iUniverse Blog

History, like science, blends nicely with fiction, and even has its own characters to help you along the way. A historical fiction novel should write itself, right?

Not quite. iUniverse believes that no novel is easy to write, and that historical fiction is more challenging than it seems. A writer of this genre needs an intimacy with the time period and the finesse to understand how people from that age would think and talk.

With this in mind, iUniverse offers the following tips on how to write historical fiction:

Choose a time period that inspires you. For many writers, this is self-evident, though the point here is to not be hasty in your choice. You will be essentially “living” in this time period every time you write – which hopefully will be almost every day.

Beyond the setting: While ancient Greece may fascinate you in each and every way, do bear in mind that you are not writing a historical treatise for a university – you are writing a novel. The setting is important, but at the end of the day, it is a backdrop, not a story in itself.

Tell us something we don’t know: Any ironic facts about a time period or place, and eccentricities involving historical figures, will give readers something to tell their friends about. And the latter may turn out to be your readers too!

Make a field-trip: In an ideal world, this is of course possible, though financial constraints may not allow it in reality. Try your best to make this happen, as there is no real substitute for a physical, on-the-ground visit.

iUniverse wants to help you as much as possible in bringing new works from this fascinating genre to the public eye. Just let us remind you that the story takes priority over the research!

Which historical period would you like to write about? Do tell.

Make sure to check out the iUniverse site for more advice and blogs, as well as iUniverse Facebook and iUniverse Twitter.