Six years ago this month, my novel, Like a River, was awarded the Grateful American Book Prize. This prize was an extra-special honor because it goes to a book that makes history interesting to readers in Grades 7-9, and making history interesting is my goal every time I write historical fiction.
History Lectures or Historical Stories?
History class can be dull, but it doesn’t have to be. A student can get bored if the focus is on memorizing dates and names. The names and dates aren’t likely to be remembered for long after class is over, but if the focus is on the story part of history, that’s different. Who doesn’t like to hear a good story?
Telling a compelling story is my main mission. I want to entertain, not to teach a history lesson. I set my story against an event in history, and work hard to give an accurate account of that event. If a reader inadvertently learns something about history, that’s a bonus. If my story makes a reader want to learn more about a particular event, that’s a double bonus.
My friend and fellow writer of historical fiction, Joyce Moyer Hostetter (author of Aim, Blue, Comfort, Drive, Equal, and Healing Water) said;
“For me, history writing is a treasure hunt and an opportunity to share the gems I find from the past with readers who might not know about them otherwise. History has always been about stories, and fictionalizing them can make the story more personal and accessible.”
Joyce Moyer Hostetter
I agree.
Compelling History Drive My Stories
I have lost count of the number of times I have been told, “I had never heard of the Sultana until I read Like a River.” The truth is I didn’t learn about it until long after I was out of school. It was one of those “gems” Joyce talked about. I learned about it in a visit to a museum and made it my mission to tell other people. (If you haven’t heard of the Sultana, it was a US steamboat that exploded on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, and killed more people than died on the Titanic.) If I had heard about it in history class, it definitely would have caught my attention, and I would have wanted to know more.
If my writing draws attention to an event that is danger of being forgotten, I am excited. When people who lived through these events are long gone, who will recall their deeds and sacrifices? Joyce and I and writers like us are determined to keep these people and events alive. If you read historical fiction, you help keep them alive as well.
