of characters in a book makes you more open to other’s viewpoints in your everyday life. It gives you a wider perspective.
Understand the World Better: Reading can expose you to new countries, new cultures, and new ways of thinking. Reading broadens your perspective and allows you to see the world from outside your comfort zone. It makes it possible to see how people live in far-away lands, which can make you appreciate your home.
Understand ourselves (and others) better: You spend every hour of every day with yourself, so you should know your mind better than anyone, right? But with constant digital over-stimulation, endless to-do lists, and all the stresses of the modern world, it can often seem like we aren’t sure what we want or why we make the choices we do. Reading books can help. Reading can allow you to see what’s important to you by the kind of books you tend to choose. Self-help books can help you befriend your subconscious mind or understand your childhood experiences. Books about your ancestors can provide insights into your family. Fiction books can portray characters who work through internal issues that you might relate to. Reading can make you feel not so alone, especially a memoir of someone who’s been through the same thing you have.
Read a good book…it may change your perspective on life!
