I’m still enjoying the recordings from the Historical Novel Society Conference. Today let’s look at “Ten Tips for Researching and Writing Historical Fiction” by Susan Meissner.
“The best historical novels,” Meissner said, “are a transportive hybrid of fact and fiction that weave the hallmarks of a great story – plot, characters, and motivation – with the most compelling elements of the past – setting and tension. Here are 10 tried and true insights for crafting an unputdownable read that dovetails historical details with a compelling storyline.”
- Consider relevancy & reader interest before you start writing. It’s not going to do you any good to spend months or years writing something nobody is going to be interested in.
- Utilize all the research avenues before you start writing. Don’t just “google” it–use the library, the newspaper morgue, read journals & diaries & letters, visit the site of your story, etc.
- Create a system to document your research material before you start writing. I use Scrivener because it allows you to import websites and other forms of research, not just to copy and paste what you’ve looked up.
- Make a timeline before you start writing. You’ll need this to be sure you have all your dates correct and so you can get your scenes into order.
- Choose your construct carefully before you start writing. Downs & Wardle in Writing About Writing, say’ “One of the key features of an effective construct is that it quickly begins to seem ‘natural’ or inevitable, rather than made-up.”
- After you start writing, the story is king, not the historical backdrop. Don’t forget this fact. You may have a ton of research material, but you don’t need to do an “info dump” and preach at your readers about it. Tell an exciting story with a few historical tidbits scattered throughout.
- Strive for authenticity rather than total accuracy. You can always add a note at the end of your novel stating that you fudged a date or moved a railroad to suit your story.
- Make your historical setting a character. The world your characters inhabit should be as realistic as possible and your story shouldn’t be able to be plucked from that setting and placed anywhere else.
- No info dumps. Ever. See above, where story is king. Resist the urge to share your knowledge. If you must write everything down, create a nonfiction booklet and publish it along with your novel as a “freebie” on Amazon.
- Read great historical fiction. The more you read, the richer your own stories will become.