How to Write Historical Fiction

Рет қаралды 25,672

Күн бұрын

Historical fiction allows a reader to immerse themselves in a historical time period, whether the story follows real people or events or not. Historical fiction also has the ability to combine with other genres like romance, thriller, horror, or fantasy. Because this genre is more about the setting than the events, the best thing you can do is know your setting well! But, in this video we're going to be talking about some tips that will make your venture into historical fiction easier.
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - What is historical fiction?
1:22 - Know your setting
2:52 - Make research-informed decisions
4:43 - Worldbuild
5:20 - Use description and detail
5:52 - Check your word choice
6:40 - Find an interesting point of access
8:47 - Pick a consistent level of accuracy
10:27 - Make the mundane interesting
11:21 - Outline
13:25 - Show history through scene
13:24 - Dialogue
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Пікірлер: 94

@oso-goodcinema848 2 жыл бұрын

I once spent three hours researching the types of air conditioning and heating systems that a hotel in 1930s Paris would use for one mention in a line of dialogue that ended up getting cut. Still makes me mad lol

@WanamingoOne 3 ай бұрын

Haha

@lawrencepoon927 3 жыл бұрын

I think the most difficult part is to tell how a fictional character mind setting and decision making. Espically, if the character has a different cultural background other than the writer.

@cinthiacruzado2594 3 жыл бұрын

Indeed. But I think that's part of the fun. Always challenge yourself into thinking outside the box and learning something new.

@MRVIDEOMASTER-yw1qw Жыл бұрын

God loves you all! The Father sent the Son to die for you and your sins so that you could experience freedom to the fullest! Believe in Christ's death and resurrection (which sealed the work done on the cross) for your salvation and the forgiveness of sins! Amen! God loves you all! The Father sent the Son to die for you and your sins so that you could experience freedom to the fullest! Believe in Christ's death and resurrection (which sealed the work done on the cross) for your salvation and the forgiveness of sins! Amen! God bless you all, I will keep you in my prayers!

@Anonymous-ye4bg Күн бұрын

You'll experience my punch @@MRVIDEOMASTER-yw1qw

@hannahlarocco4699 2 жыл бұрын

I love history. It’s one of my favorite school subjects.

@brandonofoegbu908 2 жыл бұрын

Same

@Aussiemarco Жыл бұрын

When writing historical fiction, research, research, research. Eg in pre-1820 Australia, there was just a handful of towns, all in modern New South Wales, the rest of the continent was empty of permanent settlement. Sydney was (by modern standards) a very small town. Before steamships it took 6 months to travel between London and Sydney, so it took that long for a letter to arrive and no other way of communication to ‘home’ - if someone wrote a letter saying they were dying, they were long gone by the time the family read it. Houses tended to crumble away after a few years due to inadequate brick making abilities, or if they were made of wood they were eaten by termites. EVERYTHING has to be researched. Never assume that how we live now was the same 200 years ago. It might as well have been a different planet.

@taryntyler1258 3 жыл бұрын

I love that you call it Discoveey writing and not that other word

@Reedsy 3 жыл бұрын

Haha the other term for discovery writing is so strange, I don't like it either!

@Terry_1111 2 ай бұрын

New subscriber here as well as a new writer. I really enjoyed this video and I'm so happy I stumbled upon your channel today! I look forward to watching and learning from you! Thanks for sharing!

@scottkeeler6409 7 ай бұрын

WOW spot on, I have just finished a novel about a 6th-century Pict. What I used to make the word choice and dialogue readable was old English spelling, yet from the start declared a document was discovered that had been translated over the years so I could use modern-day terms and expressions

@Gaia_Gaistar 3 жыл бұрын

I like anachronistic historical fiction like A Knights Tale. Like, fug it. The trumpeters are playing Queen. So kino.

@ChrisWilliamsDallas 3 жыл бұрын

This really helps me solve a problem with a book I'm working on. My narrative voice is contemporary despite the setting of the 1860's. I wanted my dialog to be accurate, but I also had no interest in using common vernacular terms and phrases (referring to the race of other people for example).

