Writing Historical Fiction discussion
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Manzanita. I've traveled through it twice: once to Astoria and the second time to Seaside. Nothing like the brisk air of the Oregon coast. My first novel tells of the experiences of participants in the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. The second one, which I hope to have out this coming March, is about the problems of two young Roanoke Algonquians -- sister and brother -- struggling to be independent of tribal dictates just prior to the arrival of English explorers in 1584.
Hi everyone. I'm Chrystyna, I'm an ex-pat living in Austria, and write historical fiction. Warm regards to you all!
Hi Chrystyna, I'm an emigrant from south of the border living in Canada for the last 50 years. I write some children's work and my WIP is HF.
Hi All,So I bumped into this group while searching for an active writing group online. I'm a total newbie at this you see. I started writing a book on Inca history after a holiday to Peru, but I need critiques! So I thought I'd try this out, see how terrible I actually am :-).
One issue I'm having atm, is that in my plot (sidenote: does HF mean we are ALL architects and not a gardeners?), the main conflict only arises after two or three chapters. I wanted to fill the first chapters with character and setting, you see. I did start off with small "conflicts", and put in some hints at the main plot.
I guess my question is: How do you guys & ladies feel about delaying the main plot hook? Should I put in a prologue? Or should I change tack and immediately start in the deep of it all, without first introducing characters?
Thanks!!
Stan
Hi Stan, I'm not a greatly experienced author, but I'll through in my 2 cents worth anyway :). I understand that it's important to start with some sort of "bang". Also, as I was reading your post, I thought of - as you mentioned - a prologue.As an aside matter, I just received my 3rd book from the printer. In it I used both a Prologue (for the bigger backdrop on the "stage"),
and a Prelude which leads directly to the opening statement in chapter one which is a kind of "bang."
Malena wrote: "I just joined goodreads.(1/21/11) What a wonderful idea for a group. I am writing a HF/fantasy piece also taking place in Paris and other parts of France. I am very excited to see other people's Wi..."It's been a few years, might you still be here? Just to say that my first HF work is located in Canada's Boreal Forest pre-1500 BCE. The second volume will be located in the same general region, but around 1900 CE. The third volume will have a contemporary time frame.
Hi! I'm Allison, and I'm an aspiring writer of historical fiction. :) my current WIP is set in World War II, mostly in Nazi Germany and occupied Poland. I'm also playing with ideas for an eventual novel (or novella) set in England during the Battle of Britain.
Hi Allison, good luck with your work. Although I am a History buff and have done a lot of reading regarding that conflict I have only touched on it in one of my books. There is certainly a huge volume of information for your research. Cheers
Hi Allison, I just published a book on my father, THE LOST ARTIST, who escaped Nazi Germany in 1934, went alone to Palestine at the age of 13 and became the highest decorated Palestinian/Israeli WWII soldier in the British Army. One of the biggest challenges I found was honing down the massive amount of information to my dad's story. I ended up spending a lot more time researching than writing, and never felt the research was finished. If you know the story you want to tell, there are unlimited resources. Besides English books, articles, blogs, etc., Google translate is not perfect, but I was able to get information I never could have found before by translating Arabic, Hebrew and German sites. What you're writing is right up my alley and would probably love to read it. Good luck
Thank you, Paul! And yes, there is, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. :P I'm borderline obsessive when it comes to research, haha. I look at pictures/video on the subject matter wherever possible and read a lot of nonfiction books, eyewitness accounts, etc. one thing I really need to learn is that not every minute detail needs to be in the story because general readers simply won't care about that. But I just feel driven by this need to get the setting and time period as authentic as possible. :)Mann2nyc: Wow, I would absolutely love to read your book! Your father had quite the amazing life story. If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to tell you more about my own writing in pm. :) and oh, God, I can relate so much about researching more than writing. My current project spent over two years in development before I finally sat down and wrote the damn thing.
Allison, would love to know more about your book. It is a period that never ceases to bewilder me. Pretty new to Goodreads. Can I attach the ebook here. If not, I can attach it in a message on facebook from either: THE LOST ARTIST, or Eric Houston.
