 Drama: June 01, 2011 Issue [#4408] |
  Drama
This week: Writing the Historical Fiction Edited by: Joy  
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"The historian serves the truth of his subject. The novelist serves the truth of his tale. As a novelist, I have tools no historian should touch: I can manipulate time and space, extrapolate from the written record to invent dialogue and incident, create fictional characters to bring you close to the historical figures, and fall back on my imagination when the research runs out."
~ William Martin ~
"The fact that the reader already knows the end of your story somehow intensifies the drams of waiting for that familiar moment to arrive. A reader begins Lincoln completely aware of how it must conclude, but this only sets the heart beating faster as the carriage begins to roll toward Ford's Theater."
~ Max Byrd~
"Good writers write the kind of history good historians can't or don't write. Historical fiction isn't history in the conventional sense and shouldn't be judged as such. The best historical novels are loyal to history, but it is a history absorbed and set to music, so to speak, changed into forms akin to opera or theatrical productions."
~ Daniel Aaron~
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. Our discussion will be about historical fiction.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
In my last newsletter, "Political Drama" , the topic was political fiction. In this issue, we’ll explore the historical drama.
Between the political and historical fiction there is a marked difference. Although political fiction may use history, at its core is the idea of influencing present day’s decisions and points of view. Historical drama is just what the name suggests: a story that may have happened in the past backed by historical facts.
Most historical fiction uses the points of view of imaginary characters inside a historical backdrop, thus permitting the writer an artistic license concerning the subject matter and presentation as long as the story does not veer from the historical facts.
Some historical drama, however, does use historical characters. For example, in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, all major characters are historical. What is not true to history is what Caesar uttered when Brutus stabbed him: "Et tu, Brute?" (You, too, Brutus?) Shakespeare invented this remark to highlight the drama of ultimate betrayal by one's closest friend. After Shakespeare, a few history books took these words for a fact and reported them as if Caesar had really said them, but then, such is the strength of Shakespeare’s drama.
History offers a vast arena for the dramatist and the fiction writer. From the earliest imagined time to our day, there is an immense treasury of periods, locations, and civilizations. Writers like Jean M. Auel have come up with very successful fiction of the earliest eras, such as the Stone Age. Ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, Ireland, King Arthur’s Era, Middle Ages, Europe, Middle East, China, Japan, and Russia provide some of the backgrounds in which most historical novels take place.
 To write the historical novel, story, or play, first important step is research, as the fiction has to fit in well with the historical facts to make the reader trust the writer’s word. Nowadays, when research is only a few clicks away, the writer must not depend solely on the internet. Serious history books need to be searched for veracity. In addition to history books, Bible and other scriptures, too, can provide the fiction writer with the dramatic stories and backgrounds of earlier people.
Most importantly, the historical fiction writer needs to master the tools and the basics of fiction writing, starting with character and backstory building, plot, theme, and dialog. The time of history in which the novel or play takes place will need to be reflected in dialog and the settings, as well as the attitudes of the people of the past that may differ greatly from the attitudes of today. In other words, historical fiction should not portray modern people in period costumes, placed haphazardly into a different era, even if modern readers may be stunned by the prejudices of the era in the story.
If the writer is using imaginary characters in a historical setting, he will have a some freedom in shaping them. As an example, in House of Dreams also titled Lady of the Reeds, the author Pauline Gedge brings to light the character of an Egyptian Peasant who becomes the concubine of a pharaoh. Yet, if the author is using a well-known historical figure, he needs to be true to the original character. A couple of examples to this: David Corson’s Trajan and Plotina, staging the emperor Trajan, and Thomas B. Costain’s The Darkness and the Dawn, which is about Attila the Hun.
Quite a few historical fiction writers insert or combine other genres into their stories. A few add time travel and unite history with science fiction. Some dream up mysteries or romances to insert those genres into historical fiction.
Historical fiction has become a popular genre in the recent years, probably because history smoothes out some of the potholes writers stumble into. Writing a historical piece of fiction--be it a play, a novel, or a short story—can be deeply satisfying because it involves learning from the past.
Most successful historical fiction writers are not historians, but they are, in essence, excellent writers of fiction or they are journalists who have come face to face with the human psyche and the differences of cultures.
A few books that may aid a beginning writer of historical fiction are:
How to Write and Sell Historical Fiction by Persia Woolley
Writing Historical Fiction by Marina Oliver (2005}
The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction by James Alexander Thom (2010)
Writing Historical Fiction by Rhona Martin (1988)
Since writing starts with reading, here are two lists on the web to refer to:
http://www.slcolibrary.org/rc/rcwr/pdf/booklists/booklistWorldHistFic0809.pdf
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/shistfic.htm
Happy writing to all! 
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Your Drama Newsletter Editors: NickiD89  Fyn  Joy
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
This Issue's Tip:
Follow the continuum of an emotion, e.g. hatred leading to murder, confession leading to redemption, curiosity leading to discovery.
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 Reading Recommendation: A book with drama
If you have a recommendation, a few words on a book or a product review, send it to me or to this newsletter. I'll highlight it here.
Another one by cassandraeve
[[ Product review #110881 does not exist. ]]
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An item submitted to this newsletter:
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Feedback for "Political Drama"
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J. A. Buxton 
Thank you for listing my attempt at political humor. Sadly, many in the various governments do it unintentionally much better than I could ever do.
Those unintentional ones prove the saying, truth is stranger than fiction.
Political humor is difficult to write, and I thought your piece was very good.
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BIG BAD WOLF is Howling 
Politics is worse anything I know, as it is crazier than the guys locked up in a loony bin.
Sometimes, it gets out of hand, true, but it does give us a treasure trove of ideas.
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