Writing Historical Fiction: From Research to Storytelling
Historical fiction holds a unique place in literature, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into different eras, societies, and experiences. It blends the art of storytelling with the richness of history, incorporating real events, places, and figures into a fictional narrative. For writers, crafting historical fiction is an exciting yet challenging journey—a process that requires diligent research, creativity, and the ability to bring the past alive with vivid characters and a compelling plot. Through the exploring the journey of writing historical fiction, we will highlight the steps that transform an idea into an engaging and authentic story.
Understanding Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is a genre that masterfully combines the authenticity of historical accuracy with the creativity of storytelling. It offers a unique opportunity to transport readers to different times and places, allowing them to experience history through the eyes of compelling characters. Writing historical fiction can be challenging, but with the right techniques, it can be done effectively.
At its core, historical fiction prioritises crafting an engaging plot and relatable characters over strict adherence to historical accuracy. This genre selects intriguing snippets from the past and uses them to highlight universal human experiences, making history accessible and engaging for modern readers.
Historical fiction can take many forms, including novels, short stories, and even poetry. It can be set in any time period, from ancient civilizations to modern times. The key to writing good historical fiction is to create a believable and immersive historical world that transports readers to another time and place.
Historical fiction writers must be meticulous in their research, ensuring that the historical details are accurate and authentic. However, they also have the creative license to invent characters, plotlines, and settings that are not necessarily based on real events or people. This balance between accuracy and creativity is what makes historical fiction so compelling. By blending fact with fiction, writers can explore the emotional truths of historical events, offering readers a deeper understanding of the past.
1. Finding Your Story: The Seed of Inspiration
Every great historical fiction novel begins with a spark of inspiration—a moment, event, or character from the past that captures your imagination. For many writers, this spark comes from a deep interest in a particular period or historical figure. It could be a moment from history that has long intrigued you or a hidden story that deserves to be told.
The inspiration might come from a visit to a historic site, a documentary, or even an old letter or diary that piques your curiosity. For example, if you’re drawn to the Victorian era, you might decide to write about life in London during the industrial revolution. Alternatively, you could be inspired by the tumultuous years of World War II, focusing on a civilian’s experience in the Blitz.
Once you’ve identified the historical aspect that intrigues you, ask yourself a few important questions:
- What is the historical backdrop for your story?
- What themes do you want to explore (e.g., social change, resilience, conflict)?
- Who are your main characters, and how do they engage with the historical events?
Defining your main character early in the planning process is crucial. Understanding the attributes, backgrounds, and motivations of the main character can enhance storytelling and improve character development within the narrative.
If you were to set your story during the Victorian era, for example, you might focus on a character navigating the challenges of industrialisation, the strict social order, or the emerging suffragette movement. The dramatic transformations of this period could provide a powerful and vivid backdrop for your fictional narrative.
2. Researching the Past: Bringing History to Life
Once you’ve settled on your story, the next crucial step is research. Writing historical fiction requires a careful balance between fact and imagination. You must ensure that the historical elements in your story are accurate, while still leaving room for the creative liberty needed to shape compelling characters and plots. Accurately reflecting the historical record is essential to maintain authenticity and credibility in your narrative.
Research can feel overwhelming, as there’s often an abundance of information to sift through. However, it’s important to approach research with a clear focus. Identify the aspects of the history you need to understand in depth to enrich your story. Key areas to consider include:
- Historical events and figures: Understanding the major events of the time, as well as any notable figures, will lend authenticity to your narrative.
- Cultural context: Research the social norms, traditions, language, and daily life of the time. What did people eat? What clothes did they wear? How did they communicate and travel?
- Geography and setting: Whether your story takes place in the heart of London or the rolling countryside of Yorkshire, the setting plays a vital role in grounding your story in its historical reality.
- Primary sources: Diaries, letters, photographs, and newspapers from the era are invaluable in providing authentic insights. These primary sources can help you understand the thoughts, emotions, and language of people who lived during the time you’re writing about.
- Historians and experts: Consulting historians or visiting museums and archives can offer deeper insights into specific historical events, people, or places that might not be easily found online.
For writers focusing on UK history, research can include a vast array of sources. You may explore materials relating to British monarchs, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, or the social movements of the 20th century. Books, academic papers, and historical documentaries can help you uncover details about the people and events that shaped British society.
While research is essential to writing historical fiction, remember that it should enrich the narrative without overwhelming it. The key is to integrate historical facts in a way that enhances the story without bogging it down with unnecessary details.
3. Creating Characters: The Heart of Your Story
Characters are the driving force of any great novel, and historical fiction is no exception. Your characters should feel authentic to the time and place in which they exist, while still being fully realised individuals with their own motivations and struggles. Their actions, thoughts, and dialogue should align with the historical context, but they must also be relatable to the reader.
Biographical historical fiction focuses on portraying the lives of real historical figures with accuracy while incorporating imagined dialogue and personal moments.
Start by developing your protagonist and supporting characters. Consider their background, social class, and worldview. Are they a wealthy Victorian aristocrat, a working-class factory labourer, or a young suffragette challenging societal norms? How does their status or upbringing influence their perspective on the events happening around them?
For example, if your story is set during the Victorian era, you might create a character caught between the world of the upper class and the emerging industrial revolution. Or, if you’re writing about World War II, your protagonist might be an evacuee or a young woman working in a munitions factory, each experiencing the war in deeply personal ways.
It’s also important to consider how your characters interact with the broader social, political, and cultural landscape. Do they challenge the conventions of their time, or are they products of their environment? How do they react to the events unfolding around them—whether it’s the end of the British Empire, the rise of fascism, or the changing role of women in society?
