In an article for Writer’s Digest, Gill Paul shares 7 tips for fictionalizing real historical characters, including when to retell history, when to imagine scenes, and who is safe to use as a subject. “Can you write a novel in which Hitler meets Napoleon for afternoon tea? Absolutely. Or one in which Eleanor Roosevelt does a few lines of coke with Princess Diana? Why not?” Paul says. “Anything can happen in fiction, and frequently does. Every author who includes real characters in a novel takes a slightly different approach.”
Paul shares seven things she’s learned about fictionalizing real people:
- It’s harder if your subject is well known. When you write about famous people, the good news is you’re likely to find a lot of material in your research. The bad news is you have to decide what is important to show and what to leave out. “You need to be ruthless about what you leave out and wrestle the essential facts into a narrative arc with dramatic tension, so the novel is not just a list of things that your hero or heroine did,” Paul writes. She recommends choosing a specific aspect of your subject’s life and a short time frame.
- If you cheat on the big stuff, you need to get the details right. “Frederick Forsyth once wrote ‘You can say that Hitler won the Second World War, but you can’t say that Green Park is on the Northern line.’ (For those unfamiliar with the London Tube system—it’s not.),” Paul says. “I’ve always followed this advice.”
- Always beware the living. You can’t libel the dead, but make sure that any relatives or minor characters you include have also passed. Also monitor your quotations for copyright.
- Write the story you want to write. Some writers try to interview living friends and relatives of their subjects, but Paul doesn’t. “My view is that it’s hard enough turning real life into a novel without the added complication of descendants who want to have their say—and frequently don’t agree with each other,” she says.
- Choose subjects you like and/or admire. If you’re going to write about them, you should enjoy spending time with them. Even if your subjects aren’t likable, you’ll come to understand and appreciate them more through the writing process. “Once you understand what makes someone the way they are, it’s hard to dislike them,” Paul writes.
- Readers appreciate an author’s note. Readers want to know your thoughts about your subject, why you chose them, and how you went about your research. You might also confess which aspects of your novel are factual and which are fabricated.
