How to Avoid 5 Common Mistakes When Making the Past Come Alive and Writing Historical Fiction

Readers of historical fiction want to escape into the novel, to be caught up in the spell as your words make the past come alive. But what happens when you read your draft and something feels off?

(Research and Storytelling for Successful Historical Fiction.)

When there aren’t any obvious historical inaccuracies, perhaps it’s a case of less-than-seamless integration of historical details into the novel. This is a common problem and a challenging one to resolve. Check for these five common mistakes and consider whether the suggested solutions will work for you.

Historical novelists are basically history nerds. We long to share our research. However, when narratives read more like a textbook than novel, that breaks the spell for readers. Disguising information as dialogue is one tactic, but it fails terribly if dialogue is there to dump facts. Consider the infamous “as you know” speech.

*****

“As you know, Evelyn,” Bertie said, “The Representation of the People Act of 1918 already allows women over the age of 30 who own property to vote.” [Bertie pontificates, the reader’s eyes glaze over …]

Suggestion: Break up the information and create a true conversation

“But Evelyn,” Bertie said, “women have had the vote since 1918. The Representation of the People Act ensures that women’s issues will be heard.”

“That’s not good enough,” she replied, “because the only women who can vote are those who own property. What about the farm wife, the factory worker, the schoolteacher? Titled and wealthy women have no idea of the struggles facing their less privileged sisters.”

“So you think all women should be given the vote?” Bertie almost snorted out loud.

*****

This creates an opportunity to reveal more about the characters. It brings legal language to life by illustrating how the Act affects real women. It adds tension and helps move the story forward.

Related to the above of showing rather than telling. For example, to help readers visualize a character, we often rush to describe what they wear. Fair enough, since clothing is one of the most effective ways to convey time and setting. Yet if it ends up being a mere list of details, not only will it read badly, but we’ve missed the chance to convey a person’s mood, profession, wealth, or the significance of the occasion.

*****

Example: She was a plain woman, well-dressed. Her dress of pale green silk was edged with lace ruffles at the bodice and sleeves, the fabric covered with embroidered pink flowers. The green velvet hat pinned to her brown hair was decorated with pink satin flowers and her emerald earrings matched the large emerald on a gold chain at her neck. Her shoes were green leather with silver buckles.

Suggestion: Offer commentary on the clothing and its purpose

It was obvious that her wardrobe had been chosen carefully to offset her sallow skin. The pale green silk of her dress emphasized her green eyes. Pink embroidered flowers on the fabric brought out what little color she had in her cheeks, as did the pink satin flowers on her green velvet hat, firmly pinned to limp brown hair. Falls of ruffled lace at her bodice and arms added an illusion of shapeliness to her thin figure. Shoes of fine green leather with polished silver buckles completed the ensemble, but it was her jewelry that spoke loudest: a large emerald on a gold chain and matching emerald earrings.

*****

Make clothing send a message: The woman in these fine clothes knows she’s plain, but also that she won’t lack for suitors.

Characters should behave in a manner consistent with their wealth, class, education, gender, religion, politics—a myriad of nuances. Because when they don’t, readers will find them hard to believe. How can Mulan, born into a time when Chinese girls were raised to keep house, fool soldiers into believing she’s a trained warrior? Context is everything.

*****

Suggestion: Offer back story to make it plausible

Mulan’s father had no son and passed on his warrior training to her.

Then establish how much the situation deviates from the norm. This matters. Provide a clear indication of the courage it takes and what’s at stake when a character defies convention. An effective way to provide this type of context is by using other characters’ reactions to the character’s actions. Are they merely surprised or shocked and horrified? Are they fearful, admiring, disgusted, or threatened?

Reactions cue the reader as to what is ‘acceptable’ and is another way of revealing more about the characters.  

This one slips in so easily. Many expressions in everyday speech originate from Shakespeare, Dickens, the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, nursery rhymes, or fairy tales. In a medieval setting, you could use expressions such as "wild-goose chase" or “deader than a doornail” and get away with it, even though they originate from Shakespeare; they’ve permeated our language so thoroughly that most readers wouldn’t notice.

However, it would be an obvious anachronism for a medieval monk to compare feuding families to the Montagues and Capulets, referencing a play not yet written. And anachronisms of language aren’t confined to timeline. Remember the “myriad of nuances” from the previous section?

*****

Suggestion: Review dialogue for appropriate language based on class, education, wealth, gender, or profession

Our monk might quote from Homer, but an illiterate kitchen worker is unlikely to do so, having been raised on folk tales, Bible stories, and songs performed in the marketplace.       

Does it feel as though you might be crossing historical boundaries? Much of the challenge—and joy—of writing historical fiction comes from coloring in the grey areas that have been left out of historical records. As Hilary Mantel said: “Evidence is always partial. Facts are not truth, though they are part of it—information is not knowledge.”[^[1]]

I give credit to author Jennifer Robson for this crisp and forthright guideline on how and when to fictionalize, using an example from her bestselling novel Goodnight from London. A young American reporter, Ruby Sutton, interviews Eleanor Roosevelt while covering the Blitz during WWII.

*****

First, is it feasible? Yes, because in October 1942 Eleanor did travel to London, placing her in the right place at the right time.

Next, is it plausible? Yes, because while there’s no record of Eleanor meeting anyone like Ruby, the First Lady was a champion of women’s rights. Therefore if a young American woman journalist asked for an interview, she would’ve granted it.

People take priority over history. Readers don’t care about WWII British economic history or the legal points of rationing, but they do care how rationing makes your heroine struggle to bake a cake for her son.

Incorporate historical details seamlessly into your narrative by letting your characters live their lives while you provide context. Let their reactions to events and conversations inform readers whether what’s happening is normal or dangerous. Avoid breaking the spell!  

Bookshop | Amazon

(WD uses affiliate links)

[1] Hilary Mantel, 2020 BBC Reith Lectures,  The Day Is for the Living.