Writing Historical Fiction

In historical fiction, the elements of the time period become a character in the story. It is not enough to simply set a story in the past to make it historical fiction. To be historical fiction, the story can only occur in the given time setting.

Take the basic story of boy meets girl and they fall in love. Setting this in the past, say in late 18th century America, does not in and of itself make it historical fiction. That particular story can be, and has been, set in any time period. However, make one of the characters connected to the rebels and one to the loyalists and the story can probably be called historical fiction. If, that is, the events of the American Revolution play an important part of the story. Suppose the boy is one of the midnight riders along with Paul Revere. Suppose at the climax of the story he is with his lover, the daughter of an important and powerful loyalist, and the call goes out for the riders. He must choose to join the riders or stay with his lover. There is no question this story is historical fiction because not only is it set in the past, but the events of the past become integral to the story, almost acting as another character. The story can only take place at that time because of the historical events.

Look at another example set in the early 1960s. Certain key life events occur for a young boy, perhaps learning to ride a bike or getting ready for his first father-son camp outing. Conflict arises because the father cannot be around for this event. So far, this story can be set in any time period. Now, suppose these events occur over fourteen days in October of 1961. Still, the time period isn’t particularly important to the story, although students of history will recognize this is the span of the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, if the reason the father cannot be around is because he is involved in the missile crisis, perhaps a photointerpreter employed by the CIA, then the story becomes historical fiction.

When writing historical fiction, first and foremost you must develop a good story. Historical fiction is like all other fiction in that aspect. There must be well-developed characters who are motivated. There must be rising action, climax, and falling action. There must be plot reversals. In short, everything that makes any novel good must be present in historical fiction. Additionally, however, there must be key historical elements that are integral to the story. These elements do not necessarily need to be major historical events; minor elements can be just as suitable. Finally, readers of historical fiction expect the history to be accurate, so those elements must be thoroughly researched. There is room for artistic license when it comes to the history, but the bigger the fact and the more pertinent it is to the story, the more you must adhere to accuracy. Readers will know if you don’t.

Tin Whiskers Publisher is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). IBPA’s mission is “to lead and serve the independent publishing community by providing advocacy, education, and tools for success.” IBPA is a not-for-profit membership organization serving and leading the independent publishing community. Founded in 1983, it is the largest publishing trade organization in the United States. IBPA members pledge to uphold the organization’s code of ethics.