Writing.Com General Discussion

I asked a friend who writes historical fiction. She suggested if starting, the following is a nice way to cut your teeth:

1) Choose the historical period. It always works better if it is one you really like already and have some knowledge of.
2) Research some of the important events of the period.
then...
3a) Write about a family/ person greatly affected by one of these events
or
3b) Choose a famous person involved in a historical event and invent a character who is in close proximity and helps them out.

Start with a short story or two with the same character. This will get you used to writing in the period without worrying about filling out a whole novel.

She says you can then take one of these shorts and use it to extend if you want to write a longer work, because you are already in that character/ event.

She also warns that researching a period must also involve food and the words they used. That is where most historical fiction falls down. People are great at researching events, places, clothing, jobs, etc., but those two aspects become anachronistic.

I hope that helps.

PS I might extend this for a blog post in the next few weeks. Thanks for the idea!