Historical Fiction Panel - July 18, 2012 discussion

How did you the Story of The Taker first start? Where did you get your ideas from? Love Tina (UK)

Question for those who use historical figures in their novels ... do you do a lot of research into those figures and how they were portrayed in biographies or other fiction works, or do you take a departure and interpret them differently, expecting your audience to understand this is a work of fiction?

In particular I am thinking of the short story "The Devil's Scribe" by Alma Katsu featuring Edgar Allen Poe, and the works by C.W. Gortner set in the Tudor court and other European courts.

Thank you,
Johannah

How true to history do you feel you have to be in your novels, and how do you feel about author appendixes that outline any deviations from historicity. As a reader, I really like these but I know not all writers of historical fiction include them. Thanks! Lynn

I think you need to be as true to history as you can, especially if you are writing about an actual person. I just e-pubbed a novel called, Blue Africa, where the hero is engaged to Princess Helena the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Now in real life the princess never married, so I didn't change history (the hero doesn't marry her) I just suggested what could have been.

One comment I would like to make is that I really appreciate authors who let the readers know, either in a preface, or, more usually, suffix, which historical sources they have used.

I particularly appreciate knowing which parts of the novel are based on documented historical evidence, a bit of background on any parts which are currently still debated, which are speculation, and which are fiction.

Most authors of historical fiction do this, but some do not.

Historical fiction has enriched my knowledge of history immeasurably; it brings history alive in a way that teachers trapped in the school system are often unable to manage.

Jay wrote: "One comment I would like to make is that I really appreciate authors who let the readers know, either in a preface, or, more usually, suffix, which historical sources they have used.

I particular..."

I so agree Jay! When reading a historical fiction novel, the first thing I do is read the author's notes to see what is factual, what is tweaked and what is created. Then when I finish the book, if interested, I research and read more. I find that the paperback versions omit this information

Mira wrote: "Jay wrote: "One comment I would like to make is that I really appreciate authors who let the readers know, either in a preface, or, more usually, suffix, which historical sources they have used.

..."

A list of sources is always nice, even if it is fiction.

Ivy wrote: "Mira wrote: "Jay wrote: "One comment I would like to make is that I really appreciate authors who let the readers know, either in a preface, or, more usually, suffix, which historical sources they ..."

I agree, Mira, which is why there is a two page bibliography at the end of DESTINIES. :) Karleene

Karleene wrote: "Ivy wrote: "Mira wrote: "Jay wrote: "One comment I would like to make is that I really appreciate authors who let the readers know, either in a preface, or, more usually, suffix, which historical s..."

Perfect :)

Hi Tina!

I carried the idea for The Taker around with me for a long time. I was inspired to write The Taker after a very spooky experience I had one night in the area around Concord, Massachusetts. I was driving home and had just passed an old Colonial-era farm when I thought I saw a man walking towards me on the side of the road. It was a foggy night and so I looked in the rearview mirror to make sure I'd passed him cleanly, only to see that he'd disappeared. Rather than become freaked out--which is what any sane person might do--being a writer, I started piecing together a story in my head. It became a tragic love story. I imagined the man as a ghost pinned forever to that place, which I envisioned as his childhood home. He was trapped because he'd broken the heart of a woman who loved him fiercely and refused to give him up, even to time.

That was the origin of The Taker. The story morphed and shifted a little in the ten years it took to write, but the essentials are still there: old New England, the supernatural, heartache and longing, and a love so strong that it transcends time.


Tina wrote: "How did you the Story of The Taker first start? Where did you get your ideas from? Love Tina (UK)"

Hi Jo!

I've only written about two real people in my stories (so far), Edgar Allan Poe and Lord Byron, and luckily both men had outsized personalities that have been well documented, so it wasn't too hard to slip inside their heads. I feel that I probably didn't portray either exactly to their true nature but maybe softened them to fit the circumstances of the stories. Funny, I feel a little guilty for using a real person as a character in a story. But using real people as characters is the exception for me, not the norm.

Johannah wrote: "Question for those who use historical figures in their novels ... do you do a lot of research into those figures and how they were portrayed in biographies or other fiction works, or do you take a ..."

A question for all:

What are some of the common mistakes or pitfalls that writers should avoid?

Are you sometimes "pressured" by your agents, editors etc to include whatever is currently "in" in your works?

Jay wrote: "One comment I would like to make is that I really appreciate authors who let the readers know, either in a preface, or, more usually, suffix, which historical sources they have used.

I particular..."

Thanks, Jay. I'm one who firmly believes in the value of an Author's Note. Obviously, novelists don't use footnotes, and we also cannot point out every single thing that's real or not real, but it is a chance for us to come clean on many instances in order to edify the reader. Personally, I do not mess with any historical fact, but if I need someone to be somewere and I cannot find evidence one way or the other where they were that day, then I feel cleared to put them there! It was hard in DAUGHTER OF YORK because this very meticulous Dutch researcher in the 1930s decided to write an "Itinerary of The Reign of Charles, duke of Burgundy" that included exactly where his wife (my protagonist) and her stepdaughter were almost every single day of a 10 year period! These three people never stayed in the same palace for more than a couple of weeks at a time! Phew that was taxing for me! But it also gave me wonderful tidbits as to where Margaret may have eaten lunch (if three places were listed in one day). But getting her together with her love interest, Anthony Woodville, was complicated to say the least ;-)

Mira wrote: "A question for all:

What are some of the common mistakes or pitfalls that writers should avoid?

