Ask HF Blog

What an exciting week to debut this new "column" here at the HF (historical fiction) Blog. At least here in the Mid-Atlantic region. :) Ice storms, snow, sleet, freezing rain, power outages, 40 mph winds. You name it, we've had it the past couple of days.

However, something to warm your thoughts is this new feature. Every Thursday, we'll be answering questions that YOU have submitted regarding historical fiction. Anything and everything that has to do with the topic, we'll consider. For now, we'll limit to 3-5 questions, but we'll see how things go as we get further into the schedule.

So, be sure and tell your friends (authors, writers and readers) to come here for all their HF questions. Encourage them to submit a question of their own, or you can ask for them. Only your first name and state/country of residence will be featured to help maintain your anonymity. You can submit your question by sending an email here.

Now, on with today's questions:

1. What is historical fiction?

HF Blog: There are several answers to this, and only a few will be used here, as there are several interpretations of the genre.

* Fiction that attempts to present an accurate, often critical, portrayal or imitation of a historical event.
* A long narrative of past events and characters, partly historical but largely imaginative. Stories set in the past and try to recreate the auro of a time past, reconstruct characters, events, movements, ways of life and spirit of days gone by.
* Works in which the characters are fictional, but the setting and other details are rooted in actual history.
* A novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. As such, the historical novel is distinguished from the alternate-history genre. The historical novel was popularized in the 19th century by artists classified as Romantics. Many regard Sir Walter Scott as the first to have used this technique, in his novels of Scottish history, but it has grown and expanded from its original form since then.

2. What is the best way to conduct historical research? Do you use the internet or libraries or books?

HFBlog: All of the above. It's best to use whatever resources you have available. The Internet can be a fantastic research tool, but depending upon what information you need, it might be better to rely on periodicals, diaries, journals and personal accountings from a specific time period. Older or out of print books can be located at a library or used bookshop, and they provide documented details that can be quite difficult to find online. Even community newsletters or letters to the editor can be extremely helpful with grasping the "mood" of a certain time or place or event. The biggest problem with Internet research is determining the veracity of the information you find.

3. What responsibility do historical fiction writers have with maintaining the accuracy of the period, the people, and the events?

HFBlog: The fiction writer has a great responsibility to represent the truth. Because these works are clearly labeled "fiction," one can alter the chronology of events here and there, invent characters and dialogue, speculate on motives, and dramatize important points. But the fiction label doesn't give one the right to seriously distort historical characters or events. As it's been proven, readers of fiction still can be influenced by what they read, and if the truth is distorted, it can negatively affect their perception of reality of that time. You owe it to your readers to be as accurate as possible. If you don't feel that responsibility then you're not a historical novelist --- you're a fantasy writer. The story, of course, is paramount because a writer is a novelist before a historian, but also a historical novelist which suggests a certain love and respect for what actually happened. Sometimes, because the story demands it, a piece of history can be changed, but that is usually denoted by an author's note for clarification.

That's it for today. If you have burning questions you'd like to ask, don't forget email us. And don't forget to let your reader/writer friends who love historical fiction know about Ask HFBlog Thursdays.

See you next week!