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Writing historical fiction offers a unique set of challenges. How far should you let the historical record dictate your own plot? Should you dramatise famous historical figures, or should your central characters be fictional? How do you build a vanished world in the pages of your book? It is a task that requires meticulous research, but at
That first time I tried to write a historical novel, I had only vague notions about a story that involved the World Series of 1919 and maybe a boarding school. Anything vague can become frustrating in writing, but it’s especially true for historical fiction.
One definition of literary historical fiction is “fiction set in the past but which emphasizes themes that pertain back to the present.” In December, I did a comprehensive survey of editors at American publishing houses that regularly publish historical fiction.
More recent studies by Maxwell (2009), Stevens (2010) and De Groot (2010), have identified examples of historical fiction older than Scott’s Waverley (1814), and shown the development of the historical novel alongside the novel.
This paper explores the origins and theoretical response to the historical novel. It touches on the nineteenth century split between academic history and historical fiction, which promoted an artificial opposition between history and fiction, and discusses the lack of scholarly definitions of the genre.
- Stephen Carver
Here’s how to write a historical fiction story without losing your mind. Start By Reading. Before you start your first draft, before you outline, and before you even think too closely about the story you’re going to write— read. Read books in the historical fiction genre.
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Get inspired with our list of 60 historical fiction writing prompts, laid out on a historical timeline from 399 BCE to 1969.
