Writers & Artists share 10 tips for writing historical fiction, written by Tammye Huf, debut author of A More Perfect Union…
History can be a wonderful source of inspiration, with all those worlds ready for your characters to inhabit, but historical fiction requires a particular commitment from a writer. On top of grappling with the usual elements of story, a writer must authentically represent the historical age.
Writing my historical fiction novel, A More Perfect Union, has taught me quite a lot about the particular challenges of this genre and I’ve boiled down some of what I’ve learned into my top ten tips on writing historical fiction.
1) The importance of research cannot be overstated. You can never know too much about your historical period (although you can certainly include too many historical details in your story – more on that later). Be prepared to go deep with research in order to write authentically. Gain the trust of your reader by providing enough specific historical details…