Author, editor, attempter of this thing called life. Social anxiety warrior. Re-Connections, a collection of short stories, published with Ocelot Press, 15/10/2025.
There is a limit to the amount of research an author can do for a novel. There will always be specialists who know more about the era and the place than you do.
So ask them. Find an expert who is willing to help by answering all your outstanding questions and hopefully providing information that you hadn’t even thought of asking about.
How do you decide on the language to use in dialogue? Clearly modern expressions would be out of place. But the language of the time is also inappropriate because readers wouldn’t understand it, even if you researched it enough to be able to write it.
As with all these dilemmas, you have to find the right balance between these two approaches.
What does the craft of writing a historical novel involve?
P.S. I will reply to your comments, but it might take a couple of days.
In any novel there will be some back story. Most characters haven’t just been born. They had a life before the novel began. And even one who has just been born has parents with back stories that will impact on the newborn. Some of that previous life will be relevant to the current story and needs to be told. It is also important to set the scene, whether indoors or out, to give readers a feeling for the setting (or settings) of the novel in place and time.
Even more so for a historical novel. Most readers will be unaware of the norms, limitations and customs that shaped everyday life in the specific time period. They won’t know what places looked like before the advent of cars, fridges and electricity wires.
It is the job of the writer to tell them what life was like in those days.
BUT
Readers don’t want information dumped on them. The backdrop doesn’t have to be described at once and the back story, however interesting, doesn’t move the current story along. Whatever can be shown during the story shouldn’t be told upfront. This is true of all fiction; in historical fiction there are more unknowns, making the avoidance of infomation dumping more difficult.
P.S. I’m looking forward to reading your comments. It might take me three days to reply, but reply I will.
AnachronismsAn anachronism is before its time – usually in a bad way. It’s a thing that belongs to a period other than the one in which it exists or is attribed to. Usually we think of anachronisms as being misplaced. We think the author hasn’t done their homework. Unless they have been placed there on purpose for comic effect.
The Flinstones, for example, brought twentieth century issues into the lives of a Stone Age family.
But anachronisms are not suitable for serious historical novels.
Not all anachronisms are obvious. I don’t think anyone would make the mistake of having a character switch on a light in the Middle Ages. But would you know not to put a xylophone in an orchestra before 1874?
Anachronisms are not only wrong as actual things before their time, but also in similes and metaphors. As Chuck Sambuchino writes: “A fierce windstorm in a novel set in ancient Rome should not sound like an onrushing train.”
This is one reason why research is essential. And editing.
[Scroll down for my A-Z Challenge theme reveal.]
I’m so pleased to be awarded with another visit from Nancy Jardine, whom I interviewed last month.
She’s back to tell us about not one but two novels of hers that are about to be published.
Take it away, Nancy!
Hello Miriam. It’s lovely to come back so soon to update on my next book launches. First of all, I’d love to say that I’m absolutely delighted with both of my cover designs – each is perfect for their intended market.
I mentioned during my last visit that I was waiting for my cover design from graphic designer, Neil Saddler, for The Taexali Game, my time travel adventure for middle grade/ early teens. That was revealed recently so I’ve rescheduled its launch to April 2015. I’m so pleased to now be virtually ready to self-publish this adventure novel since it’s been waiting on my writing shelf, in various draft guises, for a long time. Soon my readers will be introduced to the intrepid trio you see on the cover – Aran and the twins, Brian and Fianna. In this first book of the Rubidium Time Travel Series, the adventure takes place in their own Aberdeenshire back yard – except that they are time travelled back to the year AD 210. I hope you can see the Ancient Roman legionaries in the cover design because AD 210 was an era when Roman Emperor Severus and his vile son, Caracalla, invaded northern Britain with multiple legions in a show of Roman strength. My teen protagonists have a set of tasks to fulfil, but how do they work out how to help both the ‘baddies’ and the ‘goodies’ when some of the Celtic chiefs they meet are as foul as Severus and Caracalla? Dicing with death becomes the norm in this Roman/Celtic Britain adventure but my trio need to stay alive! The main reason I’m not self publishing The Taexali Game sooner is… because I’ve another launch to attend first!
My Crooked Cat edition of Monogamy Twist, my contemporary romantic mystery, is launching on March 27th 2015 and I’m absolutely delighted with the quirky cover design for this, too – created by Laurence Patterson of Crooked Cat. Monogamy Twist is a mystery with historical aspects but very different from my Celtic Roman Britain historical novels. The plot for it is based on a recognisable Dickensian theme – that of the bequest of a decaying stately home. Luke Salieri finds himself the recipient of this strange inheritance – except the house can only be his if he fulfils certain weird and quirky conditions. To eventually become the owner Luke needs a woman to help him but not just anyone will do. Rhia Ashton seems perfect for the job since she’s a family history researcher but Luke finds she has a few conditions of her own before she’ll take him on and find out why Luke has been chosen by Amelia Greywood to receive the house. Compromise is the name of the game in Monogamy Twist. It’s a read that will appeal to those who like a bit of history with a few twists in their mystery, or those who like a good solid story in their romantic reading. I extend a warm welcome to the Facebook Launch Party on the 27th March. Goodies can be won and lots of information on my protagonists will be divulged.
