Writers on Writing is our regular conversation with a writer or industry professional about the writing craft, industry insights, and their own practice. This week, we spoke to Elisabeth Storrs about the balance of fact and fiction, reading between the lines, and when it’s ok to take liberties when writing historical fiction.
How can a historical fiction writer find a balance between creating a thoughtfully researched novel and info-dumping readers with facts and historical details?
This is the greatest challenge for an historical novelist because we adore history and to want to cram so much of it into our books. However, it’s important to remember not everything you find fascinating will be the same for a reader. The key is to consider whether a ‘fact’ will drive the narrative, deepen characterisation, add to the theme, advance a plot, or instil a sense of place. If it does none of these things, then ‘wield the penknife.’ In my course, I look at how to examine history to find inspiration points for these criteria.
How much research is enough? When should a writer put down their history books, and start writing their novel?
The million dollar question! I’m very guilty of going down research rabbit holes. Nevertheless I’m a ‘plotter’ not a ‘pantser’ so I read widely about the era first to obtain an overview while making notes of facts/characters that take my fancy. Then I create a loose outline of chapters and drill down into the facts I need to research further. I also jot down any details I find useful to ‘colour in’ the chapter based on my suggestions above. This helps me focus on whether the narrative is becoming too bogged down and it’s pointless continuing to add more historical details.
How historically accurate should historical fiction be? How many liberties should a writer take, and when is it ok to take them?
This is a hotly debated question among historical novelists and historians. What is ‘historically accurate?’ There are immutable facts in history but the interpretation of the circumstances around them can vary between historians. I believe novelists have to be aware of these conflicting interpretations before coming to their own viewpoint. Unlike historians, though, we’re here to ‘read between the lines’ – to imagine the conversations and unseen moments in a way that is historically authentic. You need to understand the history extremely well before trying to ‘play with it’ or give your own slant. However, if I do this, I always include my reasoning in my Author’s Note together with any other anomalies.
What are some great examples of well-researched Australian historical fiction?
Do you mean Australian history or historical fiction written by Australian authors? If the former, I recommend Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko who has looked at Colonial history from a fresh perspective. If the latter, I’m a big fan of Geraldine Brooks. All her books are wonderful examples of well researched history combined with a compelling narrative. My favourites are Year of Wonders and People of the Book.
Elisabeth Storrs is the award-winning author of the A Tale of Ancient Rome series which was endorsed by Ursula Le Guin, Kate Quinn and Ben Kane and currently has over 3,500 Goodreads reviews. Now she’s hurtled centuries forward with Fables & Lies, a novel set in WW2 Germany about the Aryan Myth, crazy Nazi archaeology, and a race to save the Trojan Gold during the fall of Berlin. (Due to be released in 2026.)
Elisabeth is the founder and program director of the Historical Novel Society Australasia, and a former Deputy Chair of Writing NSW. In 2020, Elisabeth headed the team that introduced the $150,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize to the ANZ literary calendar.
Join Elisabeth for her course, Historical Fiction: Transforming Research into Story, Saturday 29 November, 10am – 4pm at Writing NSW, Lilyfield.
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