Allison wrote: "Thank you, Paul! And yes, there is, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. :P I'm borderline obsessive when it comes to research, haha. I look at pictures/video on the subject matter wherever ..."Hi Allison, In my first historical novel I probably made a mistake in thinking I had to include everything I had learned in my research and really overloaded the novel ("Neither Rebel nor Tory") with historical characters. The descendants of those figures still residing here in upstate New York loved finding their ancestors but it may have been too much for the general reader! This may be why many historical novelists use composite characters. Good luck, Michael
That's why I'm glad all the characters in my story are wholly fictional. :P that gives me a lot more freedom in terms of what I can do with the plot. ;) that being said, I have nothing but respect and admiration for people who include real historical figures in their fiction. I can't imagine how challenging that can sometimes be...
Ted wrote: "Hi Chrystyna, I'm an emigrant from south of the border living in Canada for the last 50 years. I write some children's work and my WIP is HF."Hi Ted! Nice to meet you!
Allison wrote: "Hi! I'm Allison, and I'm an aspiring writer of historical fiction. :) my current WIP is set in World War II, mostly in Nazi Germany and occupied Poland. I'm also playing with ideas for an eventual ..."Hi Allison, that sounds fantastic. Will check you out!
Good morning,My name is Louis. I am new to on-line communities, thus am a little unsure of what is happening here...anyway, I am an older male physician, still working, and still writing.
I am intrigued by ancient Roman society (my birthdate is probably closer to that time than most of you), in particular the lost voices of those not from the imperial houses.
I am ~ 50,000 words into a novel about a senator's wife, and her world from the first century AD (from Claudius to Nero). Through a series of events, she realizes slavery is wrong, and choses to do something about it. As you can imagine, it leads to all sorts of complications in her life.
If the work is never published, no harm done, the joys of exploring this theme through my characters and the historical data that is available has made the project worth it.
That said, I may venture out and ask for your comments if I ever get the nerve to submit something for you to read.
Between adjectives, adverbs, and all the rest, I fear this introduction has already put me on a windy first step.... ;-)
Looking forward to your comments (this note is a re-do since I first erroneously posted it under Read-me...).
Louis N
Hello Louis, I look forward to seeing your work. It may be a bit as I’m in the path of this hurricane so hopefully after. Welcome
Mod
Please take care. I'm praying for everyone in the path of that thing.
Thank you, we survived and now turning to picking up the pieces.
Hi,I've written poetry and short stories but this is my first attempt at historical fiction. I'm writing a novel on slavery in South Africa and look forward to interacting with everyone.
Hi Cornelia, We lived in the Canadian Western Arctic region for 10 years so I used that experience to base a work about a family - particularly the twins that are born - in Canada's boreal forest. I've started the second in the series which follows a homesteader family that breaks virgin soil in central Ontario.
My wife has been agitating to visit South Africa, so I may yet end up there.
Hi! My name is Janine and live in Ronkonkoma, NY. I am an aspiring author and am currently in an MFA program. I have some novel ideas floating around in my head and am starting to research some of them.
I have always loved reading historical fiction with WWII and ancient empires being my favorites.
Very excited to be here!
Mod
Good morning. I'm a retired research editor who writes non-fiction, mostly history of one kind or another (steam locomotives, American civil war, steamboats, etc). In my spare time, I write fiction. Currently writing a novel set in the 1890s featuring two young French citizens who are sent to the states to gather information about a submarine that is about to be demonstrated to the public. The book is an adventure, using tons of historical reference in the background. I try to keep the research from intruding in the story. I'm close to being ready to send out the first half of the book for beta readers. I've worked with beta readers in the past, and have been a beta reader for others. I find it useful. Thanks for accepting me in the group - David W. Wooddell
Hi, I'm Amy Wolf, an Amazon Kindle Scout winner for my book THE MISSES BRONTES ESTABLISHMENT. I hope this isn't O/T, but I am looking for 20 historical writers to join me in a joint giveaway focused around the fandom for OUTLANDER. This will be led by the master himself, Russell Nohelty, who regularly receives as many as 5,000 emails per giveaway. I have no vested interest -- I just want to augment my historical email list. If you wish to do the same, please ping me at amy@amy-wolf.com. Thanks!
Hey! I'm Ayballin.I'm an aspiring Author, and a stay at home mother of 2... I'm working on my first novel currently, and I'm super nervous about it! I keep waiting for someone to tell me its stupid... (My self confidence is VERY low.) I'm not even sure if it qualifies as historical fiction. I think it has elements of that...
