A First Look at Writing Historical Fiction

Your approach to writing historical fiction can go one of two ways, according to the Writer's Relief article, "How to do Research for Historical Fiction: Balancing Fact and Fiction:" Research then write or create your story, then weave in the facts from your research. For Book Two in my mystery/ghost series for 7-11 year olds, I chose the latter approach. And I'm glad I did. Here's why.

Walking a Fine Line
There is a fine line between "historicizing" fiction and "fictionalizing" history. Or simply put, in finding the "truth" in historical fiction. (The Alan Review: this article is geared to teachers, but the discussion is excellent for historical fiction authors on what's at stake.) Other helpful observations for writers of historical fiction from this article include:

• As we know, careful research is a must.
• Weigh any bias that might be present in historical accounts.
• Historians examine the complexities of history.
• Novelists create clear characterizations and forward-moving plot lines.
• "A danger for the novelist lies in achieving [resolution often denied to history] at the expense of excluding significant nuances and complexities."
• Please consult this excellent article for more thought-provoking information.

Ready for a Supreme Balancing Act?
Decide to write historical fiction and you will be launched into one of the most delicate balancing acts of your life. Solution? Find a happy medium. For years, the story of Book Two had taken up occupancy in my head. Curiosity got the better of me a few years ago when I decided to explore the historic event I wanted to illuminate: what the people were like. The times they lived in. More think-time ensued. Recently the muse came knocking: Enough! It's time: get to work! I began to write the book and now it's half done! Now it's time for a breather from the writing and return to the historical facts the book is based on. That changed everything. I realized the story must change.

Children's Writers have Yet a Tougher Line to Tow
Novelists of children's books beware! In children's books, "Events must be more closely winnowed and sifted; characters more clearly delineated, but without condenscension or over-simplification." (The Alan Review article) And there's more. As is true for all historical fiction authors, children's authors must:

• Find the optimum balance between fiction and history, such as zeroing in on the details: clothing, food, transportation, etc.
• Be accurate: accuracy is another balancing act. In writing for children, the historical fiction author must weigh the facts describing life "the way it was" while keeping the information appropriate to the age group.
• Language must be accurate: the vocabulary of the period must ring true.

What I Learned
Upon the second examination of my research for Book Two, I decided to throw out my original idea. The event in history is just too horrifying for young readers. The historical event took place during the Civil War and involved the burning of many farms and mills in northern Virginia. But ghosts die, right? Not in a fire while trying to rescue the ghost's horse as first imagined: way too graphic. No, I've decided my ghost needs to save her horse from a burning fire and dies later of natural causes. Much better. If illumination of the historical event is possible with elementary students, I plan to first speak with teachers of my age group for their opinion on whether a discussion of the event should be addressed in their classrooms. If a teacher agrees, then I will tell the full story of the event in history and how I came up with the idea for the novel.

My toe-dip into historical fiction has been fruitful. This story takes place in the present day, is pure fiction, is loosely based on a true event, and I think works for this particular series. Ideas for a completely different book set in history are popping up in my brain like mushrooms. This is going to be fun!
Image found on Pinterest, saved by: etc.usf.edu. Source: Ethel Traphagen: The Wiley Technical Series Costume Design and Illustration (New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1918.)

Additional Source: Writing Historical Fiction: Create an Authentic and Compelling Story Set in the Past, by Emma Darwin.

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 100 articles for adults and children, and six short stories for children. Recently, she has completed her first book, a mystery/ghost story for children 7-11 years old, and is hard at work on Book Two in the series.  Follow Linda at www.lindawilsonauthor.com.

Researching Historical Fiction, From Beginning to End

By Karen Mann

Researching to write historical fiction is interesting and even exciting. The first thing to consider is going to the location of the novel and walking the streets your characters walked. Interview people. Go to the library there. Take time to find out how that place sounds, feels, tastes, looks, and smells.

