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ELA 5: Features of the Historical Fiction Genre 735 Views
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Description:
If you think stories about Abraham Lincoln hunting vampires were written with absolutely no research...well...we understand. But the fact is that any historical fiction will end up needing some research to anchor it within a point in history. No matter how much of the story is fiction. Take a look at this video to learn more about it.
Transcript
- 00:04
[Coop and Dino singing]
- 00:13
With most fiction, an author can pretty much…have at it.
- 00:16
Want there to be dinosaurs in outer space? Go for it. Good luck colonizing Mars, guys. [Dinosaurs wandering on a deserted planet]
- 00:22
But in historical fiction, the setting has to ring true.
- 00:26
Otherwise, it, uh…won’t be historical. [Dinosaurs walking in a field]
Full Transcript
- 00:29
The time and place need to be real, even if every little bit of dialogue and each minor
- 00:34
detail can’t be verified.
- 00:36
In other words…the author needs to do research! [Man walks into room to read]
- 00:40
And you thought you were going to be off the hook by writing fiction, eh?
- 00:43
In a work of historical fiction, the characters don’t need to be real people… [Waiter brings man the bill]
- 00:47
…like, there doesn’t need to be an hour-long special about their life and times on the
- 00:51
History Channel… …but they should be based on how people
- 00:54
acted and thought at the time. Otherwise, the story will not be believable. [Old man riding a unicorn]
- 00:58
And yeah, even though you’re writing fiction, you want it to be believable.
- 01:03
While you’re free to invent your own heroes and villains…
- 01:06
…some of the characters in your story might be inspired by actual people. [Man sitting on a bench and Abraham Lincoln appears behind him]
- 01:10
In that case, you can rely on stuff we know about ‘em…
- 01:13
…to fill out your story and make it more realistic, or grounded in reality.
- 01:17
Even some of their dialogue may actually have been uttered. [Man stood in a prison cell]
- 01:20
But that depends on what records are available… …and how much liberty the writer takes with
- 01:24
the facts. So yeah… Thomas Jefferson probably never [Olden soldiers greeting man in a prison cell]
- 01:29
used the phrase, “Talk to the hand” but…hey, it’s your story. [Jefferson telling a man to talk to the hand]
- 01:33
Now…what does every good story need? That’s right… conflict. [Soldiers firing a rifle]
- 01:37
Your characters have to experience conflict or there will be no story…
- 01:42
…and the external conflicts need to pertain to the actual times.
- 01:46
i.e…no surprise invasion of Huns if your story is set in early 20th century England. [Men on horses invade]
- 01:51
The plot has to be based on real events, too… …but the author has some leeway.
- 01:56
The way people speak—the dialogue of the characters—also needs to be realistic.
- 02:01
If your Maasai warrior from Kenya is speaking with a London Cockney accent… [A Massai Kenyan warrior]
- 02:06
you’ve got a problem. That said…it’s quite common for modern
- 02:10
writers to simplify dialogue for modern audiences. So just having them speak in plain ol’ English [Juliet looking down at Romeo on a balcony]
- 02:15
is totally fine.
- 02:17
Follow those simple rules and you won’t have any angry historians banging on your front door. [Door opens and bag on fire on the floor]
- 02:22
And no one wants that. Those guys can get awfully aggressive.
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