Writing 101: Rewriting History

When it comes to historical stories, I'm a bit of a purist. I want every single detail to be accurate to the time period, and that's it. But lots of people do not agree with me. Many storytellers are doing very well by rewriting history. So when will it be okay for you to do it, too?

Anything Quentin Tarantino Can Do, I Can Do Better

After all, if Disney can change the tale of Pocahontas and Tarantino can change the outcome of World War II, it's okay if I write a book about Queen Elizabeth living as a secret lesbian -- right? 

The appropriate term for this sort of thing is historical revisionism, and it's been happening since history was written down. Some scholars argue, in fact, that all history as we know it today has been rewritten with time. Isn't it the winners who get to tell the story of the battle? So if all history is a little bit suspect, why can't I turn a former President into a killer of supernatural beasts?

Writing 101: Disregarding History

Through a certain series of circumstances, I got into an argument about tobacco recently. I was involved in what we're going to loosely term a writing collaboration, and the point is that someone wanted to add tobacco to a scene that was taking place in the 1300s. So naturally, I had a complete fit about it. Tobacco wasn't brought to Europe until after the famed voyage of Columbus in 1492, and you don't even have to be a history buff (like me) to know that. I got (metaphorically) bloodied in the ensuing argument that erupted, and it got me to thinking about disregarding history...and when it's okay to do that, for the sake of the story.

What Does It Matter?

I'm a big fan of historical accuracy, and I've been known to go into a rant about Disney movies that will almost shatter windows (many are inaccurate). So I'm always going to be the person who says everything should be historically accurate to the tiniest details. If tobacco didn't exist, then no your character can't smoke a pipe. You wouldn't paint over the Mona Lisa to put an iPhone in her hand, right? 

Writing 101: Historical Figures

If you're writing a period piece, you have to really put your characters in their time frame. You have to know about the music, books and politics of the day. And you might be writing a story that takes place hundreds of years before anyone you know was ever born. So under those circumstances, is it all right to use historical figures in your fiction? 

Expiration Dates

Anything ever written by Jane Austen can be purchased for free by you today. Any publishing company can print out copies of Jane Austen books, and they don't have to pay anybody any royalties for what they sell. It's because Jane Austen has been dead for so long that all her copyrights have now expired. Anyone can publish and use her books for free these days. 

So what's the expiration date on a personality? If Jane Austen's copyrights are expired, does that mean that I can make her a character in my newest book? 

Writing 101: Rewrite it Already

If you can't make the history work, if things feel off, if the timeline you envisioned just isn't working out, quit trying to make it work and rewrite it already. If it isn't working right now, it isn't going to start working five chapters from now. And I should know. I found this out the hard way.

Writing, Again

Rewrites are really the worst. No freelance writer wants to rewrite something they already wrote, and no author ever wants to go back and change a story that's already down on paper. But sometimes, what you've written just isn't working with the rest of what you still need to write. Stories can be tricky like that. And before they trick you into writing 100 pages too many, go back and rewrite.