A Special Blog Post for Historical Novelists

There’s a special place in my heart for historical novelists, and simply because I consider myself one. Mind you, the job isn’t the easiest in the world. We’re reputed to have next to no audience. We have to do a lot of research and fieldwork to accurately portray the times that we set our novels in – and if accuracy is going to hurt the story that we want, then we either change the story and deal with it, or keep our story and brace ourselves for historical purists who will soon barge into our lives and tear our novels apart.

If you are working on historical fiction, here are a few tips that you might want to consider. I’ve found that these work for me, so if you have more ideas, post them in the Comments section or post some links to articles that can help you, me, and other historical novelists who are currently developing dust allergies in the Archives sections of libraries everywhere.

1. Wikipedia is not the end of the road. This is a common illness propagating through college students nowadays: they Google a term, find a Wikipedia entry on it, and then use that single entry to form the bulk of their research work. If you must use Wikipedia, let it be your jump-off point for more research. Historical research is made deeper, richer, and more accurate if you can get your facts from as many sources as you possibly can.

2. Don’t be afraid of your library – bring bug spray and anti-allergy medications if you must. If you have a local library in your area, lucky you! If you’re still in school, then you’re way luckier than other novelists who have to spend on their history books. Visit the library, tuck yourself happily into the Archives or Stacks or whatever your Old Books Section is called, and do your research. A lot of historical research is still stashed in between the pages of books and isn’t available online.

3. If you’re really serious about historical research, branch out into journals and magazines. There are magazines such as National Geographic, Military History, History, and even Discover that tackle historical research. You can find interviews with experts and information on archaeological digs – these can enrich your work or provide new storylines that you can explore.

4. When you find historical research that you are interested in, try to search out experts in the field. Google their names and try to email them. Interview them if they’re close by. You can find these names in your favorite historical research magazines, or in the directory of your local college or university. Be careful, though: if these historical research experts are actively involved in research, you will need to work around their schedules and respect their need to devote more time to research.

5. Make maps. Ready to plot out your novel? A map can help you take care of things. Have a world map and an atlas ready for big epics that take your characters across continents; sketch your own little maps for your personal navigation through your settings.

6. Create a “planner.” What I like to do is print out calendars detailing what my characters will do from week to week. I won’t need to document everything, of course, but it gives me time to explore my characters in depth and write them better; it also makes them more real to me, so that I don’t feel like I’m creating them out of nothing, but simply writing about real people and real friends.

Write: Verb, not Noun

If there is one thing that you should remember as a writer, it's this: writers write.

Don't go around telling people that you're a writer, preen your feathers as you bask in their praise, and then go home and do nothing. You have no right to call yourself a writer unless you: 1) constantly practice your craft and work on improving it and 2) write.

You must therefore refrain from calling yourself a writer if you have one or more of the following flaws: 1) your grammar needs a sledgehammer, electric drill, and bulldozer to be corrected until your work is good enough to be read (and understood), 2) you are unwilling to have your grammar and syntax corrected, 3) you are unwilling to edit your work, 4) you are unwilling to do research for your work, 5) you are unwilling to be criticized, and 6) you just don't write.

Remember, you have a profession as well as a hobby on your hands. It will be exciting at times, and then draining at others. Make your fellow writers proud of you by actually writing, and writing well. If you only end up giving writers a bad name, then please, put your pen down, or set your computer aside, and let the rest of us live (and write) in peace.

If you do write, however, and live up to the demands of your profession, then keep up the good work!

Maybe the Child in You can Have the Final Say...

“All that I could think was that it was the most fun that I ever had.”

Have you ever found yourself saying those words? Have you ever thought that all the work that you did was just a whole load of great play? Have you ever looked back and thought, “I was so lucky.” Well, now is the time to tell your story!

This time, you cannot employ fiction. You have to think back on the most fun situation that you've ever experienced, and you have to tell it in the most engaging, most believable, and yes, most fun manner. You can use as many words as you want, and you can pepper your prose with figurative language. You just have to be truthful and you need a good story.

The best writers in the world can turn the most ordinary tales into stories worth cherishing. Bring out the writer in you! Provide links in the comments section, or show off your story!

Good luck and happy writing!

A Sad First Sentence

Emotions can make or break a short story. Too many emotions can drown out your plot and collapse your work into a sloppy, muddy melodrama. Too few emotions can turn your characters into mindless cardboard cutouts who act without thinking or feeling. You need to balance everything in your story, as in real life. The same goes for a novel: can you imagine dragging your readers through a protracted soap opera, or characters so dry you can crumble them into powder?

It's your chance to try your luck at using emotions. You have 5000 words at your disposal, your choice of characters and plot, and this as your first sentence:

“I didn't think he would disappoint me, but he did.”

Post your work in the Comments section, or provide a link to your short story. Good luck, and happy writing!

The Triumph that Goes Beyond the Moment

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“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death”

-Robert Fulghum

The Apocalyptic What If

It's time for you to try your luck at a Hollywood plot. Ask yourself:

“What if the world would end tomorrow?”

It's time for you to write a longer short story, of about 15,000 words or so (or less). You have your choice of characters and plot, but you cannot have more than three main characters. You also need to have an exciting story that should not employ any cliches or overused plots. You need to have a unique, exciting story, and you have to post it!

Provide a link to your story through the Comments section – and happy writing!

Differing Perspectives, Different Stories

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http://www.songmeanings.net/

This isn't a site strictly for writers. It's a place where people critique song lyrics and interpret them. There are enough cryptic songs out there to fuel speculation and debate on this site, and it's a wonderful place for writers to get an idea of how mere words can be interpreted differently.

Try your hand at it: look for a song, look at its lyrics, and then interpret them. Look for that song on the Song Meanings website, and then see how other people have interpreted the words. Do their interpretations match yours? Do you find yourself going, "Ah!" as you read the different interpretations and discover things that you did not get in your first reading of the song's lyrics?

The Song Meanings site is not meant to be a tutorial on how to write to please all people - but it's a way to see how people have so many different perspectives and opinions. Not everyone is going to understand what you write in the way that you want them to. Moreover, not everyone is going to understand what you write, PERIOD.

You just have to be prepared to face these possibilities as a writer and you can be a better, not to mention stronger writer with this kind of mindset.