Guest Post by Loretta Bushell : How to Write a Historical Fiction Story That Stands Out #Writing #HistoricalFiction

How to Write a Historical Fiction Story That Stands Out

The idea of writing historical fiction can be a bit daunting; some authors believe this genre is best left to academics and staunch history buffs. I’m here to tell you that’s not true — your ability to tell a story is much more important than your ability to spout facts and figures off the top of your head!

As long as you’re willing to put in the hours, there’s no reason why you can’t write historical fiction… even if you haven’t studied history since high school. That said, historical fiction does come with a unique set of challenges. But they’re nothing you can’t overcome with the help of these five tips:

1. Do lots of research

If you choose to retell history or include references to real historical figures, it is obviously essential that you get your facts right. But even if you’re writing a completely made-up story, you’re going to have to do a ton of research. And I mean a ton.

Did you know that high-fiving has only been a thing since the late 1970s? Or that pink has only been associated with girls since the 1930s? No? There are so many things that are more modern than you might realise. That’s why you need to fact-check everything.

But you don’t need to check it all at once. If you try to research everything as you write, you’ll never get anywhere — so instead, try highlighting things to look up later. You’ll be more productive when you can write for a continuous period without interruption. (And as a bonus, there will be things you edit out before you ever look them up — meaning you won’t waste time on needless research.)

That said, you do need to research major plot points before you start writing. After all, you don’t want to find out halfway through your novel that the whole premise of a life-changing high five doesn’t work! So for anything that will change the trajectory of your story, make sure you’ve carefully researched it beforehand.

2. Don’t lecture your reader

If you do your research right, you’ll soon be an expert on your particular era of history. It’s great to have that depth of knowledge — but your reader doesn’t need to know as much as you do. 

Your reader could have chosen to read a hefty textbook or watch a 12-part documentary series. But they’re reading your novel instead. That tells you something: they’re here for a bit of fun, not a history lecture. For most readers, if they happen to learn something about 17th-century politics or ancient Greek cuisine along the way, that’s just a bonus.

With this in mind, the majority of your research should not make it onto the page. And the bits that do should be woven into your story naturally — through the characters’ actions, words or feelings, rather than through long paragraphs of exposition. 

For example, in Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel doesn’t lecture her readers on what port officers were like in Tudor times. Rather, she shows this through an interaction that young Thomas Cromwell witnesses:

 

He sees three elderly Lowlanders struggling with their bundles and moves to help them. The packages are soft and bulky, samples of woollen cloth. A port officer gives them trouble about their documents, shouting into their faces. He lounges behind the clerk, pretending to be a Lowland oaf, and tells the merchants by holding up his fingers what he thinks a fair bribe.

You can also contrast the “lecture-like” tone simply by showing your characters doing day-to-day activities. True, in contemporary fiction, it would be less than ideal to read about people putting their laundry on or using an oven. But in historical fiction, these everyday routines can be fascinating because they are so different from ours.

For example, in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, small details like the iron being heated on the stove help to evoke the Second World War setting. Every little scene contributes to the reader’s immersion in the setting — and helps counteract potential boredom.

3. Sacrifice accuracy sparingly

Another common quandary that historical fiction authors face is: just how accurate does my story need to be? This question is debated regularly in the writing community, with no real consensus. My own advice is to be as accurate as you can… unless you have a specific reason not to be.

Here’s when it’s perfectly fine not to be historically accurate (with caveats about where you should still attempt accuracy):

1. You are writing an alternate history, like Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, which explores a world in which the Allies lost the Second World War. Your alternate history is obviously inaccurate — but any part before the divergence from real events should still be factually correct.

2. You are exploring one of history’s great mysteries. Maybe your novel will reveal the identity of Jack the Ripper or decode The Voynich Manuscript. You can’t know whether your story is accurate, but it should be presented as plausible and will therefore still require careful research.

3. The real history is so complicated that you can’t explain it without resorting to the dreaded paragraphs of exposition I warned you against.

However, the rest of the time, it’s best to be as accurate as possible. After all, nobody is going to get offended by a novel being too accurate (unless it’s because you’re lecturing them). But you can rely on dedicated readers to point out every inaccuracy — some of them will even knock a star off their rating for it.

That’s not to say that you can never include historically inaccurate details. Of course, there are many things that simply aren’t on record and can only be imagined, like much of Thomas Cromwell’s personal life in Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

But every direct contradiction of accepted facts must serve a narrative purpose within your story — whether that is to simplify something unimportant, challenge the accepted version of history, or possibly even create a more compelling backstory for a character.

Whatever the reason, make sure you include an author’s note which justifies the decision. Only then will your readers stand any chance of forgiving it.

4. Use timeless language

My advice on accuracy applies to the content of the story only — not the language. It is a bad idea to use historically accurate language because it completely alienates the reader.

Not convinced? Try reading these four lines of Middle English from the prologue of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, circa the 14th century:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

Even fairly “recent” classics are hard going for the modern reader. We all know the story of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, but how many of us have read it all the way through? If you use the language and style of your chosen era, you are setting yourself up to fail.

On the other hand, language that is explicitly modern, like recent slang, can also alienate the reader because it feels so out of place. The solution is to use neutral, timeless language — peppered with the odd piece of period-appropriate slang if you fancy it.

5. Don’t forget the basics

Finally, don’t forget that a historical fiction novel must also have all the usual elements of a good story in terms of theme, plot, characters, etc.

However, as a 21st-century writer, don’t fall into the trap of creating characters with 21st-century values and ideals. Sure, your main character can be progressive — but try to frame their progressiveness within the context of the time period.

For instance, your 18th-century character is welcome to express the opinion that everyone should be allowed to love who they love… but you will lose all credibility if they start using terms like “homophobic” and “heteronormative”.

It’s true that Historical fiction readers can be a tricky bunch to please, but with these tips, you can write a historical fiction story that has just the right mix of authenticity and entertainment. The world may be your oyster, but history is a treasure chest — so dive in and see which era takes your fancy!

Loretta Bushell

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About the Author

Loretta Bushell writes for Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with resources and professionals to help them publish their dream book. Loretta is also a part-time translator and spends her spare time reading books of all genres (except horror!) and playing board games.