tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post3874192955813512569..comments2023-10-09T04:28:16.384-07:00Comments on Writing about writing: Historical fact and historical fictionTCWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13053437802878060775noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-41597385455129643332014-11-19T02:05:31.859-08:002014-11-19T02:05:31.859-08:00These are good thoughts. Research seems to take fa...These are good thoughts. Research seems to take far more time than writing historical fiction. After all, it is fiction! Details to enlarge a scene is quite OK with me.Heidi Eljarbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879549636288434236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-62538307550845837612014-10-23T01:02:08.598-07:002014-10-23T01:02:08.598-07:00Thank you for your comments, Rowena. I read your b...Thank you for your comments, Rowena. I read your blog post and it was interesting. I'm not that interested in clothing and I spend ages trying to find the clothes people would have worn and then describing them badly and probably still getting it wrong. It was a particular problem in 'Burke and the Bedouin' because in Turkish society in the 19th century the clothes that you wore carried important social messages. It was actually illegal to wear the wrong colour shoes, for example.<br /><br />I think your points about the balance between historical accuracy and the requirements of entertainment are very valid. As a writer, rather than a visual artist, I don't really have that problem over clothes, but it is *huge* when it comes to social attitudes - for example the use of the N-word. I read a novel set in 1950s Britain in which a black character is frequently abused, but never once referred to as a n*gger. It was a fun read but the dialogue entirely lacked historical authenticity.<br /><br />I've just read a historical novel set in 19th century Russia and all the people we are expected to sympathise with are enlightened in their attitudes to women, care about the condition of the recently emancipated serfs, and have no prejudice against Jews. Of course such people probably existed, but to people a novel with several of them makes me uncomfortable, though I can see exactly why the author did it.TCWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053437802878060775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-31778124480450126952014-10-21T10:20:35.259-07:002014-10-21T10:20:35.259-07:00Interesting post and points. I've discovered ...Interesting post and points. I've discovered that, being an absolute tyrant with myself when it comes to historical accuracy (being a reenactor does this to a person), I can't effectively write historical fiction. I can suspend belief and enjoy it even if I notice little quibbly inaccuracies, but I can't put aside my strictness with myself. It must be just so, or not at all. I can't put my name on something that I'll likely disprove myself in a few years with more research ("Damn! That wasn't a Robe a la Polonaise that character ought to have been wearing, it was a Robe a la Levite!") And so I make a terrible historical fiction writer.<br /><br />I wrote a post about accuracy and intention quite nearly concurrently to yours--if you're so inclined : http://hyalineprosaic.blogspot.com/2014/09/when-does-historical-accuracy-matter.html Rowennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09757364614589686606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-91889003291640042842014-10-14T02:09:42.257-07:002014-10-14T02:09:42.257-07:00I think you're right, missbluestocking. Occasi...I think you're right, missbluestocking. Occasionally details like this can be fun and keep the reader's interest, but too many of them become confusing. One that I was faced with was the fact that the British invaded Buenos Aires twice in rapid succession in the early 19th century. Both invasions had strong similarities. I find the story of both of them really interesting, but I thought that walking through such similar events one after the other would lose readers, so the second one just doesn't happen in my story.TCWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13053437802878060775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-59742843227814785812014-10-11T08:54:49.725-07:002014-10-11T08:54:49.725-07:00Hopping over from the FB post on the historical fi...Hopping over from the FB post on the historical fic group!<br /><br />Great blog entry. And very thought-provoking. This is something I struggle with myself - not so much the weather, because I don't care about weather accuracy much, but other little details, such as - court was held at town-hall until 1844, then relocated to another place. What I struggle is, for the sake of plot, I need to compromise for the sake of story telling and have court held at town-hall, even though it's 1866, which makes this historically inaccurate. So details like this leaves me a little anxious, but I tell myself that sometimes sacrifices must be made for the sake of storytelling. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1164684531570048336.post-23104178756905341772014-10-03T17:17:07.927-07:002014-10-03T17:17:07.927-07:00I'm STILL sweating the details on The Ax and t...I'm STILL sweating the details on The Ax and the Vase, and it's out with agents! Even knowing I researched horseshoes in the period/place, I looked it up again just tonight - and reminded myself, yes, the Franks had horseshoes. They were found in Clovis' father's grave, one of the more famous ones, unearthed in 1685. Maybe this makes us better? :)<br /><br />We have to take a deep breath and remember, we're the ones on stage, if there's a guitarist at the back of the bar complaining - we know why ... !DLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08768285199864217885noreply@blogger.com