Five Tips for Writing Excellent Historical Fiction
Avoid the Urge to Overshare Research. Years ago, I decided to write a YA novel set in the nineteen-twenties. I loved doing the research. When I started to write, however, I found myself thinking more about how to include all my new knowledge rather than about the characters. Hence, a labored conversation on the first page about someone's bobbed hair, and subsequent pages that focused more on food and furniture than character arcs.
When writing historical fiction, make sure your characters and plot take precedence over research. Research should inform and enhance your manuscript, not overwhelm it.Make Language Accessible. Entire manuscripts written in historically accurate language often end up inaccessible. That's not to say that I haven't read manuscripts that do manage to pull off and are dazzling when they do so, but, by and large, they are the exceptions to the rule.
A scattering of period-specific vocabulary and turns of phrase is all you need to evoke an era; anything more might alienate readers.Avoid Too Much Explaining. It feels slightly dangerous to say this, but don't get too caught up on historical accuracy. When writers fret over accuracy, they start writing more with the idea of explaining and controlling than allowing the narrative to flow out in an organic way.
For example, say you're struggling to get a letter from seventeenth-century England to Philadelphia in less than a month. Consider just ignoring the improbability and instead write through it as if there's no problem. Figure out the details later and explain them as simply and concisely as possible.Fresh Settings. The same places and time periods tended to get a lot of attention. New York City in the Roaring Twenties, the European theaters in World War II, the South during the Civil War, colonial United States. Historical fiction that employed lesser known time periods and places stand out .
Write What You Know. The research necessary for historical fiction takes a lot of time. You can gain some of that time back by writing what you know in areas that transcend time. For example, it may make sense if the writer has a cooking hobby to write about the kitchen in a king's court or, it could be a more subtle connection, like if you're into gardening, tackling the plight of Dust Bowl farmers.