Dialogue plays a key role in character development. Writing dialogue that reflects the time period without sounding forced is crucial. It’s important to research the language and speech patterns used during your chosen era. This doesn’t mean writing in old-fashioned or archaic language, but incorporating authentic expressions, mannerisms, and speech rhythms that reflect the period.
4. Crafting the Plot: Weaving Fiction and History
Once your characters are fully developed, the next step is to plot your story. In historical fiction, the plot should seamlessly integrate the fictional elements with the historical events. The historical context should shape the characters’ decisions and actions, while the fictional narrative should provide a lens through which to explore broader themes.
Start by outlining the major events in your story. What historical milestones or crises will your characters experience? How will they be involved in or affected by these events? If you’re writing about the Blitz during World War II, for instance, your characters might be dealing with the devastation of bombing raids, evacuation, and the psychological toll of wartime survival.
Consider whether your story will focus on a specific event, such as the English Civil War or the swinging 60s, or whether it will span a broader period, capturing the changing social and political landscape. In either case, it’s important to show how historical events impact your characters’ lives, shaping their decisions, relationships, and personal growth. For example, in “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,” mythological and supernatural elements are masterfully woven into the real historical setting of the Napoleonic Wars, adding depth and intrigue to the narrative.
While historical fiction is grounded in real events, it also gives you the freedom to explore “what if” scenarios—what might have happened if certain events or decisions had unfolded differently. While staying true to the historical facts, you can delve into the emotional truths of what your characters might have experienced during those times.
The pacing of your plot is essential, too. Historical fiction often spans years or even decades, so balancing large-scale historical events with intimate character development is key. Your characters should evolve and change in response to the events unfolding around them.
5. Immersing the Reader: Descriptive World-Building
The setting of a historical novel is as important as the plot and characters. A well-crafted historical fiction novel should transport readers to another time and place, allowing them to experience the sights, sounds, and emotions of the era.
Many historical novels focus on minor historical figures who are only briefly mentioned in history. These novels allow creative writers to expand on the limited information available, creating rich narratives around these lesser-known characters and their roles during significant events.
To immerse your readers, you must use vivid descriptions that evoke the atmosphere of the period. What does the landscape look like? How does the environment shape the characters’ daily lives? What does the food, clothing, and architecture say about the time and place? For example, if you’re writing about the Victorian era, you might describe the bustling streets of London, the smog in the air, and the contrast between the grand architecture of the wealthy and the impoverished conditions of the working class.
Incorporate sensory details that make the historical period come alive. Readers should feel like they are experiencing the world first hand—whether they’re stepping into the tight alleyways of 16th-century London or the trenches of World War I. The setting should feel as integral to the story as the characters themselves.
6. Revision and Editing: Honing Your Historical Fiction
Once your first draft is complete, the revision process begins. Editing historical fiction can be especially tricky, as it requires ensuring that historical accuracy is maintained while refining the overall narrative, pacing, and character development. In writing fiction, particularly historical fiction, it’s important to balance historical accuracy with creative storytelling to craft a compelling narrative. During revisions, ensure that your plot, characters, and setting align with the historical facts you’ve researched.
Be vigilant for any anachronisms—details that don’t fit the time period. Even small errors, such as using modern terminology or outdated technology, can break the immersion and take readers out of the story. If your story is set in the 18th century, for example, your characters wouldn’t use terms that became common in the 20th century.
It’s also helpful to enlist beta readers who are familiar with the historical period to help identify any inaccuracies or areas that may need improvement. Having experts or individuals who understand the era can ensure your story remains authentic and grounded in the correct historical context.
Overcoming Challenges
Writing historical fiction can be a daunting task, but there are several strategies that can help overcome the common challenges faced by writers in this genre. One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that the historical details are accurate and authentic. To tackle this, historical fiction writers can employ a variety of research techniques, such as reading historical texts, consulting with experts, and visiting historical sites. These methods provide a solid foundation of knowledge that can be woven into the narrative.
Another challenge is creating a compelling narrative that is both historically accurate and engaging for modern readers. To overcome this, writers should focus on developing relatable characters and plotlines driven by universal human experiences, rather than attempting to recreate historical events exactly. This approach allows the story to resonate with readers on a personal level, making the historical context more meaningful.
Balancing accuracy and creativity is another hurdle. Writers can navigate this by concentrating on the spirit of the historical period and using historical events and figures as inspiration. This balance ensures that the story remains true to the essence of the time while allowing for creative freedom in character and plot development.
By employing these strategies, historical fiction writers can overcome the challenges of writing in this genre and create stories that are both compelling and immersive. The goal is to transport readers to another time and place, offering them a vivid and engaging experience of history through the lens of fiction.
Conclusion: The Enduring Magic of Historical Fiction
Writing historical fiction is a rewarding yet challenging journey. It demands a strong commitment to research, a passion for storytelling, and a respect for history. The genre allows writers to bring the past alive, creating narratives that are both informative and emotionally compelling. Whether you’re writing about Britain’s Victorian era, the chaos of World War II, or the dramatic changes of the 20th century, historical fiction offers the opportunity to explore the complex interplay of personal lives and historical forces.
For writers, historical fiction is a means of preserving and interpreting history in an engaging and personal way. It’s about breathing life into the past and offering readers a new lens through which to view the events that shaped the world as we know it today. If you’re embarking on this literary journey, embrace the research, the creative process, and the power of storytelling. To write historical fiction, start with thorough research to ensure accuracy and authenticity, then structure your narrative to weave historical facts seamlessly with compelling characters and plots. The past is waiting to be brought to life through your words.