Anyway, I'm so glad I found this group because I want to make sure that my book is as good as it can possibly be before I publish.
Thanks! I look forward to getting to know all of you!
Hi everyone. I'm Raewyn. I grew up in New Zealand and now live in Canada. I've had a career in sociology and have now decided to turn my hand and mind to writing historical fiction. Have spent some years developing an imagination and giving myself permission to make stuff up. Its been very difficult but I think I may be getting closer to doing so now. Of course, the historical facts remain with the fiction wrapped around and inside them.
My novel is set in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in the early twentieth century. The two protagonists are Dr. Alzheimer and one of his better known patients. Look forward to posting some pages from it soon for your critique.
So, Raewyn, we're both immigrants to Canada. I moved in 1967 and went to the Arctic region at the Mackenzie Delta, living in a fly-in village along the Peel River. That life and those experiences have been the foundation for for my first small book.
Lovely to hear from you Ted. What is your book about? Must be a fascinating place to live. I'm on the East Coast.
Hi Raewyn,We came from the States and are now living on the Saskatchewan prairies, close to Alberta.
My story is set in the pre-1500 boreal forest of Canada, north of the Great Lakes, and follows a family the children of which are called by the forest spirits to serve the people in an unusual way due to dangers coming in their future.
BTW, New Zealand is one of the places my youngest grand-daughter speaks of visiting for her high school graduation ... she's always had grand thoughts :). Wish you a good week - Ted
An ambitious story. I shall have to look it up. And I hope your grand-daughter gets to NZ, if not now then sometime in the future. Enjoy your week.
Hello! My name is Katheryn. I'm a Southern California native, an Anglophile and Francophile, a lover of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and an aficionada of historical fiction and alternate history. What if the Daily Mail had published in May 1915 extensive extracts from H. H. Asquith's letters to Venetia Stanley? That is the main point of divergence from our historical timeline in my work in progress, to which I have given the provisional title of The Asquith Affair. I have written about 60,000 words of a more or less complete first draft and am currently doing revisions.
The one-sentence summary of my work in progress is: "A willful and impetuous aristocratic Englishwoman has an affair with the British Prime Minister, but loves his daughter even more." The first 40% or so of my manuscript follows our timeline, starting from the trip to Sicily that Asquith, his daughter Violet, her best friend Venetia Stanley, and Asquith's political protégé Edwin Montagu made in January 1912.
Venetia Stanley's biographer Stefan Buczacki suggests that Violet — best known to history by her married name of Lady Violet Bonham Carter — was the love of Venetia's life (not Asquith, and certainly not Edwin Montagu, whom Venetia — in our timeline at least — ended up marrying). Although Buczacki doubts that Venetia and Violet's friendship had a sexual component, I hypothesize a lesbian relationship between the two young women. I also hypothesize that Asquith and Venetia had some form of sexual relationship, although not intercourse.
In early May 1915, Asquith discovers Venetia and Violet in flagrante delicto: he goes ballistic. In retaliation, Venetia impulsively gives to Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the Daily Mail, the letters that Asquith wrote her. Naturally, a scandal develops. The repercussions from that scandal change world history.
However, the heart of my story is about how Venetia Stanley affects three different generations of the Asquith family. (Besides Asquith and Violet, Cicely Asquith [the fictional youngest daughter of Raymond Asquith, who in my alternate timeline, is not killed in action in September 1916], while a student at Somerville College, Oxford, in the early 1940s, falls in love with Venetia.)
When it is ready for publication, I estimate that my manuscript will have 70,000-80,000 words.
Thank you very much in advance for all your help!
Welcome Katheryn. Sounds a wonderful story. Look forward to reading it when you publish.Raewyn.
My name is Scott and I love history. I'm an author and although not all my works are historical fiction, they all include history. My latest work, The Slaying of the Bull, is set in 1241 during the Mongol invasion of Europe. It is book 1 in an upcoming series called the Tocharian Gospels. I feel that Historical Fiction has a unique set of challenges and I hope this community can help mitigate those struggles. Cheers!\The Slaying of the Bull
Hi Scott. Welcome to the Goodreads list. I am writing a book of historical fiction, too. I don't have a long list of completed novels--this is my first. A sociologist, my writing was always factual, and I've had to grow an imagination to write fiction. Still learning. I shall look up your books, and look forward to discussions on this list.