@JRTProds28 3 жыл бұрын

I always chuckle when I see or hear about phones in period work. In mine, for instance, what a pain it was to find a phone booth and in some places, not wanting to sit down on the icky seat. And finding the right change, then waiting for the operator to tell you to put in more change, or you got cut off. And that eerie "disconnect" tone when you reached a landline number no longer in service.

@danielwells5868 3 жыл бұрын

I write historical fiction. Reading social histories is very helpful in learning about the daily life, the structure of society at the time, and the mindset of a period. There are social histories that cover everything from life in the Roman Empire to the 1920's to the Congo in the 16th century. It's not just the course of events that is important. The daily life and the worldview of a period are also vital in writing historical fiction. There is nothing more disturbing than coming across anachronisms while reading historical fiction.

@SunShine-qk4rb 3 жыл бұрын

Love your channel.Your videos help me with my stories

@sophiashiliagova7883 3 жыл бұрын

Shaelin thank you for telling about writing!

@teatastudio6119 2 жыл бұрын

Relatable. My HisFic character set in 1888 is a fresh graduate of medicine and I let him do a CPR until I researched when it was discovered.

@deancummings586 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this helpful video! So far all my novels take place in a variety of time periods. The first two took place from 1993 to 1994, my third was set in 1926, the fourth 1986, and my current wip is set in 1963. I enjoy researching these time periods, and in my case, being a male author, there are many things I have to learn in order to make my mc's come alive...because they've all been female. It is also fun to learn how the technology of the Era works, for example, when my mc uses a camcorder in the 1980s, I learned that you wouldn't just hit the "record" button to record a home movie, but rather you'd hit the "play" and "record" buttons simultaneously, (this was also true with compact cassette players). When I was writing my 1994 Era novel, I had to learn what a mid-twenties English businesswoman would wear if she were doing business in South America. But all in all I've loved the research, and the telling of stories set in the past...

@miasuja6471 2 ай бұрын

Very articulate! Thank you!

@beliefinjustice448 2 жыл бұрын

This is so helpful. Thank you!

@bkjackson8092 2 жыл бұрын

1) The History Channel has a very helpful feature--you can get "This day in history" emails from them that highlight significant things of note throughout history. It is both useful to give you a broader view of the things happening in the world at the time in which your book is set and ALSO (though this is dangerous, LOL!) a great brainstorming tool to brainstorm other story ideas. 2) The other key thing for writing historical fiction is getting people to read/critique your work who are not 'woke'. I'm not interested in politically correct fiction, but in fiction that represents the time period I'm writing in. My job is to write 3D characters accurate to their time period, not to sanitize history or revise it. It drives me NUTS when people try to revise/sanitize history. 3) The hardest thing about writing historical fiction is I never feel I can research enough on the subject, therefore completing projects is hard. You have to learn when to say enough is enough and just be done and publish the doggone thing. 8-)

@KarlKristofferJohnsson 2 жыл бұрын

I'm planning to write my own version of the Robin Hood legend, so I've been doing a lot of research on late 12th century England. Probably won't be using period accurate dialogue for that one. Also, I used to be a discovery writer, but I recently realised that I work much better with more outlining.

@jayashreechakravarthy4949 10 ай бұрын

I’ll read briefs about each time period.

@robertwjeter3936 10 ай бұрын

I know that this is 2 years old, but it's very helpful. Thanks!

@MinecraftSekai Жыл бұрын

"You're using a word that didn't exist at the time" lady, the whole English language didn't exist at time of the events of my story, so I guess I can literally use whatever word readers can understand, as long as it fits the character and vibe I'm going for.

@duhu_da_haske_tv8776 Жыл бұрын

Well explained !

@danielbroome5690 3 жыл бұрын

I'm a firm believer that for dialoguein historical fiction, keep the dialogue of the main characters in line with modern English but don't include any anachronistic jargon terms, and for anyone with a regional accent you could describe their accent either in prose or literally in the dialogue

@Reedsy 3 жыл бұрын

This is definitely a good option for dialogue, especially if writing a time/setting where writing historically realistic dialogue would just not be accessible!

