Tips for Historical Writing

I think you're going about it in exactly the right way--research first. If you're anything like me, you'll read a fact and immediately think, 'now how would my character react to that?' or maybe 'someone like that would be a good character for my story.'

Bit by bit, a wispy impression of your story will begin to form, and when it seems good enough, you can start writing.

Good luck, and welcome to the club!

Read non-fictional accounts about the subject you are interested in from those who are considered an authority in the field. For example, there is a ton of stuff out there about the settlement of Jamestown and the early interactions with the Native American tribes who lived in the area -- and a lot of it is inaccurate. So I did some digging and found that Helen Roundtree is considered the leading researcher and writer on Virginia Indians and one of the leading researchers on East Coast tribes. My research started with her books.

You're smart by doing research first. Just remember that your sources are just as important as the information you are looking for.

Try to come up with at least a general plot first, so you know where to focus your research. The plot will probably change as you research more, but that's ok.

Snafu - the term made me smile because it's actually used in my story. I've been working on my historical fiction project for two years now. Thought I was done 6 months ago, but then reread the thing and ay, ay caramba! Reworking the thing again. Research has taken up at least half of my time. And, I know there is still something that is wrong. There's going to be some smart reader who's going to call me on it. I'll just say editorial license and hang my head in ever-lasting shame.

Historical writing carries all the world building requirements of scifi/fantasy, but with none of the leeway for fudging the truth. Your first step should be to read several of the most prominent works on the time/place/events in question. Once you're familiar with the subject, then you have to dig deeper. Check the bibliographies of those works for the primary sources their authors employed. Then hunt down and read those primary sources: newspapers, court records, letters, diaries, journals, anything you can get your hands on that was written by the people you'll be writing about.

Remember there is no such thing as "history", only historiography. So don't rely too heavily on "serious" historians and secondary sources.
You have to learn so much about your period, setting and characters, that you could hop in a time machine, go there, and manage to blend in with the locals. You can only get that kind of knowledge straight from the horse's mouth.

Jack Judah said:

Historical writing carries all the world building requirements of scifi/fantasy, but with none of the leeway for fudging the truth.

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Unless you're writing about a period with far less comprehensive primary sources, and therefor more room for interpretation. Say.... ancient Egypt.

Jack Judah said:

Your first step should be to read several of the most prominent works on the time/place/events in question. Once you're familiar with the subject, then you have to dig deeper. Check the bibliographies of those works for the primary sources their authors employed. Then hunt down and read those primary sources: newspapers, court records, letters, diaries, journals, anything you can get your hands on that was written by the people you'll be writing about.

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A bit tricky when you're writing about ancient Egypt, where the majority were illiterate.

Jack Judah said:

Remember there is no such thing as "history", only historiography.

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As the first line of the first ever 'history' says: 'Ἡροδότου Ἁλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις ἥδε' - 'here is the presentation of the inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus.' Note that the word he uses, 'histories,' means inquiry, NOT 'what actually happened in the past.

*geek alert*

Jack Judah said:

You have to learn so much about your period, setting and characters, that you could hop in a time machine, go there, and manage to blend in with the locals. You can only get that kind of knowledge straight from the horse's mouth.

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Again, kinda hard when you're writing about ancient Egypt....

I'm going to take a wild guess and say Kallithrix is writing about ancient Egypt.

Welcome to the genre! I love writing historical novels. One's been trade published and the other is still a work in progress.

As others have written upthread, research first to make sure your story arc and larger elements are correct for the period and place. This will help set your story and prevent a major rewrite if you were to discover some major element was wrong. Along the way, you'll pick up those minor elements, the "flavoring" items. As you write the story, questions on the minor things (what would the toilet facilities have been like) pop up that you can research.

I enjoyed work to make sure every element was correct and how to get it in the story. I found a few seemingly "minor" things that I found forced me to look again at major portions of the story and figure how to ensure I had it right. Don't fudge on this. If you use items that aren't right because you don't want to rewrite, readers will notice. Good luck!

I always my research begin by finding material on Daily Lives in ...... for food, clothing, customs, value of money/barter, etc. For esoteric research as I did seeking what made people laugh in the Carolingian Empire, I went to the site Questia.

Kallithrix said:

Unless you're writing about a period with far less comprehensive primary sources, and therefor more room for interpretation. Say.... ancient Egypt...A bit tricky when you're writing about ancient Egypt, where the majority were illiterate...Again, kinda hard when you're writing about ancient Egypt....

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All fair and valid points I can commiserate with. Writing ancient Egypt believably is a bitch. My former WIP started as a sprawling epic covering the fall of the 18th and rise of the 19th dynasties. Never could really find the right voice. About 35k in, I shelved it, for all the reasons mentioned above. More power to anyone who can pull it off.

