Underrated primary sources for authors
Just as a reminder for everyone who was asleep at school – a primary source is a contemporary object or piece of writing. Stuff from Ye Olden Days of Yore. The Treasurer of the Chamber’s Accounts (Henry VIII’s soft furnishings bill–here if you’re interested) is...
#12: Writing and self-publishing children’s historical fiction
Episode 12 Writing and self-publishing children’s historical fiction 26 June 2024 The books we read as children are hugely formative, shaping our tastes long after we’ve moved on to adult literature, and often drawing us back to old favourites to re-read to...
Writing animals into historical fiction
For millennia, humans and animals have coexisted in different ways – protecting each other, comforting each other, and eating each other. Whenever your historical fiction is set, if animals aren’t involved, you may be missing an opportunity to give your reader...
#11: Writing historical crime fiction
Episode 11 Writing historical crime fiction 29 May 2024 Learn the secrets of writing great historical crime fiction with Vaseem Khan, international bestseller and winner of the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Historical Dagger. Vaseem, who is also the...
Contests for historical fiction writers
If you’ve completed a work of historical fiction or are nearing that revision finish line, you might be thinking about ways to get your story out into the world. One of the best ways to get some attention (and some cool cash) is by placing in writing contests. Short...
#10: How to use archives to enhance your historical fiction
Episode 10 How to use archives to enhance your historical fiction 24 April 2024 Research is so important to piecing together the material world of your novel. Not only are archives an important tool in helping you avoid anachronisms that can be jarring for readers,...
Returning to a writing project
Real life gets in the way. If, like most of us, you have a “normal” job in addition to your writing, or you have a family, kids, hobbies, or any other assorted drama that comes with being a human being at some stage your writing schedule has taken a slight knockback....
#9: Writing dual-timelines and co-writing historical fiction
Episode 9 Writing dual timelines and co-writing historical fiction, with Hazel Gaynor 27 March, 2024 Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author on both sides of the Atlantic, joins Theo and Julia to talk about the processes and priorities for writers of dual-timelines. She...
Out of time: how to avoid anachronisms in historical fiction
Historical fiction is a conjuring trick, an interpretation of bygone times which doesn’t pretend or promise to present the absolute truth. Instead, writers of historical fiction reinvent the past, often venturing further than the known facts. They invoke a past...