@MRVIDEOMASTER-yw1qw Жыл бұрын

@ErikRoble-pk5pp Ай бұрын

I'm thinking about making a book about a girl named Elizabeth Marie Williams she lives in 1693 Salem during the Salem witch trials and i don't know how to make a children books but a little bit teenager's book too @@Reedsy

@primitivescott6712 9 ай бұрын

I personally loved this video as I’m about to write the final draft of my story before I turn it into a graphic novel but I will say this, if your story takes place during the Stone Age like mine you will have to make up terms and slang that are based off of real tribal cultures that still live in much of the same way. For example names for illnesses, someone from 3,000 b.c. wouldn’t call bronchitis bronchitis but something like lung rot, things like that can help a story happening in a prehistoric or ancient setting sound more real. But even then if you are writing a historical fiction story that takes place after understandable writing systems came about then this video is perfect

@laven111 3 жыл бұрын

Very good video .

@Alex_Otto Жыл бұрын

As a person who has alot of historical ocs with unique back stories this was useful.

@durandaldevil 2 ай бұрын

I’m 57 years old, so writing about anything from my youth and throwing in famous people, makes this historical fiction. I think of it as a family saga.

@PoetryETrain Жыл бұрын

Thank you much.

@gregocull1690 Жыл бұрын

❤️ this!

@fredricknoe3114 3 жыл бұрын

"Know your setting." Ubisoft "Gee I wonder who that's for."

@billyalarie929 3 жыл бұрын

i lol'd irl

@Mordal1222 3 жыл бұрын

First game: "We removed the crossbow you saw in the trailer because we realized it's not historically accurate." Latest game: "So the Viking not dressed as a Viking shot five flaming arrows in a single shot at the Fenris wolf before turning invisible thanks to Odin's blessing."

@randomsimpson 3 жыл бұрын

"Everyone else, sir. We've got dual hidden blades and shit." "Tight, tight."

@terencejohnson4502 3 жыл бұрын

As 100% discovery writer I accidentally did a whole load of research before starting my Alt Victorian history novel. Wrote an historical timeline too. Guess that counts as outlining; who knew? But yeah like Shaelin says, things were different back then. You might want to check how long it would take, to get from England to South Africa in 1897ish. You might not.

@Aussiemarco Жыл бұрын

@terencejohnson4502 Great point about travelling in historical times. It really annoyed me in ‘Poldark’ how the characters constantly travelled by stagecoach between London and west Cornwall in the 1780’s. That one way journey took a couple of weeks to complete. There’s no way they could have gone back and forth a few times a month!! Historical fiction needs A LOT of research

@sowieso393 3 жыл бұрын

Someone making the armor - wouldn't that just be a smith (blacksmith maybe, idk)? :D Very informative video, as always - I am not planning to write any historical fiction anytime soon but still feel like I can take away some writing tips from this! 🙌:)

@sifeddinemoussouni1801 2 жыл бұрын

Greeting i enjoyed the video and found it very usefull. i just wanted to ask, how can i deal with '' word accuracy '' when writing about an ancient period of time, for exemple, roman republican period

@riyasethi9955 3 жыл бұрын

I feel like we would be best friends in another world and talk about books, writing, shows and stuff while hanging out.. I can see it clearly.🎸🍕 By the way, love your videos. Helped me a lot.❤️

@amanzeihedioha 3 жыл бұрын

I'm here to learn what it takes to make something like Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom/キングダム. Highly recommend these series btw

@dungchau6029 2 жыл бұрын

Great video with a lot of useful advice! I have a question, however, that would writers of historical fiction have deal with matters relating to distortion and falsing? I have an idea that compulses me to write down a story, but I have little experience with writing, therefore I'm using history for reference and I really want to avoid distortion, especially when it can get me in trouble with laws

@shabditarajesingh6945 2 жыл бұрын

My problem is somewhat same. I have a tingling idea about a story, I want to write my own story, but My events are somewhat inspired (take by) history. Would that get me in trouble?

