Crafting Stories From the Past: A How-To Guide for Writing Historical Fiction
Many writers’ craft books exist, but few focus on historical fiction, so this book fills a definite need. It answers questions that every historical novelist has grappled with, from how historically accurate the details must be, to including real events and people in fiction. Each chapter is written by a different author, which sometimes makes for uneven writing quality and repetition across sections. Some chapters contain information so basic as to be useful only to beginning novelists (lists of research areas as broad as “Religion,” “Buildings,” and “Transportation” are surely unnecessary). The best chapters on the subject of research are “How to Know When and What to Research” by Vanitha Sankaran, which includes invaluable advice about how to research efficiently at each stage of the writing process, and Edie Cay’s “How to Organize Extensive Research,” complete with screenshots of spreadsheets and technical advice on how to keep dates and facts straight.
Chapters that should be required reading for even the most seasoned historical novelists are “How to Use Non-Western Story Structures” and “How to Embrace Diversity in Historical Fiction.” The diversity chapter touches on complex subjects such as how to write the Other when you’re not the Other and how to avoid offenses such as tokenism and stereotypes. The resources list at the end of the book is helpfully organized by theme and by historical period. And every novelist, historical or not, will find something valuable in Mari Anne Christie’s “How to Tame the Messy Middle,” which offers a lifeline for those who feel stuck. Historical novelists at every skill and experience level will find something in this book to add to their toolbox.
