Tips for writing Historical Fiction
So you want to write historical fiction?
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot is set in the past.
This genre of historical fiction is set in the past and pays attention to the manners, social conditions and other details of the depicted time. Authors also frequently choose to explore famous historical figures in these settings, allowing readers to better understand how these individuals might have responded to their environments and predicaments.
This is a genre people like to scrutinise in order to ensure writers stick with the facts. If you write a story e.g. about WW1 or WW2 there are certain details that have to be accurate i.e. no mobiles, very few people had TV, there was food rationing and the language was much different than it is today. If in your story you make any mistake – readers of that genre will be quick to pull you up on it in your reviews so you have to ensure you do your research. Let the discussions around your book be more about historical issues than about the fact that your book missed out key historical facts that detract from the readers enjoyment of the story.
Periods in English history such as The Reformation, Queen Elizabeth 1, Tudor, Henry VIII, Boadicea, Oliver Cromwell, Florence Nightingale, Queen Victoria, Crimea, Swinging Sixties,
Issues that changed generations in the United Kingdom and might impact your writing depending on the historical time and your own preferences might be -
· Roman Empire
· Vikings
· The Reformation
· Magna Carter
· The Atlantic Slave Trade
· Queen Victoria
· The Industrial Revolution
· Far Right/ issues re Immigration
· The Royal Family
· Racism
· Migration
· Margaret Thatcher
· Tony Blair /Cool Britannia
· Iran/Iraq war
· Megxit
· Brexit
· Covid19
When writing my recent historical fiction A Nurse's Tale based on the life of a real life Nigerian nurse who worked at Guys Hospital during the second world war I had to do a lot of research of what life was like in the 40s in terms of fashion, food, societal norms, how the rationing and bombing affected daily living and their relationships and how life would have been like for the protagonist as a woman of colour during the war years in London.
If you intend to write about historical figures you also need to check the language and observe the social norms or lack of them that prevailed at that time and that needs to feed seamlessly into the characters conversations and their actions.
Historical authors
Lola Jaye - The Orphan Child
Kate Thompson - The Little Wartime Diary
Lisa See - Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
Nguyen Phan Que Mae - Dust Child
Neema Shah - Kololo Hill
Sadequa Johnson - The House of Eve