Are you sometimes "pressured" by your agents, editors etc to include whatever is currently "in" i..."

Hi Mira,
To answer your second question first, no, neither my agent or editor pressure me to write to trends or to take out something to skew better with an audience. That said, I do value their opinions highly, and putting out a book is a collaborative process. My editor is very hands on and makes a lot of suggestions, all to make the book better. They're usually along the lines of, 'wouldn't it be more interesting here if you...' or 'I think we need to know more about what X character is thinking right here...'

As for pitfalls to avoid, there are many. I've seen advice ranging from 'never open a chapter with the weather' to 'don't open your book by introducing too many characters'. The bottom line is that any rule can be broken if you do it well. Good writing trumps all.

Mira wrote: "A question for all:

What are some of the common mistakes or pitfalls that writers should avoid?

Are you sometimes "pressured" by your agents, editors etc to include whatever is currently "in" i..."

Mira, I have probably fallen into every hole I shouldn't have in this writing process. I am not the person to answer that part of your question!
However, the only time I was steered towards writing about one person over another was with my second book. I was given a two-book contract by Simon & Schuster when my agent sold A ROSE FOR THE CROWN and I had to come up with another book proposal in 24 hours of being given the offer! I had never even thought about publishing that first book--it was a labor of love and the only book I ever thought about writing, but for my own satisfaction, not for public viewing! I had just moved to this area (north of Boston) and was already taken with the whole Massachusetts Bay Colony history, so I proposed a book about Anne Bradstreet, whom you probably know was America's first published poet, and the wife of Simon Bradstreet, one of the first governors of the colony. At the bottom of the skimpy half-page proposal (I didn't even know what that was then!) I added three lines about a woman that had intrigued me throughout y research for ROSE and that was Margaret of York, Richard III's sister. My editor, Trish Todd, told my agent: "We don't want American women in long dresses right now, we want European ones!" so I had to go with Margaret (DAUGHTER OF YORK). She also asked for one more bedroom scene in the first book in the revisions, but honestly that is the only "pressure" I have experienced.

Alma wrote: "Mira wrote: "A question for all:

What are some of the common mistakes or pitfalls that writers should avoid?

Are you sometimes "pressured" by your agents, editors etc to include whatever is cur..."

Alma wrote: "Hi Jo!

I've only written about two real people in my stories (so far), Edgar Allan Poe and Lord Byron, and luckily both men had outsized personalities that have been well documented, so it wasn't ..."


I don't allow that pressure, which may be a mistake. I write about what interests me, what I think will make a good story.Through a Glass Darkly

Mira wrote: "A question for all:

What are some of the common mistakes or pitfalls that writers should avoid?

Are you sometimes "pressured" by your agents, editors etc to include whatever is currently "in" i..."

Another mistake.....to be timid in your story, overwhelmed by research. You're writing a story, not a term paper. You're conjecturing, filling in gaps.....go for that!Dark Angels

Anne wrote: I was given a two-book contract by Simon & Schuster when my agent sold A ROSE FOR THE CROWN and I had to come up with another book proposal in 24 hours of being given the offer! I had never even thought about publishing that first book--it was a labor of love and the only book I ever thought about writing, but for my own satisfaction, not for public viewing!


So now I'm curious: When did your first novel go from "for my own satisfaction, not for public viewing" in your mind to submitting it for publication and how did you make that happen? This question is really for all the authors on the panel.

Robin wrote: "Anne wrote: I was given a two-book contract by Simon & Schuster when my agent sold A ROSE FOR THE CROWN and I had to come up with another book proposal in 24 hours of being given the offer! I had n..."

Robin, I'll be candid: I always wanted to be a novelist. I took a hiatus to have another career, but both my degrees are in writing. I was an avid reader. I took it very seriously. I think as you write you protect yourself mentally, because the odds are so high against selling a book. I wanted it, but didn't expect it. And was pleasantly surprised. We sold at auction, and have sold translation rights in eleven languages so far.

As for 'how did you make it happen', that could be another day-long discussion in itself! The short answer is write the very best book you can; query agents appropriate to your genre; revise, revise, revise; be open to advice; and don't give up.

Johannah wrote: "Question for those who use historical figures in their novels ... do you do a lot of research into those figures and how they were portrayed in biographies or other fiction works, or do you take a ..."

I do research my historical figures in depth; though I may use them within a completely fictional story-line, as in THE TUDOR SECRET, I feel as though I should honor what is known about them.

Lynn wrote: "How true to history do you feel you have to be in your novels, and how do you feel about author appendixes that outline any deviations from historicity. As a reader, I really like these but I know ..."

Hi Lynn,

This is a great question, and one that I struggled with as I wrote my novel. I kept a bibliography as I researched, but decided against including the sources. This was, after all, fiction, and while the events were as accurate as I could make them, the characters (except for historical figures) were invented. There were moments when I was tempted to include footnotes because some of the events seemed so unreal (like the Proclamation Against the African Race) that I thought readers might think I made it up. I decided against including an Appendix because the list was very long, most of it in Spanish. Somehow it also felt too academic.