Matera- historical fiction

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Matera Women's Fiction Festival

Writing Historical Fiction

Elizabeth Edmonson gave a masterclass at the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival 2010.

Her opening point was that you must know yourself. She was not echoing the truism, ‘write about what you know’ because writers of historical fiction will, by definition, normally have no personal experience of their chosen period.

Her point was that creating a historical fiction requires an extra dose of confidence, plus a real feel for the period and subject. The challenge for the writer is to generate the complete, imaginative environment for the reader which often means that they have to distance them from their familiar frame of reference.

Historical writing is not a matter of lots of academic knowledge. That is the domain of historians. Fiction requires the writer to be a confident and fluent storyteller who can immerse the reader in a historical setting.

Structural decisions

Like all writing, historical fiction calls for a few decisions as these will guide both the research and the subsequent writing:

	Is the writer going to work like a reporter who can cover events in great detail?
	or is the narrative an ‘imaginer’ who concentrates on feelings and people?

Another structural issue to be addressed at an early stage is the scope of the story:

	Is the work is going to diverge and cover a large sweep of history? This approach might be suitable if you are creating a story about a ruler and their impact.
	The alternative approach is to construct a convergent story. This has more of a domestic focus so might suit fictional characters who are not known to history. You could focus on the story of a village or just one person to carry your story through its chosen historical context.

The location of the story is obviously another key consideration.

There are certain advantages in writing about one's own country because it is familiar and easier to research. Your audience might be curious to hear a story set in the environment they know. But there are some drawbacks in choosing a familiar setting as your territory, because the reader already has a picture, so you are not working with a blank canvas, plus it is possible that the historical and geographical setting are already well covered.

Setting the scene abroad gives you an opportunity to introduce exotic material which might attract readers. Placing your story in another country, as well as another time, imposes more research and probably the need to travel to get that sense of place your readers will be looking for.

Gender is an issue to consider as you start to plot your novel.

The book buying population is dominated by women, which is why a number of publishing houses specialise in promoting titles for that audience. Weaving a gender theme through the story is probably a good feature as you start plotting the storylines. The central character does not have to be female but a woman should not be introduced just for some ‘romantic interest’! Strong gender roles offer the prospect of attracting a wider market and potential readership. Even if the female character is trapped in a social setting which stereotypes and constrains her, you can give her a parallel existence as an ‘action girl’.

Familiarity is generally a virtue.

	If your writing is a speculative venture, you do not need to give any thought to how it is likely to attract agents and publishers. But if you plan to pitch your book, it always helps to write a story that is topical: perhaps there is a file or anniversary a few years ahead that you know will bring aspects of your story into the public mind.
	There are also certain iconic characters and iconic eras that are much visited. Perversely, familiarity might be deemed a marketing plus. A few competitive titles might make it easier to sell, since a publisher can quickly discover if similar titles from other publishers are selling well and decide to add something on the same topic to their own list.
	So familiar territory could be a good place to pitch your story provided it is original. But if you want to write about the Romans or the Tudors, you will need a fresh angle if you want to hook a publisher and reel in the readers as both areas are well covered.
	If you do decide to strike out into new territory it is important to appreciate that you will have a harder job trying to sell it. Nobody said being a writer was easy!

Elizabeth also spoke of ‘playing against expectations’, which has to be the ambition of every storyteller. What better way than featuring female warriors or male embroiderers, both of whom can be well provenanced.

She emphasised that the historical novel is not, and should not, be a history book. Relating a sequence of events in a logical order is unlikely to create the drama and tension that the reader is expecting. They can get the factual narrative by reading a history book or searching the web. The historical novel holds its reader by exploring the dilemmas and often by confounding their expectations.

'The writer needs to find something to set their spine tingling and that way they will have a passion for their story.'

So when it comes to making the final decisions about your historical book project, it is probably the heart rather than the head that should dictate the key choices.

Elizabeth had another piece of good advice:

'It is worth using pictures and illustrations as a way to capture the feelings and intense moments that have been recorded by the artist. A writer might benefit from a visit to an art gallery to pick up those little clues of dress and manners by studying contemporary images from the period of their novel.'