As the first line of the first ever 'history' says: 'Ἡροδότου Ἁλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις ἥδε' - 'here is the presentation of the inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus.' Note that the word he uses, 'histories,' means inquiry, NOT 'what actually happened in the past.
*geek alert*

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I've got four titles published that deal with medieval England/Wales/Cornwall, which is where I've done most of my research, plus been lucky enough to visit the places several times. I tried "basing" one story off the research and got nowhere fast (I'm a pantser). So I switched gears, focused instead on story -- what would she and he do, and why, and what sorts of mindsets informed their choices. If I needed some historical detail that didn't come immediately to mind, I changed the font color to red and kept on telling the story. I ended up with a lot of red at one time, but by chipping away at the nuggets, I managed to either fill in the red spots or change it because it didn't really advance the story.

Stick primarily to story, is my advice. The research that you feel is such a hill to die on -- well, it may turn out to be a molehill after all.

Jack Judah said:

All fair and valid points I can commiserate with. Writing ancient Egypt believably is a bitch. My former WIP started as a sprawling epic covering the fall of the 18th and rise of the 19th dynasties. Never could really find the right voice. About 35k in, I shelved it, for all the reasons mentioned above. More power to anyone who can pull it off.

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Well, it's on sub right now, and although I've had two rejections from publishers, both commented that it was very well researched and brought the world vividly to life, so I'm happy with that

I hope you go back to your story one day, as it sounds interesting. I'd be happy to be a crit partner / beta - us ancient Egyptian novelists gotta stick together

snafu1056 said:

I'm going to take a wild guess and say Kallithrix is writing about ancient Egypt.

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Nah, he's practicing his Greek alphabet.
And here I thought I was an Egyptian expert by watching Liz Taylor in Cleopatra.
We are allowed to have a little fun here, right?

snafu1056 said:

I'm going to take a wild guess and say Kallithrix is writing about ancient Egypt.

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Nah, he's practicing his Greek alphabet.
And here I thought I was an Egyptian expert by watching Liz Taylor in Cleopatra.
We are allowed to have a little fun here, right?

Sorry, he = she

Cicak said:

And here I thought I was an Egyptian expert by watching Liz Taylor in Cleopatra.

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It's how I did all my research...

Cicak said:

We are allowed to have a little fun here, right?

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No. Absolutely not. Historical fiction and fun should be kept separate at all times.

Cicak said:

Sorry, he = she

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Easy mistake to make. It's the beard

A tip that really helped me, and it didn't make much sense at first, is learn and research stuff that probably won't make it in your book. I used to to think, why waste time learning and researching this or that aspect if I know I'm not really going to use it. I can say now, do it. It helps.

Kallithrix said:

Easy mistake to make. It's the beard

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Was that a subtle Hatshepsut joke? I think it was. You stinker, you. And if it wasn't, I'm going to pretend it was anyway.

Well, it's on sub right now, and although I've had two rejections from publishers, both commented that it was very well researched and brought the world vividly to life, so I'm happy with that

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I would be too. Heck, I'd be happy if a publisher even acknowledged my existence with a response. What period are your novels set in? Your avatar looks like Ptolemaic or Roman period, but the names in the quotes you provided sound like New Kingdom or older.

I hope you go back to your story one day, as it sounds interesting. I'd be happy to be a crit partner / beta - us ancient Egyptian novelists gotta stick together

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I'm gonna take you up on that. There's like what, all of six of us. And four of those are retired. (I'm not counting Jacq's stuff, because those are just, well, travesty doesn't do them justice). I'd love to read through yours, as well.

Jack Judah said:

Was that a subtle Hatshepsut joke? I think it was. You stinker, you. And if it wasn't, I'm going to pretend it was anyway.

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Well good. I'm going to pretend it was too. Because it makes me look smart

Jack Judah said:

I would be too. Heck, I'd be happy if a publisher even acknowledged my existence with a response. What period are your novels set in? Your avatar looks like Ptolemaic or Roman period, but the names in the quotes you provided sound like New Kingdom or older.

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I was surprised to find out that the funeral mask in my avatar is actually Middle Kingdom, 2040-1640 BC, because I thought it looked late period too. It was a nice surprise tho, because it spookily resembles my mental image of my MC, and I have a sort of rule that anything earlier than my period counts as authentic

My novel is set in the first year of Ramesses II's reign, although I admit to taking substantial liberties with my timeline. The main reason for that is because I'm proposing a new date for Exodus, and a re-interpretation of the historical events leading up to and surrounding it. (In fact, this was cited as one of the reasons why a US publisher couldn't see a market for it in the States, because it is a non-Christian take on 'biblical' history. Apparently that's an even harder sell than non-American HF.)

Jack Judah said:

I'm gonna take you up on that. There's like what, all of six of us. And four of those are retired. (I'm not counting Jacq's stuff, because those are just, well, travesty doesn't do them justice). I'd love to read through yours, as well.

