Author Stephanie Carroll Explores the Dark Side of the Victorian Era & Gilded Age
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Monday, May 14, 2012
Historical Accuracy in Historical Fiction
My views on being historically accurate in historical fiction. I write historical women's fiction and have written a novel called A White Room, which I am currently trying to get published. Learn more and read some of my work at www.stephaniecarroll.net.
From a word use perspective, it's interesting to think that a word might have been around 100 years ago, but the use might have been different 100 years ago than it is today. Hysterical is actually a good example. It was around then and now, but it carried a lot more weight back then. Incidentally, John Gardner referred to the "fictive dream" in terms of what an author creates, and a reader can be pulled out of.
For myself, I want fairly accurate, but it's not a big deal. I don't like to be mislead, short of that, it's all good. I'm glad you don't write like people talked 100 years ago!
Yeah, to mislead would certainly never be a good thing for a historical writer to do but an effort to keep a reader in the fictive dream is certainly foremost.
From a word use perspective, it's interesting to think that a word might have been around 100 years ago, but the use might have been different 100 years ago than it is today. Hysterical is actually a good example. It was around then and now, but it carried a lot more weight back then. Incidentally, John Gardner referred to the "fictive dream" in terms of what an author creates, and a reader can be pulled out of.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I want fairly accurate, but it's not a big deal. I don't like to be mislead, short of that, it's all good. I'm glad you don't write like people talked 100 years ago!
Yeah, to mislead would certainly never be a good thing for a historical writer to do but an effort to keep a reader in the fictive dream is certainly foremost.
ReplyDelete