In an article for Writer’s Digest, Liz Trenow shares 5 pros and cons of writing historical fiction. “When I discovered historical fiction, I loved the way it opened up worlds I knew little about, led me into researching eras of history, even took me traveling to find out more,” she says. Rather than suggest rules of writing historical fiction, Trenow shares the pros and cons based on what she’s learned.
- History is a great source of inspiration, but you need to get your details right. You can fudge some places and dates for the purpose of your story, but factual details are important.
- Research can be a lot of fun, but you have to know when enough is enough.
- Like research, worldbuilding is an immersive exercise, but you have to be careful where you put these details and how many of them you use.
- There are many sources for learning how characters in a certain era might speak, but hewing too closely to dialect or old speaking patterns can make your writing feel out-dated or too dense.
- There are a lot of untold stories from many eras, but some aren’t as appealing to readers.
