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Writing Historical FictionJump to: Writing Resources Getting Published Financial Survival
Surprisingly few historical novelists have university degrees in history. Among those who do are some excellent writers. They include Steven Saylor, who writes a mystery series set in ancient Rome; Charmaine Craig, whose literary novel The Good Men won critical acclaim; and Harry Turtledove, who writes in a variety of genres from science fiction and alternative history to straight historical novels. Some highly successful historical novelists have backgrounds in journalism. Geraldine Brooks worked as a newspaper reporter and authored contemporary nonfiction books based on her international reportage before writing Year of Wonders, March and People of the Book. Anita Diamant was a freelance journalist, contributing articles to newspapers and magazines, before she wrote her bestselling historical novel The Red Tent. Journalists know how to dig deep when researching and generally have people skills that help them write well about the feelings and aspirations of fictional characters. Most authors of historical fiction, though, are novelists first and foremost. Today, with an extraordinary range of historical resources available through interlibrary loan programs and the internet, those who devote the time and effort necessary to thoroughly research particular historical periods or events can find the information they need to bring history alive. Knowing how to write a good story, one that hooks readers from the start and keeps them turning the pages to find out what happens next, is as crucial as getting the historical details right.
Historical novelists must master all the basics of good fiction that successful contemporary novelists employ. Take a quick look at the hilarious but wise article Invaluable tips for would-be authors at the Times Online, and see if you're guilty of "The Long Runway" or "The Deafening Hug." In addition to the book by the article's authors, How Not to Write a Novel, many excellent books are available to help aspiring novelists and those who wish to be more successful write books that will attract editors and readers. A few I've found especially useful are: Plot by Ansen Dibell (first published in 1988). There's a good reason why this oldie but goodie is still on the market after 20 years. I didn't feel I really had a grip on plot structure until I worked my way through it. More info from Powell's Books The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman (2000). Lukeman is a New York literary agent, and this book is probably the best guide to basic manuscript revision for fiction I have ever worked with. Most of the self-published novels I have critiqued could, I believe, have developed into solid, interesting novels attractive to major publishers if the authors had studied this book thoroughly and applied Lukeman's suggestions. More info from Powell's Books The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman (2002). After discussing the basics of good writing in The First Five Pages, Lukeman wrote this guide to more advanced techniques. More info from Powell's Books Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. Maass is the New York agent who represents historical mystery author Anne Perry. Although his book is not targeted specifically to writers of historical fiction, he does use examples from historical novels. This book is for writers who want their books to sell well enough to allow them to pursue full-time careers as novelists. More info from Powell's Books
There are important differences between contemporary and historical fiction that aspiring historical novelists ignore at their peril. Among the most important: People who lived in the past had very different attitudes about many aspects of life than we do today. Historical fiction falls flat when the characters seem like modern men and women dressed up in fancy costumes. Some writers worry that readers might not like characters who exhibit typical prejudices of their time. But flawed characters who gain the readers' sympathy and understanding despite their flaws are a key element of good fiction set in any time period. Novels like Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, about a boy in Afghanistan; Emma Donoghue's Slammerkin, about a seventeenth century prostitute; and Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt, about an angry young man during the English Civil War, are just three of many about deeply flawed characters readers love. These authors balance their characters' flaws with qualities we can respect and admire, gaining sympathy for them without excusing prejudice, prostitution, cruelty and the like. Studying novels like this to see how the authors achieve this can increase your chances of writing historical fiction with characters who are true to their time and win readers' hearts. You do have to get the customs and technological details right, though. Did people use forks yet while dining? What type of head covering would your heroine have worn? Details like this can be maddening to research, because most historians focus on political structures and on changing religious and philosophical beliefs. The Historical Novelists Center has articles and bibliographies of sources that offer a starting point in researching for the type of information historical novelists need to place their characters in an authentic day-to-day physical setting. Historical novelist Elizabeth Crook includes an excellent article on her website about the "Seven Rules for Writing Historical Fiction". A thoughtful blog post by historical romance writer Amy Padgett (who uses the pen name Amy Corwin) tackles the question of how to balance historical accuracy with a story readers can understand and relate to. See