Fiction Scribe

I was asked a while ago to write a post on historical fiction. I apologize for the delay. Historical fiction is a bit out of my usual range of knowledge of genres.

So I interviewed!

Hello and welcome to Hawke from Hawke’s View and Scribed. I’ve enjoyed reading her short stories since we met, and it’s my pleasure to be able to interview her.

Hi there. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?

Well, my English report card comments were: “Vivid imagination, avid reader, excellent comprehension, extensive vocabulary, often daydreams… [She] has all the makings of a novelist.�? Not really sure if I subconsciously followed that or if he’d just pegged me right.

Besides writing, I work with at-risk teens in a middle school, am an animal lover and very proud WWF (World Wildlife Fund) sponsor, and can shoot a mean game of pool.

How long have you been writing?

What time is it?

I was raised pretty much as an only child—my two sisters grown and gone before I knew they were there. Time alone and an overly active imagination creates a writer. At least, it did in my case. So to answer the question, I’ve been writing a long time.

Are you a published author?

If the odd writing competition counts, then yes. If not, then no.

How did you get into writing?

I think I’ve already answered this. I could add that I got into writing via reading, I suppose, but the truth is that I had a story to tell and too much time on my hands growing up.

So, explain to me exactly what historical fiction is.

By definition, fiction is a work of the imagination, and historical is relating to the past (person, setting, event, etc.). Even though we’re talking historical here, that doesn’t mean the work is historically accurate. Remember, there is a huge difference between historical fiction and non-fiction. Given that, an author may assume they can bluff and guess their way through the historical bits, but that would be wrong. Genre specific readers demand accurate details in their reads. Mistakes and sloppy research are the ruin of even the best historical fiction.

Did you read a lot of historical fiction growing up? If so, what drew you to it? If not, how did you get involved in it?

Actually, I didn’t read historical fiction growing up. Having owned and shown horses all of my life, as well as the old rule “write what you know,�? played a huge part in why I leaned toward cross genre work—western/horror/fantasy.

What do you like about historical fiction?

I like the idea of reintroducing what had been (or at least a part of it), bringing to life that which has been all but relegated to myth.

Any favorite historical fiction authors?

Anne Rice comes immediately to mind; her setting definitely historical, her work definitely fiction. I’ve heard she spends upwards of a year researching everything and anything to do with the period before beginning a novel.

What guilty pleasures do you have when writing?

If by ‘guilty pleasures’ you mean a clean desk, voiceless background music, plenty of strong black coffee and Kellogg‘s Frosted Mini-Wheats (dry) as a late-night, no-sticky-fingers snack, then those. If, however, you mean the love of writing, the thrill of having an idea come together, the pride when your attachment to certain characters is shared by others, and the pleasure of having created something, then those.

Do you have a muse? If so, who or what is it?

I tell people that I have a muse, often quipping that the reader should blame said apparition when a story falls flat. But the reality is simply an overactive, quite vivid and insanely persistent imagination… called Jack.

Are there any drawbacks to writing historical fiction?

Other than the research aspect, there really isn’t a drawback. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Time period details are there for the taking (settings, customs, weapons, dress, voice, speech patterns, modes of transportation, etc., etc.). All one needs is a lot of patience and an original idea. Have I mentioned the importance of research? Yes? Well, okay then.

Any advice to writers of this genre?

Research your butt off, and then research again. Don’t try to bluff and guess. Know what you’re talking about because the reader will.

Any advice to writers in general?

If you are into writing for the money, do yourself a favor and take up wire jewelry making. It’s much more lucrative. Write because to not write is incomprehensible. Anything that comes from it is just icing.

Anything you’d like to add?

Never stop learning.

Thank you for your time.

As always, if there are more questions you’d like to ask, let me know, and I’ll post up a part two to this interview.