Jul 02 2008
Historical facts in your fiction
A question was asked in one of the writer’s forums I visit, as to whether or not a person should add actual facts to their historical fiction stories. It was a pretty one sided discussion, as everyone agreed that it should be. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, especially romantic fiction. I’m not one to go out of my way to read romance novels, but if I do read them, I prefer the historic genre.
Anyway, back to my point. Should historical facts be added into a fictional piece? Personally, I say yes. It gives the story more structure and depth. It creates the illusion of actually being in that day and time. It helps the reader visualize the atmosphere, and the story itself. Of course, as a creative writer, you can take certain liberties with the story. You can write a story about a young girl in the court of Henry VIII, or how a certain character reacted to meeting Jesse James. That one fact helps to make your work of fiction seem more real.
Adding those minute facts help the reader to become part of the story. There are a lot of people out there who prefer certain periods of time. Some people look for stories set in Middle Ages, while others prefer stories about life in the Old West. Setting the story around an actual event give it a personal feel that will keep the reader wanting more.
I reckon if that is the case you want to make sure that you get your facts right or it could blow your story right out of the water. Then again, you could always say that you meant the slight error just to see if your reader was paying attention.