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I recently started a writing a story set in the 1700s, but I’ve never written historical fiction before. Do you guys have any tips?
@emily @shannon @daughteroftheking @winter-rose @catwing @daeus @anyone else
INFJ ~ 4w5
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@epicaddie2 Fun! Tons of research (I hate research!!). Tons of outlining (I hate outlining!!). And a lot of plotting. Does that help?
JK. HF is fun. It’s not as bad as I made out above. Don’t get scared off by my representation of my pet genre. XD It is a lot different from Fantasy though. Number one: you’re not creating a world. Depending on the story, there is extensive research that has to be done. Number two: You will probably get lost in your story if you don’t outline. Just a brief outline will do, though. And plotting is important too. I’m still learning, but this is the bulk of what I’ve learned so far. Hope this helps!
@emily Thanks, that helps a lot!
INFJ ~ 4w5
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@epicaddie2 Sure! I’m glad that I was finally of use to someone. 😛 (Hear that @shannon?)
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@epicaddie2 Ooh the 1700s is a fun time period!!!
So, I don’t write a ton. But when I do, it’s mainly historical fiction, so I’m glad you tagged me. I agree with @emily that you need to do a lot of research. I actually enjoy the researching part…but I might be strange. However, IMHO, the outline thing isn’t really necessary. I am by birth a pantser, so I personally wouldn’t outline. It really depends on your own personal preference. Hmmm, I’m trying to think of something else. Tell you what, I will come back here and let you know if I think of anything else. Hope what I said is helpful!
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@shannon I’m pretty sure you meant “panster.” Riiiight?
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@emily, No, it’s pantser. The term came from the idea of someone “flying by the seat of their pants” while they write. Get it???
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@epicaddie2, I almost forgot to tag someone else who, I believe, writes historical fiction also.
@seekjustice, Addie needs some help, do you have any tips for her?- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@shannon Whatever *rolls eyes*
@epicaddie2 Yay! you’ve decided to write some HF!! *dances around the room*.
historical fiction is really cool, but it takes a lot of work, so it’s not for the faint of heart.
However, don’t be discouraged! I write a lot of HF so i’ll give you a few of my humble tips.
#1. Read good historical fiction! if you want to learn about writing historical fiction read good HF or books written in the past. I recommend Rosemary Sutcliff, Victor Hugo, Jane Austen, etc.
#2 Do research! As boring as it sounds, you need to research. that’s actually one of my favourite parts, I tend to go overboard though. Don’t just throw yourself into it though, start basic and narrow it down. I like to start with the junior nonfiction you can find at the library, because it’s very basic and then you can dig deeper into things that are important to your story.
#3 make it a good story! This should go for granted though, but often people just disguise a history text book as a story. It really annoys me.
#4 but don’t sacrifice historical accuracy! if you’re writing historical, you need to make it, well, historical, but I find a lot of books (especially *cough* historical romances) blithely sacrifice accuracy for the story, just because they’re too lazy to make accuracy and storytelling work together.
I know that seems like a lot, but if you have anymore questions let me know! I love talking about history.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
@seekjustice @shannon Good advice, thanks! I’m really excited about writing HF 😉
INFJ ~ 4w5
aldarley.wordpress.com- Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
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@epicaddie2 No problem! I’m sure you will have lots of fun w/ that genre!
@epicaddie2 I love writing historical fiction and I love the 1700’s! I think the biggest tip I can give for writing in this genre is research, research, research. The more research you do the more realistic the story will seem. Do plenty of research about the location of your story, looking up articles and history of the place, what is was like in the 1700’s, and how the people lived. Also, I’ve read some historical fiction where the author’s kinda changed their writing style to fit the time period. For example, I don’t think you’d necessarily say “What’s up, man” in the 1700’s. Look up common phrases in that time period.
I hope this helps!
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@epicaddie2 You don’t have to do this, but if you want to write a really in-depth historical fiction story, I’ve read that you don’t want to just read about the time period, but you want to read in the time period. Read the books that were famous at the time, preserved letters from the time period, newspaper articles, etc.
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@epicaddie2, @emily, @shannon, @seekjustice,
How convenient is it that I came to this thread? Very. I too have been wanting to dabble in the mystical waters of historical fiction. Mine was more so set in the early 1800’s. I got inspired while watching Horatio Hornblower (a series based on the books of the same name by C.S Foster) ( I highly recommend them) Anyways, I came up with an idea and being no history scholar I went to my younger sister who happens to be one. And had a very interesting discussion. However, I pushed the idea aside when my mom pointed out that my idea had a HUGE plot hole.
The basic idea I had has to do with a girl wanting to be a member of the navy like her brothers and she attempts/succeeds to get on one. I don’t know the rest.
I would like your thoughts on the idea though
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