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Who are the 6? I haven't read a decent Egyptian novel in.... I can't remember. They're rather few and far between, which is either in our favour as aspiring HF writers because it's a low competition market, or against us because there IS no market. I can't decide which.

Michelle Moran's Nefertiti novels were ok, but the characters and story weren't very memorable. I've forgotten everything that happened in them.

Wilbur Smith started out so well with River God (you have to forgive the flagrant making-shit-up-for-a-good-story, because WHAT a story) but then Warlock went a bit OTT, and I was put off reading the others by bad reviews.

Christian Jacques had a couple of good stories in him, but I gave up half way through book 1 of the Rameses series (the Battle of Kadesh I think) because the writing got so forumlaic and the story bored me to tears.

Pauline Gedge.... just no. Getting to the end of just one of hers was a chore.

I read a couple of Lauren Haney's Lieutenant Bak novels, purely because they're crime novels about a Medjay 'detective' and I wanted to see if they were at all similar to what I was writing. I don't think they are, and they also got a bit formulaic.

Haven't read any Paul Doherty, although I've always meant to.

I really enjoyed Mika Waltari's The Egyptian, but that's an old one now (1945) and he's been dead a long while.

Who have I missed? I can't see my bookshelf from here, and I'm too lazy to get up...

My first published short story was about the Six Day War. I found some good information online, but in my experience, nothing beats books. The experts who have spent years writing those can provide all of the details needed for a convincing narrative.

Kallithrix said:

I was surprised to find out that the funeral mask in my avatar is actually Middle Kingdom, 2040-1640 BC, because I thought it looked late period too. It was a nice surprise tho, because it spookily resembles my mental image of my MC, and I have a sort of rule that anything earlier than my period counts as authentic

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Now that is interesting. The full beard is what threw me, I just assumed classical influence. But on second thought, the yellow skin and beard makes sense in an older context if the owner was a Semite. Do you know, did the mask come from the North or South? Is there any attribution? Sorry -- nerding out. Can't help myself. If it came from the North, and the dating is correct, you may not be far wrong imagining some, achem, familial resemblance to your MC. Any chance this came from the area around Avaris?

Who are the 6? I haven't read a decent Egyptian novel in.... I can't remember. They're rather few and far between, which is either in our favour as aspiring HF writers because it's a low competition market, or against us because there IS no market. I can't decide which.

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Funny how many people are fascinated by Egypt, yet we always hear that chorus of "no market!".

I'll be honest -- I plucked 6 out of thin air. I could only think of Waltari, Smith and Jacq off the top of my head, but figured there were more. Never read any of Smith's Egyptian novels, except for River God. As a man, reading it was uh, let's just say painful, in certain parts. Pun intended.

I think the last decent Egyptian novel I read was, ironically enough, Howard Fast's Moses.

I think it's good to read a combination of primary and secondary sources. That's been my method. Granted, there are lots of sources of both types for my period--Antebellum America. I enjoy reading journals/memoirs, speeches, guidebooks, etc., but I also like reading current histories. Not only have they done a lot of the legwork on a particular topic (which can lead you to cool primary sources), but it also tells you what people today think about the period. While learning about the time period is important, I maintain that it's important to also understand what your audience (you know, 21st century readers) thinks about or expects from your time period. You can/should work against the expectations, but it's best to know what you're up against.

Jack Judah said:

Now that is interesting. The full beard is what threw me, I just assumed classical influence. But on second thought, the yellow skin and beard makes sense in an older context if the owner was a Semite. Do you know, did the mask come from the North or South? Is there any attribution? Sorry -- nerding out. Can't help myself. If it came from the North, and the dating is correct, you may not be far wrong imagining some, achem, familial resemblance to your MC. Any chance this came from the area around Avaris?

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Unfortunately, I don't know much more about it, as there's little info accompanying pics I've found on tinterwebs. All I know is that it's in the Cairo museum, so hopefully one day I'll get to see it

Ok, I think we've hijacked this thread enough. Maybe we should make our own Egyptian HF thread

Kallithrix said:

Unless you're writing about a period with far less comprehensive primary sources, and therefor more room for interpretation. Say.... ancient Egypt.

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I would find writing about ancient Egypt -- even the New Kingdom -- extremely difficult because there aren't any intimate letters or diaries from the period. Of course, having actual direct prose from a period can be a problem since it sounds "modern"...for example, Frances Burney uses the word "superskills" in about 1790. Who's going to believe that?

I'm with Angeliz and Taylor H. Books! if the time period /subject you are writing about has few sources. For my WIP on women in Louis XIV France, I sourced about fifty books online. Mostly reference, but one fiction. I also logged lots of hours on the national library of France and found sources in French. I got a lot from looking at attitudes on the role of women back then, none of which would translate well in 21st century fiction. So, I tried to find emotional common experiences that would resonate. Good luck!