Hi all,I’m an English teacher/avid reader/aspiring novelist. I found this group because I was actively looking for a forum to seek critical feedback on my work-in-progress historical novel. Excited to share and seek feedback as I feel like that’s the next thing I need to do in order to progress and improve.
Disclaimer - I am tossing up the idea of submitting this to Mills and Boon, so I’m not against it being trashy - equally though, I don’t know if it currently has the write writing style or pacing for that. The first draft isn’t finished yet - my goal is to get it finished and then do the brutal rewriting.
Hi there!I'm patty and have written in other genres but hope to draft a HF in the coming years. I wanted to put feelers out for any critique groups that already exist and meet (virtually, I suppose) on a regular basis to critique work. I'm less interested in posting/critiquing online and more interested in find a serious and dedicated group of HF writers.
So, that's why I joined! The place looks great. I look forward to poking around.
I have traced my family back to 1706 in Maryland and wish to write a historical fiction on my family.
I did this myself back in the late 1980s [post Roots]. Once I traced the lines back to immigrant ancestors, I next had to research the local history of each place they inhabited. Which involved figuring out why they moved, mostly west but sometimes north, each time they did. I ended up learning a great deal about Watertown MA, Elizabethtown NJ, Jennings Co IN, Grayson Co VA, Butler Co PA, Effingham IL, Pasco WA, plus other locals where they lived. Plus information about places they were at temporarily like Anderson Prison, the Oregon Trail, and George Washington's winter camp in Morristown NJ.You're in for a lot of work, but you'll also learn a lot. Good luck.
I have an ancestor who was with the 113th Ohio and mustered out at Columbus, Ohio. He was with Sherman in Atlanta and his outfit captured Jefferson Davis. Anyone have a similar relative as that would help me with my novel? Thanking you in advance.
Hi,I've written a number of books in both my scientific and fiction interests. My fiction generally goes onto obooko.com, which gives no-charge, no-ads legal access for individuals. In writing historical fiction about mid-20th century, I've had my own "archives" to draw on for prices, some legal documents, some (very crude!) diaries, etc.
Now I'm wondering where to archive that as a resource for others, though because some stuff is usable by bad-actors, it will have to be escrowed until after my wife and I depart.
JN
Hello, everyoneMy name is H.C. I am a Toronto-based writer (well, going there) from Indonesia. I write speculative fiction and historical fiction mostly located in Canada. I'm aiming to write more on the subject to represent my country. Nice meeting You.
Hi Fellow Writers - I am about halfway through the first draft of a historical fiction novel set in early 1900s Chicago which follows an immigrant family's struggles. It is their faith and love for each other that pull them through. I'm glad to be part of this group.
I would LOVE to read your new book! Please share it with me ASAP❣️ Linda C
I there Linda! Thank you for your interest. You can order here, or reach out to me via email stone dot jason dot c at gmailhttps://www.beautyofthedaysgoneby.com/
Hi, I'm Kelly. I'm British and living in London. Does anyone want to be my friend?
Writing Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Slaying of the Bull (other topics)Mother (other topics)
Anna Karenina (other topics)
Resurrection (other topics)
Caleb's Crossing (other topics)
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Two years ago, I decided to try Nanowrimo, and reached the 50,000 word goal. I didn't feel my story was finished, so I've kept writing. I also participated in Nanowrimo this year and added even more to the novel.
The inspiration for my novel is my ancestor's published diary of his 1798 journey from Massachusetts to the Ohio portion of the Northwest Territory and his return home. While my ancestor wasn't a famous man, there is quite a bit of historical information about his brother and some about his brother-in-law. Also his uncle was quite famous.
I've been able to piece quite a bit of information about his life from the early Ohio county histories which were written in the 1800s. I've been able to use the information about his relatives to "fill in the blanks" for some of his personal life.
My ancestor returned to Ohio with a wife and young child. His wife dies within two weeks of giving birth to their second child. He remarries shortly afterwards. He has purchased land with his uncle's help and founds a settlement.
My novel will probably end up being a trilogy. The first section, I've already redrafted and I think it's pretty solid but would love to have it critiqued.
I'm very glad to have found this group!