@karzanmuhammed2362 2 жыл бұрын

Great information. I am a Kurdish American and I have been working as a linguist for U.S military in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2005. I almost finished writing my novel based on my experience with U.S military in Iraqi Kurdistan and my life under the tyranny Saddam Hussein. Hopefully I will find a good literally agent.

@cocothepom-pom9143 2 ай бұрын

I want to be a historical fiction writer. I just don’t where to do to start-

@brycesonflowers8758 3 жыл бұрын

My best advice to write historical fiction is asking for legacies about a person which is told by their pals

@MbartM96 Жыл бұрын

Historical fiction takes a serious amount of research to do properly. You will need to read many general histories as well as books on specific aspects of your story. Then there are the endless hunts to find obscure bits of information on everyday life. The writers who take it seriously often end up reading a hundred books or more. Probably the most labour intensive genre, and that’s before you write a single word! Even if you don’t use it all, a seasoned reader can tell if you’re out of your depth.

@daina3628 3 жыл бұрын

So historical fiction is fanfiction of real life?

@SpanishEclectic Жыл бұрын

That Online Etymology Dictionary is always open while I'm writing. "Posh" is from the 1920s, "Fashionable" is fine for the 1720s. I'm a pantser, but a timeline is essential. The 19th Century 'American Frontier', started in one place in 1820, another in 1860, and the "West" was a completely different world in 1880. No railroad across the prairie until after the Civil War. Stage coach or steamer through Panama. It took months to get anywhere. I also 'reverse engineer' characters: if Josiah is 16 years old in 1861, and his mother was 18 when he was born, I figure out his date of birth, then that of his mother. If there were no settlements in the area in 1827, where would she have been born? I would then look for the nearest large city or town and figure out the most likely place based on the first character's established background. Actual diaries and period novels provide great information; place names changed; so did the course of rivers. There are original newspapers and other historical publications available online. I found actual scanned issues of the London Gazette dating back to the Napoleonic Wars; in 1810 a Marine officer who just happened to have the same surname as one of my characters, received a commendation from the Admiralty for leading a crew ashore to seize and spike cannons at a battery on the French coast. This sort of tidbit is perfect to weave into your story to give it authenticity and interest. The comment/chat sections of historical re-enactor websites and blogs are also a perfect place to find info. Google images from auction houses like Christie's are great for finding out what kind of inkwell, chair, or jewelry a character might have so you can describe it. Want to know what a horse sounds like eating? I promise you there is a video on KZbin. What I find fun is that the travel delays, lack of immediate communication, etc., provide fodder (sorry) to increase tension in your plot.

@user-rv4sy4nr5w 6 ай бұрын

Wow🎉

@cessromer7078 Жыл бұрын

Is it possible to not to follow a timeline per se but going kind of parallel with historical events mentioned it in each case when writing a novel. ? How do I implement it ?

@alejandrarodriguez8410 2 жыл бұрын

This is the genre I write and let me tell you that one google tip just save my life

@ifaagnes 3 жыл бұрын

I am writing a historical fiction now 🤣

@Jolenesbooksandmore 3 жыл бұрын

Great points and thanks should help me finish mine up

@lucygoodwriter 3 жыл бұрын

Same here!!!

@whitemansucks 3 жыл бұрын

Ancient Egyptian medical technology includes CPR, so do the Vedas. So 5000 years or more. Not every critic who fact checks is actually correct.

@Reedsy 3 жыл бұрын

That may be true, but since my book is set in rural Canada in the 1950s (before the general population there knew how to do CPR) and not in Ancient Egypt, it would not be realistic for the main character to know how to do it!

@hannahlarocco4699 2 жыл бұрын

What

@Kim-mz8co 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video and greetings from Cambodia. I've researched and written some of the stories of my family going back about 10 generations and I think many of the stories would be of interest to at least some of the thousands of relatives who have descended from those same early generations: Irish, German and English immigrants from the early 1600s, relatives who were hung as witches in Salem, seven Revolutionary War soldiers I know about, and the Civil War stories including one of a 2nd great-grandfather from Georgia who joined the Northern troops when Sheridan's troops came through on their way to burn Atlanta. (I knew his daughter who didn't know where her father was from.) I've got the facts and imagine the stories to fill in the gaps. If I stay as factual as possible, is Historical Fiction still the correct genre for this or is it a non-fiction book?

