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If you are like me, nothing captures your imagination better than a well-written story set in another time and place. I myself am fascinated by any time period where the main method of transportation was by horse, but especially medieval times. I use that fascination to fuel my desire to write historical fiction.

WHAT IS HISTORICAL FICTION?

In her book, How to Write and Sell Historical Fiction, Persia Woolley says that basically a historical novel is one that is set in a time other than that of the reader, ie, not contemporary. In other words, the works of Charles Dickens are, today, considered historical fiction. However, at the time they were written they dealt with contemporary issues. They are historical only in relation to us reading them now in the 21st century. In romance publishing, books are generally considered historical if written before 1900. But that is an arbitrary designation, and more and more historical works are being written up to and including WWII, so we’ll stick with Woollsey’s definition. In such fiction, the characters react in some degree to the historical events of their era.

According to Penelope Stokes in her book, The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling the Christian Novel, true historical fiction is set within a specific period of history. The plot is integrally interwoven with actual historical events and some of the characters are actual historical figures. Examples would be Morgan Llewellyn’s 1921; and Bodie and Brock Thoene’s Galway Series. This type of book relies heavily on accurate research and a thorough knowledge of the significance of the historical events in the book.

In sharp contrast to that is the historical romance, which puts fictional characters against a backdrop of a historical time, but doesn’t actually involve them in events.  History simply textures the novel and gives it a sense of place. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that you don’t have to do research—you still must be familiar with the details of everyday life to make this work. Examples would be Mary Jo Putney’s The Bartered Bride; Elizabeth Grayson’s Painted Sun; and Barbara Samuel’s Heart of a Knight.

Next is the historical time-frame novel, which incorporates fictional characters into actual historical events, but real people from the time are minor characters.  Examples of this type are Linda Windsor’s The Fires of Glennmara series; Kathleen Eagle’s Fire and Rain; Eileen Charbonneau’s Rachel LeMoyne. My books fall into this category.

Finally, in the Christian marketplace we have biblical fiction. This is not simply a retelling of a Bible story, but a deeply researched and vibrant rendition of Biblical characters, such as those by Francine Rivers, Walter Wangerin’s Paul and Orson Scott Card’s Sarah.

HOW MUCH FACT? HOW MUCH FICTION?

How do you know how much fact or fiction should go into your novel? Answering this question will tell you what type of historical you wish to write. A solid grasp of the era is essential, but even more important, you need to be a storyteller first, a historian second. You can’t let the history overshadow the characters or the plot. It’s easy to get swept up in the details, but if they interfere with the story, no one will want to read it.

A novelist makes all kinds of decisions—how long or short will the manuscript be? What tense will I use? Which characters will tell the story? What sequence of events will take place? For most of you these decisions are part of an unconscious process, the storytelling knack. As a historical novelist, an additional part of the job is to synthesize fact and fiction, deciding what to leave in and what to take out.

Here is an example of synthesizing fact and fiction in my first book. It is historical fact that at the Battle of Bannockburn, the English King Edward fled the field with 500 mounted knights. Sixty mounted Scots gave chase and at one point, nearly managed to unhorse Edward! Incredible. My editor didn’t believe it! Rather than go into a long drawn out explanation of how this was possible—which would have slowed down the action and detracted from the purpose of the scene—I merely refrained from mentioning the numbers and the scene worked just as well.

If you were to read a detailed account of a civil war battle in a history book, it would be very cut and dried.  But take that same battle, add real characters and their thoughts and feelings to the story, and you have a history lesson in novel form: Killer Angels by William Shaara. Or read The Bruce Trilogy by Nigel Tranter, what I call a factionalized account of the reign of Robert the Bruce.

Another consideration is the purpose of your novel. Is it to educate or to entertain or maybe both?  James Michener managed to educate and entertain in book after book. His books are very popular because they are very readable history lessons. You may not want to write to that depth (and you may not be able to afford an army of researchers to make it possible). My advice is to write what you like to read so you will be passionate about your subject. That passion will come through in your words and will enthrall your readers.

GETTING STARTED

How much research is enough? Persia Woolley says, “As a novelist you have an implicit contract with your audience. They give you their attention, time and money in order to be entertained, informed and maybe presented with a new idea or two. They agree, upon opening your book, to suspend their own reality in order to enter your world and follow your story.”

This is true no matter what genre or type of book you write. The reader’s sense of time and place, as well as the cohesiveness of the world they encounter in your story, all depend on you, the storyteller. So, you need to do enough research to know what you are talking about. If you write about people who ride horses, you need at least a passing knowledge about horsemanship so that you don’t have your rider put a halter on the horse when what you really mean is a bridle. And it never hurts to get an expert to check your manuscript to catch such errors.

No matter how conscientious you are, you will make mistakes. But you must know the world you are taking your reader to so well that it is second nature to you and thus to your characters. Stumbling over a detail that a reader knows to be incorrect breaks the contract between you and the reader, and you must make every effort not to do that to your reader.

So, do you need a few paragraphs from the encyclopedia or three years of intense research? Most of us will fall somewhere in between. Don’t let the need to find just one more detail keep you from writing. Colleen McCullough did 13 years of research and planning before writing her first Roman book. But once she set pen to paper she did little rearranging of sequence—every page was carefully planned out.

Two areas of research are of utmost importance: historical events—the factual history of the time and place—and daily lifestyles of the people living in the time.  Both areas can be researched through books, the Internet, by watching videos or engaging in correspondence. Explore the whole landscape of your era to choose what best serves your story. To that end my own library contains books about the medieval church, life in a castle, Barbara Tuchman’s classic A Distant Mirror, Costain’s The Plantagenets, Battlefields of Britain, as well as books on knights, weapons, chivalry, inventions, horses, Celtic history, Scottish history, clans and chiefs, Celtic women, and a half dozen books just on Robert the Bruce. Your story may take on more depth or even new direction by a tiny fact discovered during your research. The bottom line—build more bookcases!!

What if, in telling your story, you need to take liberty with certain facts? My publisher allowed me to write a page of author’s notes so that I could explain the more obvious liberties I had taken in Circle of Honor. Most of them would have been transparent to the average reader, but I needed to set the record straight for my own piece of mind.

I will leave you with the two pieces of advice that I have found most useful. First, write what you like to read. If you do this, your passion will come through. Without passion your work will be lifeless and boring. And second, read writers who write better than you do. It’s the best way to improve the way you put words on the page.