Thank you for the update, Nancy. I was in awe of you before; I’m even more in awe of you now.
Nancy Jardine lives in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. She currently shares a home with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, 3 year old granddaughter and 1 year old grandson. It’ll continue to be a busy household till late summer of 2015 when the new build home will be completed for the young ’uns on what was Nancy’s former back garden. The loss of that part of the garden won’t be missed since there should now be more writing time available this spring and summer! Childminding is intermittent over the day and any writing time is precious. (If interested in how a new house is built these days, follow my blog posts named ‘Gonna build a house’ )
All matters historical are a passion; Ancestry research a lovely time-suck. Nancy regularly blogs and loves to have guests visit her blog. Facebooking is a habit she’s trying to keep within reasonable bounds! Any time left in a day is for leisure reading and the occasional historical series on TV.
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Author links:
Twitter: @nansjar
Amazon Author page for books and to view book trailer videos:
Monogamy Twist can be PRE-ORDERED here.
Novels also available from Barnes and Noble; W.H. Smith; Waterstones.com; Smashwords; TESCO Blinkboxbooks; and various other places.
Yes, it’s finally time to reveal my theme for the A-Z Challenge this year.
In 2011, I didn’t have a theme. I posted mainly on the themes of this blog: writing and social anxiety.
In 2012, I wrote about places in Jerusalem.
In 2013, my theme was memoir writing. I learned a lot that year. One day, I might put that knowledge to use.
In 2014, I highlighted authors, including some of my new friends all published by Crooked Cat.
In 2015, ….
I will publish 26 posts on the theme of writing historical fiction. I’ve never written historical fiction and don’t know much about it, so I’m hoping all you experts out there will help me by adding comments to my posts. I’m really excited to be doing this and I do have a little idea about where this might lead.
And…
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This blog is six years old today.
This was my first post:
Speech is silver. Silence is…
…not golden. Just a fake gold that soon dulls. Like the necklace I bought in Cyprus. They told me it was gold. I knew they were lying, but I bought it anyway. I felt I had to buy something because they gave me tea….
I’ve been keeping silent for most of my life. It’s time to talk.
So tune in again, keep in touch and don’t suffer in silence.
So much has happened since then. Thank you for being part of it.
And everything is good… well almost everything.
Blossom is everywhere.
It’s getting warmer. Warm enough to sit outside in the sun. But not so warm that I search for shade… except on days when it’s extra hot. The weather can’t be trusted at this time of the year, but that gives us variety that vanishes in the summer.
This hyacinth branch was falling off, so it’s now indoors and its fragrance is exquisite. By the way, in Hebrew hyacinth is yakinton, a word that always reminds me of ‘mackintosh’ but actually has the same root as ‘hyacinth.’
I can’t say I’ve started the spring cleaning, but I’ve started thinking about it. Maybe today….
There is one thorn in my rose. Someone I see regularly has decided to stop talking to me and I have no idea why. (It’s OK – she’s very unlikely to see this blog.) I wonder what’s the best response to it. I could write to her and explain how I feel. I could talk to her normally and pretend to ignore her curt behaviour. What do you suggest?
Are you doing the challenge?This April will be my fifth go at the A-Z Challenge. It’s fun but hard work. I didn’t think I’d do it again this year, but then I had an exciting idea for a theme.
In 2011, I didn’t have a theme. I posted mainly on the themes of this blog: writing and social anxiety.
In 2012, I wrote about places in Jerusalem.
In 2013, my theme was memoir writing. I learned a lot that year. One day, I might put that knowledge to use.
In 2014, I highlighted authors, including some of my new friends all published by Crooked Cat.
In 2015, ….
Yes, I have a theme and I’m excited about it, but it’s not quite time to reveal it. However, as well as signing up for the challenge itself, I have also signed up for the A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal on 23rd March. That’s in just two weeks.
As it happens, 23rd March is also a birthday. Six years ago, this blog published its first post. A lot has happened since then!
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In other news, I have another interview hosted by the lovely Nancy Jardine. Her questions have been giving me ideas.
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Outside the recent Jerusalem Book Fair – at which my novel was on display, although I doubt it drew much attention – was a tall construction containing many removable blocks of wood, courtesy of the Goethe Institute. I should have photographed it, but I didn’t. Each block had a quotation in the original German translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Each visitor was allowed to take one block and I chose this one from Konrad Adenauer:
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In English:
You are right to say that a politician cannot always say everything. But what he says must be true.
I think modern politicians either don’t believe in that statement or have a warped idea of what truth is. Neverthless, I, along with many Israelis, will shortly be voting for the party I think is the least bad of those available, and many in the UK will be doing the same shortly afterwards. At least we have the privilege of being able to vote.
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