Essays: Writing Historical Fiction

For me writing historical fiction facilitated the creation of a migrant’s story that covered historical events and facts of an era gone by. Research provided a voluminous amount of information to sift through and then there were the interviews and recollections of the people who lived through the era I was writing about. I was faced with a curious imagination of how to shape the different characters within that time frame. A series of back stories were created to sort through the data that allowed me to decide what would be obvious to the readers.

I was energized by the stack of information that I reviewed with care and thoroughness. Some of the back stories were clearly evident in the story while others remained invisible to the readers as I let my story develop from a street-level viewpoint of the protagonist who was a tradesman. The interactions through dialogue illustrated the authenticity of the era and the setting of the story as did the physical movement of the characters from one place to another. It was a gradual introduction of modes of transportation as they progressed in that era.

The historical facts and events had a direct impact on the lives of the characters. It gave rise to conflict and angry disagreements that portrayed a lack of a sense of belonging to a much-loved country with an uncertain future. But there was happiness, marriage, love, success and tragedy. I constructed the twists and turns within the story. I described the acceptance of the status quo by the characters and the effect of the unfolding history on the lives of ordinary people. There was political turmoil stemming from the decisions made by political leaders who did not appear to be cognizant of how their decisions adversely affected the people.

It was a challenge to sort through the interviews and recollections as it appeared that the same incident or event was recounted differently. Hence I chose the information that would suit the characters for the story I created keeping intact the historical framework. I became inquisitive when the social justice issues surfaced along with the impact on a close-knit community. I incorporated these nuances that caused frustration and deep disappointment within the story.

Writing historical fiction was an inspiring experience. I created a story with a historical backdrop that embodied pertinent issues that inform the readers who may not be aware of that time in history in a faraway land.