However, when writing my novel The Woman of La Mancha, I was unable to go to Spain or even more specifically, I was unable to go to sixteenth-century Spain, yet my readers tell me I have made that time period vividly alive. How was I able to do that? Through extensive library and online research.

To begin, get a general overview of the time period. I started by reading one book about the time period. From that beginning, I understood the kinds of things I needed to research. My next stop was a weekend at university library. I made a lot of copies (2 bankers’ boxes full). Then went home and read and read.

Today, online research may be the first thing to do. Organize your bookmarks so you can easily find the pages where you find information. Be discerning about your online research to be sure you feel it’s accurate. Often you can find books or chapters of books online. Through libraries, you can access databases which may have even more accurate and detailed information than webpages. Remember the stacks at the library when you went to college? Nearly all those books and magazine are available online now. Consult your local library to find out how to access them.

Organize your notes by category: costumes, food, religion, government, farming, education, healing, illnesses, family life, architecture, household furnishings, hunting, music, art, literature, and more. Don’t leave any stone unturned; you need to have the entire picture of that society so you can write specifically about it.

You don’t have to write down everything you read. You are going to begin to get an overall picture of what that time period was like. You’ll be able to imagine yourself there and you’ll be able to imagine your characters there.

But there are details you will want to keep handy for reference. To keep that information handy, find a system that works for you to find the information you need when you need it. It might be something as simple as a spreadsheet. Type or paste information in worksheets with appropriate titles so you can find what you are looking for. Or your system might be a more elaborate software program or actual pieces of paper in a file cabinet. 
The more you research, the more you’ll have an idea of what you know (you know how they dressed in the eighteenth century) and what you don’t know (you don’t know how they prepared their food), so you can focus research on those topics to fill in the blanks.

Over time I assimilated everything. Nothing went to waste. It was as if I were sitting there while I wrote.

What is the key to incorporating the information in your writing? Find the most interesting tidbits. Don’t repeat facts by rote; adapt what you’ve read to your writing. Sometimes it’s only a word from that period, or the name of a particular cloth, a particular kind of chair or weapon. Maybe it’s how you make a porridge or ale or how you bake bread. Maybe it’s the flowers that bloom in the spring or how a harpsichord sounds. Bring each tidbit alive through evoking the senses or recreating specific and vivid scenes. Research informs your writing. Use it wisely and bring your writing to life.

Karen Mann is the author of The Woman of La Mancha and The Saved Man. She is the co-founder and Administrative Director of the low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at Spalding University and managing editor of The Louisville Review, a national literary magazine since 1976. Having lived in Indiana most of her life, she now lives in San Jose, California. See more about her books at www.karenmannwrites.com.

About The Woman of La Mancha:

The Woman of La Mancha, a companion book to Don Quixote, tells the woman’s story of Don Quixote by recounting the story of the girl he called Dulcinea, the woman he loved from afar.

It’s 1583. An eleven-year-old girl wakes in the back of a cart. She has lost her memory and is taken in by a kindly farm family in La Mancha. She adopts the name Aldonza. She doesn’t speak for quite some time. Once she speaks, there is a family member who is jealous of her and causes a good deal of trouble, even causing her to be forced to leave La Mancha in tragic circumstances. Having to create a new life in a new location and still unaware of her birth family, she adopts the name Dulcinea and moves in the circles of nobility. While seeking her identity, she becomes the consort of wealthy men, finds reason to disguise herself as a man, and learns herbal healing to help others.

There is a parallel story of a young man, Don Christopher, a knight of King Philip and the betrothed of the girl, who sets off on with a young squire, Sancho, to find the girl. Christopher’s adventures take them across Spain and force him to grow up. Does he continue the quest to find his betrothed or marry another and break the contract with the king?

Both young people have many experiences and grow up before the readers’ eyes. Floating in and out of each other’s paths as they travel around Spain, will they eventually find each other and be together?

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