Newsletter: How to Write Historical Fiction

Learn how to write historical fiction, a new agent looking for historical novels, and more! [Web Version]( &p1=%40W9yw5MRbYOH4XItlCUCPNPGznFOdUnPdCsN%2FDfwNpo4%3D) [Publishing Insights]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [Writer's Dig]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [Publishing Insights]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [WD University]( ) [2nd Draft Critiques]( ) [Robert Lee Brewer]( ) The draw to historical fiction is similar to the draw to science fiction: Readers get to travel through time (sometimes by a few decades, others by several centuries) and escape from current events—even if they might be reflected in the past or future. So this issue is focused on writing effective historical fiction and includes an alert with a new agent interested in historical fiction. And be sure to check out the upcoming [Selling the Historical Novel: From Idea to Publication]( ) live webinar with agent Gina Panettieri that includes feedback on attendees' query and first ten pages for their historical novels. [Click to continue]( ). —Robert Lee Brewer Follow [@robertleebrewer]( ) More on Historical Fiction How to Write Historical Fiction I love historical fiction. Growing up, I read Jean Plaidy, Mary Renault, and less well-known authors such as Elizabeth Byrd and Rosemary Hawley Jarman. For me, contemporary fiction could never be as captivating as stories where differences were resolved by chopping off heads. And it was all true. (Well, most of it.) But I never thought I could write historical fiction. As a writer, I have a strong sense of voice, not visuals. I can barely distinguish silk from satin. Smells, textures, landscape—all the things you need for proper world building—I felt pretty sure these were not my forte. Then Jane Prescott, lady's maid from Gilded Age New York, started talking to me and I realized I was going to have to attempt to write historical if I wanted to tell her story. And while I did put a zipper in a 1910 dress at first, I have learned a lot since. [Read More...]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [Name]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) &p1={EMAIL}&p2=264237966 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=264237966 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=264237966 The Craft & Business of Writing [Getting the History Right in Historical Fiction]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) My book Lions of the Desert: A True Story of WWII Heroes in North Africa recounts the legendary tale of Operation Condor and the 1941-1942 Desert War between General Erwin Rommel's seemingly invincible Afrika Korps and the British Eighth Army. It is based on recently declassified British and U.S. Military Intelligence records. In May 1942, just before Rommel launched his offensive to drive the British out of Egypt and take over The Suez Canal, the German Intelligence Service sent a two-man espionage team to Cairo as part of Operation Condor. Rommel wanted to know three things: first, where the British would make their defensive stand when he began his final thrust into Egypt; second, what reinforcements the British had received; and third, who would lead the British into battle. The story of Operation Condor has been told over and over again, most famously in Michael Ondaatje's 1992 Booker Prize winning novel The English Patient and the 1996 Oscar-winning film adaptation. However, until recently, every fictional and factual account of the operation has been crippled by a lack of historical accuracy. That is precisely why I had to write this book. [Read More...]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [New Literary Agent Alert: Melissa Richeson]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) Melissa Richeson is an associate agent at Apokedak Literary Agency—currently building her list of children's book authors. For young adult, she's typcially drawn to to contemporary and historical novels. In her opinion, subtle wit and intelligent wordplay make for a fabulous read. [Read More...]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [This Is Not Research Advice]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) I like learning. I like to watch documentary shows on TV, I like to find out the best new way to make iced coffee, and I like to read nonfiction books about interesting subjects I don't know anything about, like a certain men's crew team from Washington state that got all the way to the 1936 Olympics. Following my interests has had some pretty excellent pay-offs, too—for instance, I got the idea for my debut novel, The Kennedy Debutante, from watching a show on PBS about great English manor houses. While watching the hour-long episode about Chatsworth, the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire, I learned that for a brief moment in the 1940's, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy—an American and a Catholic—stood to inherit this most English and Protestant of estates. And I thought: There's a story there. [Read More...]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [Writing About Historical Figures in Fiction]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) Not everyone from the past carries equal weight, notariety-wise. Some characters are far more famous than others, and demand more delicate treatment. If Abraham Lincoln or Marilyn Monroe appears in your novel, you'd do best to tread lightly, for so much has been written about them already. The better-known the person is, the more circumscribed our inventions must be. It would never work to create some passionate affair for Marilyn out of whole cloth, and put it in a book. [Read More...]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) [Class feature]( ) [Write and Sell Your Children's Book!]( ) The title of this boot camp says it all: [Publishing Your Children's Book: How to Write and Pitch Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Book Manuscripts]( )! Led by literary agents from the P.S. Literary Agency, this boot camp provides writers with instruction and personalized feedback to find more success with their book projects! [Read More...]( ) [Name]( ) &p1={EMAIL}&p2=264237966 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=264237966 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=264237966 [youtube]( &cid=DM124945&bid=1218128465) Please do not reply to this email. We are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have. Please [click here to contact us]( ). 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