@susanna5252 Жыл бұрын

I think the genre is Memoirs, which is non-fiction.. It would be fantastic. The hardest thing when translating family history into a memoir is to write an actual story with plot structure and character development or arcs, and not a timeline of the history of the relatives. The tendency is to tell all the details: "so and so did this, married that one, moved here or there, etc.," which is a fine family history of events that happened, but not a story or memoir. A remedy for this, because it's important to have the family history as well as memoirs, might be to keep the series of events of the family as the "world building" part of the process in a separate notebook as your background research. Be warned, different parts of the family may see things differently and the politics can get dicey. Learn all the facts and the feelings about them first !!!! For your memoirs, you could pick one memorable, outstanding or moving story representative of each relative and develop a series of short stories or memoirs, or you could pick one that ties everyone together, and write a novel. Alternatively, you could be inspired by the stories and go off-road with a historically fictional version as mentioned in the video where the gaps are fiction, but as many events as you know historical.

@Kim-mz8co Жыл бұрын

@@susanna5252 Thank you very much for your thoughtful response and suggestions!🙏

@noahgibsonspeninsularwarsa1134 3 жыл бұрын

Nice

@youseafadel 3 жыл бұрын

Nice

@erniewatters8903 3 ай бұрын

is there a civil war genre

@artoriginswithkbrooksnartorg Жыл бұрын

Novice level going bye bye, thank you for the tips!

@ndivhuwobopape5495 2 жыл бұрын

I wrote an entire book on Wattpad and it backfired on me because the book was entirely historically incorrect.

@TheSimpleRomantic 3 жыл бұрын

Laughing that you think of the 1950s as a historical period I understand that it is considered so But in my mind - yesterday

@neasahayes6044 Ай бұрын

I read a thriller written in 19th century Prague a few years ago and one of the characters advised the other to forget an aristocratic woman he was infatuated with because "she was out of his league". I thought the writer definitely needs to be more aware that 19th century Czech men did not speak like high school students. As a whole the book was amateurish for this type of error plus others.

@patrickmorrison2487 Жыл бұрын

I had to listen to this during class. I wanted to put a gun to my head and just end it all. Generally im a pretty happy guy but this runnered my day.

@12234d 3 жыл бұрын

Pillars of Earth is best to study.

@Ignis.lex.ignis.gratia 3 ай бұрын

Who are you friend, you're thinking like me.

@jankurth7445 Ай бұрын

Just today, I was looking through some past chapters I had written, and encountered a character describing her future as "iffy." Hmm. Better look that up. Nope. Wasn't in use till the 1930s. My book is set in 1913. So "iffy" is gone.

@gregolonious 2 жыл бұрын

The Google ngram doesn't work for anything past 1500

@N-fu1rm 2 ай бұрын

But is this useful for a historical fiction of Indian origin?

@cinthiacruzado2594 3 жыл бұрын

My story is going to be more likely fantasy-horror set in an alternate history of the 1940s where people are given supernatural abilities to soon become biological weapons and unfortunately, the war was lost. The official story takes place in alternate 1980s years after the war. It's going to be a very heavy subject to tackle but I think it will be interesting how far I can go with it.

@aradhana3312 3 жыл бұрын

In how much time I can complete my historical fictional novel? Please reply fast. I need this:)

@Reedsy 3 жыл бұрын

That depends greatly on the person! Everyone will have their own writing speed, but if you have a deadline, I would find a way to set goals in order to complete your book on time.

@whitemansucks 3 жыл бұрын

Why call it a litter when you can call it a lift? lol

@jayashreechakravarthy4949 10 ай бұрын

Abhigel when you get here and talk to me, you’ll see that I’m, in fact, sick as a dog for you. I’m just tired of this. I’m crazier about you than Ms.nuts was for me, until recently. I love you. You just have to make yourself real, by coming here uickl.