Because I write historical fiction, a blogger friend recommended Jerome de Groot’s book, The Historical Novel. Though it’s been on my desk for a while, this week I finally found time to begin.
A quote by Sarah Waters appears early on and caught my eye.
It’s precisely the difference of the past that makes it exciting for me. I think we always need to be reminded that the moment we live in is very temporary. Historical fiction at its best can remind us of that.
I’m going to post Sarah’s words on my bulletin board.
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This is precisely why I stopped at earning my MA in history and did not go on to pursue my PhD in history as I had originally planned. I did not want to write history for other academics – what is the point? So I write history for the general public.
I wondered about the MFA style programs. Guess I’m happier learning on my own. I’ve done so much reading it feels like going to school and last summer I did finally take a one week course on writing historical fiction taught by Holly Luhning, author of Quiver. I’m going to try to synthesize some of de Groot’s stuff.