History is full of fascinating moments that draw people’s attention to them. Historical fiction writers try to chronicle the inner lives of people who lived during these times. Through their imagination, we can see through the veil of time.

Start with Brainstorming

When you want to write a piece of historical fiction but aren’t quite sure where to begin you should spend some time freewriting about a time period or historical event that interests you. You’ll want to take special note of any assumptions that you’ve made about this time period and culture. Additionally, consider why you’re drawn to this moment in time.

Find an Interesting Angle

There are a few different ways in which you can enter into a time period. You may want to use it as a backdrop and place your fictional characters and events in its world. Another option is to choose a historical event and create fictional characters who are affected by it in some significant way.

Research Your Angle

Besides getting the historical facts correct you’ll also want to make sure you get all the little details (e.g. color of refrigerators) right too. Doing so will make your story more credible since there are always people who know more than you about history. You’ll want to give them as little as possible to argue with you about.

Create Your World

Creating a world will make your writing more authentic and give your readers a reason to return. Make sure you include details about a person’s life and keep this balanced with things that your reader is familiar with and can relate to. You shouldn’t add information just to add it but instead, you want to make sure that everything you add actually helps move the story forward in some way.

Keep the Dialogue Simple

It’s important to realize that different historical eras have different vocabulary and grammar. While you’ll occasionally want to use these words, you don’t want to include so many that it makes your writing difficult to understand.

Include Fictional Characters

Even if you’re writing about true events you’ll still want to take some creative liberties. The best way to do this is by introducing fictional characters.

The Bottom Line

Historical fiction writers are similar to any other writer in the amount of hard work and effort they put into their craft. By following some of these tips, you’ll balance historical accuracy with creative writing to create a masterpiece of your own.