Debbie Robson's Blog - Posts Tagged "justin-go"
My Tips for Writing Historical Fiction
This post appears at ABC Open. https://open.abc.net.au/explore/88500
A little while ago Anthony Scully of ABC Open invited me to do a post on writing tips for historical fiction. It has been quite a journey working out my tips and whitling down my list to five. Along the way I contacted Justin Go, the author of The Steady Running of the Hour. His webpage details the research journey the writing of his novel took him on. I hope you enjoy my tips and would love to hear yours. Writing Historical Fiction.
There is so much to keep in mind when researching and writing an historical novel. Here are the main, important points:
1. Research is your Tardis. Start with general reading on the subject. I chose the Macedonian Front for my manuscript The Grey Silk Purse. I read about the front in WWI, discovered the Scottish Women’s Hospitals and then began reading memoirs of people who served there. My research took me on an incredible journey - see My Adventures with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals.
2. Go back to the source. The internet is a great research tool but don’t neglect Primary and Secondary sources. Primary sources are original materials. As wiki says: “Information for which the writer has no personal knowledge is not primary.” These, of course are difficult to obtain if you are writing a novel set in the Middle Ages. Secondary sources is “any source about an event, period, or issue in history that was produced after the event, period or issue has passed.”
Another source are novels written during the time you are interested in. Novels, for example, written in the 1920s become almost historical documents when read carefully in the 21st century. Think F S. Fitzgerald’s short stories - a mine of information on the jazz age. And then there are people! If your novel is set in the last seventy years or so, you might be able to interview people who are knowledgeable about your subject matter.
3. Walk in your character’s shoes. It’s not enough to get the clothes and living conditions right. What opportunities were available for your character back then? Is your character an artist in the 1890s, for example? Look at biographies of people that lived during that time. By studying what happened to them (a grant from a wealthy patron perhaps or painting in Paris) you can begin to create your character’s world. This new information will enable your character to interact truthfully with their environment, rather than merely being a 21st century transplant.
4. Don’t forget landscape. You can read countless books and articles but images really do speak a language of their own. Photographs can give you a sense of walking through another time. Trove and flickr have many images that do not come up on google. Take for instance the demolition books of the City of Sydney Archives - streets and building now gone from 1900 to 1949. Before 1840, of course, you will need to search paintings instead. Maps, where available, can give an idea of streets, or lack of them. I have a map of the Burragorang valley before it was flooded for Warragamba Dam - crucial for several scenes of an early manuscript.
5. Details, details, details. I once read a romantic novel that was completely lacking in specific details. When was the damn thing set? Sometime between 1960 and 2000? There was mention of a pop poster on the wall. Cliff Richard? David Cassidy? George Michael? Kurt Cobain? The author didn’t bother to choose.
I am currently reading The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go. He writes about his research journey. “What did London taxicabs look like in 1916? What do poplar trees look like in Picardie in the fall? What kind of ice axes did the British take with them to Everest in 1924?”
As an historical novelist you need to find the answers to similar questions and occasionally leave them out. Strive to bring the past alive with the details you have researched but don’t swamp your characters. Let them breathe. And most importantly of all, have fun on your journey.
A little while ago Anthony Scully of ABC Open invited me to do a post on writing tips for historical fiction. It has been quite a journey working out my tips and whitling down my list to five. Along the way I contacted Justin Go, the author of The Steady Running of the Hour. His webpage details the research journey the writing of his novel took him on. I hope you enjoy my tips and would love to hear yours. Writing Historical Fiction.
There is so much to keep in mind when researching and writing an historical novel. Here are the main, important points:
1. Research is your Tardis. Start with general reading on the subject. I chose the Macedonian Front for my manuscript The Grey Silk Purse. I read about the front in WWI, discovered the Scottish Women’s Hospitals and then began reading memoirs of people who served there. My research took me on an incredible journey - see My Adventures with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals.
2. Go back to the source. The internet is a great research tool but don’t neglect Primary and Secondary sources. Primary sources are original materials. As wiki says: “Information for which the writer has no personal knowledge is not primary.” These, of course are difficult to obtain if you are writing a novel set in the Middle Ages. Secondary sources is “any source about an event, period, or issue in history that was produced after the event, period or issue has passed.”
Another source are novels written during the time you are interested in. Novels, for example, written in the 1920s become almost historical documents when read carefully in the 21st century. Think F S. Fitzgerald’s short stories - a mine of information on the jazz age. And then there are people! If your novel is set in the last seventy years or so, you might be able to interview people who are knowledgeable about your subject matter.
3. Walk in your character’s shoes. It’s not enough to get the clothes and living conditions right. What opportunities were available for your character back then? Is your character an artist in the 1890s, for example? Look at biographies of people that lived during that time. By studying what happened to them (a grant from a wealthy patron perhaps or painting in Paris) you can begin to create your character’s world. This new information will enable your character to interact truthfully with their environment, rather than merely being a 21st century transplant.
4. Don’t forget landscape. You can read countless books and articles but images really do speak a language of their own. Photographs can give you a sense of walking through another time. Trove and flickr have many images that do not come up on google. Take for instance the demolition books of the City of Sydney Archives - streets and building now gone from 1900 to 1949. Before 1840, of course, you will need to search paintings instead. Maps, where available, can give an idea of streets, or lack of them. I have a map of the Burragorang valley before it was flooded for Warragamba Dam - crucial for several scenes of an early manuscript.
5. Details, details, details. I once read a romantic novel that was completely lacking in specific details. When was the damn thing set? Sometime between 1960 and 2000? There was mention of a pop poster on the wall. Cliff Richard? David Cassidy? George Michael? Kurt Cobain? The author didn’t bother to choose.
I am currently reading The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go. He writes about his research journey. “What did London taxicabs look like in 1916? What do poplar trees look like in Picardie in the fall? What kind of ice axes did the British take with them to Everest in 1924?”
As an historical novelist you need to find the answers to similar questions and occasionally leave them out. Strive to bring the past alive with the details you have researched but don’t swamp your characters. Let them breathe. And most importantly of all, have fun on your journey.
