Used to be, I assumed historical fiction meant books researched-to-death by historians. But I’ve come to appreciate that historical fiction is much broader than that and can serve as a launchpad to help with character work. It’s become an exciting genre for me to ignite my creative instincts.
Think about someone who’s “a French peasant in 1780.” You immediately have a sense of who they are before any words hit the page. That’s powerful in a way that’s hard to achieve in many other genres.
The book I’m working on now has a protagonist I think of as “an Ohio farm boy making his way in Manhattan in the 1920s.” You probably have a sense of who he is before reading a word. Now take that farm boy and imagine the world around him. Manhattan in the twenties was rich with real events like Prohibition, Broadway, and the rise of the Yankees. Piecing these together into a narrative timeline is a fun exercise – like assembling the pieces of a puzzle.
How would our farm boy react to these events? How was he raised? What early 20th century technologies did he hear about, or have access to back in Ohio? How did World War 1 shape him as he moved to the big city? All of these give me, the author, plenty of material to draw on as I build up this story.
It doesn’t require a master’s degree in history. For me, it’s the focused research that reveals the little details that put these characters into a living world. History does the worldbuilding. The rules and constraints are already in place and there’s plenty of research, images, and videos that reveal that texture.
One thing that surprised me is how passionate readers can be when they see your world. I’ve gone through a few beta reads of my story and have had different things pointed out, no – fiercely debated! – that I hadn’t thought considered. How well-known Chinese food was in rural Ohio in the early 20th century. Telephone vs telegram usage. Mayoral races in Hartford in the 1950s. Yeah, look up that last one for yourself if you don’t know. People are paying attention to the details. And they’re engaged enough to care.
The leverage is real. A reader who recognizes the world is already meeting you halfway, and a writer who borrows from history starts with much of the worldbuilding already done. What about you? Do you enjoy historical fiction? Let me know in the comments!
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