her blog at Fiction Writing and Other Oddities. John Crowley writes about the research process unique to historical novelists in his insightful and very funny article, "The Accu-Thump of Googletarity". Finally, Linda Proud, who has taught a summer course at Oxford University on writing historical fiction, began an excellent blog in Spring 2010 which offers her thoughts on how to write well-researched, well-written historical fiction and includes fun exercises to try your hand at in the "comments" section. Don't miss it! To my knowledge, four authors have written guides to writing historical fiction: The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction by James Alexander Thom (2010) is a long-overdue guide to researching and writing historical novels in the age of the internet. Thom cautions against believing everything you read on the net and encourages writers to think creatively about how to broaden their research and make it as thorough as possible. See Review or More info from Powell's Books Writing Historical Fiction by Rhona Martin (1988). This slender, 91-page book contains a lot of good advice, although some of the specifics are out of date. More info from Amazon.com How to Write and Sell Historical Fiction by Persia Woolley (1997). Woolley includes some useful tips that go beyond the actual writing process. For example, she includes a chapter on research travel and how to make a trip pay for itself. In today's economy, Woolley's practical advice is more important than ever. More info from Amazon.com Writing Historical Fiction by Marina Oliver (2005). Oliver is a British author of historical romance novels. Her writing guide has not been published in the U.S., but can be ordered from overseas. More info from Powell's Books Historical fiction has become a hot genre in recent years, with many historical novels appearing on bestseller lists. Even so, many more contemporary novels appear every year than the relatively small number of historical novels published. Your historical novel must be well written and highly polished to interest a publisher. This website includes novels published by POD ("print-on-demand" or "publish-on-demand") publishers. This process is essentially self-publishing, since the publishing house does only minimal screening, if any, before accepting a book for publication, and the author is 100% responsible for marketing and selling the books. POD publishers usually do not charge authors for printing costs, since the books are not printed until and unless they are sold, but they do take a large percentage of the sale price of each book. It's a good idea to thoroughly understand the pros and cons of using this type of publisher before you sign a contract. The Science Fiction Writers of America website includes an article about POD publishers. An article on the pros and cons of self-publishing is featured on the Writer's Helper website. If you are lucky (and hard-working) enough to find a commercial publisher for your historical novel, your work is not over. The halcyon days of the 1920s, when a devoted editor saw promise in a rough draft of F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel and helped him drastically revise it, are long over. Today, in addition to submitting an already highly polished manuscript, novelists are also expected to help market their books. Michelle Moran's two-part article telling what she learned about marketing when her historical novels were published is a superb resource for authors who want to give their novels the best chance of success. Think your novel-in-progress might have what it takes to hit the bestseller list? Quite a few historical novels have been there lately, so there's room to hope. Lynn Viehl is not a historical novelist, but her vampire romance novel Twilight Fall became a bestseller in July 2008, and when she got all her statements back, she blogged to share the bottom-line information about how it got there (no fancy tricks) and what it translated to in earnings. Her April 17, 2009 blog post, The Reality of a Times Bestseller gives the nitty-gritty details. Published writers who make lots of money do exist, but they are not the norm. A typical advance for a first-time author is $5,000, paltry recompense for a manuscript that may have taken five or ten years to write. Even J.K. Rowling knows how to survive on a pittance. Before her Harry Potter books became runaway bestsellers, she was a single mother living on welfare. The commencement address she delivered at Harvard in 2008, "The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination", is well worth reading, since anyone who writes is almost sure to experience failure of one kind or another on a regular basis. So, how to survive? "Don't quit your day job" is hoary and good advice (which I, personally, did not follow). But what if your day job doesn't pay very well? What if you've been laid off? - or fired for spending too much time staring into space thinking about the characters in your novel? Here are some books recommended by Powell's for surviving in lean times: The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen offers advice on growing and preserving your own food, becoming less dependent on electrical and petro-power, and using low-cost, natural cleaning supplies. Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez is designed to help you organize your priorities so you can live well on less money, resolve conflicts between your personal values and the way you actually live, and get out of debt. Don't Get Caught With Your Skirt Down: A Practical Girl's Recession Guide by Jill and Daniel Keto is, I daresay, useful to both genders, offering guidance on haggling for purchases, cutting food bills, and eliminating car payments, among other topics.
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