Fiction with Nonfiction Characters

Can one write a story with historical figures with plotlines involving these characters including historical truths as well as substantial fictional elements? And if so when submitting it does one say it is a fictional story based on true characters…or do you just leave it alone?

Absolutely! In fact, I think the best historical fiction includes a great number of facts, and the occasional historical figure or two. It only make sense really. How would you write about the Civil War without including at least some reference to some of the most famous generals this country has ever seen?

You didn’t make it very clear in your question, but do you plan to write a fictional story based on a real-life character or include real-life characters in the book you are writing about someone else? Certainly both have been done, done a lot and done well, but I’m just wondering. If you are writing about more famous historical characters, like, for example, Abraham Lincoln, and the story is really about him, I think you’re going to have a much bigger challenge. This is someone whose life has been written about numerous times and true fans might have trouble with the fictionalized tale. If, however, you are writing about John Jones, a fictional character during the Civil War, and Lincoln makes an appearance or has a regular role in the story, I think fans of Lincoln and the Civil War will likely be more forgiving.

Jessica

Maggie Sefton on Taking Risks

Maggie Sefton
Dropped Dead Stitch
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Pub date: June 2009
Agent: Jessica Faust




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Author Web/Blog links: www.maggiesefton.com, www.cozychicksblog.com, LinkedIn

Taking risks is a gamble, especially with your career. There’s no guarantee you’ll succeed. Some people will work at a job they hate for years rather than “risk” trying a new endeavor, something they don’t know how to do. So, they stay stuck—and unhappy.

I know how that feels. I was published in 1995 in Historical Romance by Berkley Jove with a western romance. It was fun to write, and it became my first published novel. Writing the western was a change for me. Up until then I’d been writing big historical novels set in the 1600s, 1800s, and medieval times. However, those novels weren’t selling. I was stuck. So, I took the risk of doing something different. I wrote the western, and it sold quickly.

That’s a lesson I’ve had to remind myself of several times over my 25+ year writing career. A few years after the western, I decided to take the risk of writing something different once again. This time I started listening to the contemporary mystery characters that were waiting in my “story queue.” They wanted onstage. Once I let them loose, they stormed the stage, chased the historical characters into the bushes, and took over. Later mysteries went on to become a nationally bestselling series—the Kelly Flynn Knitting Mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime.

As writers, we should never stop taking risks. Whether it be through story ideas, characterization, or our craft. We need to stay open to new ideas and different writing styles. That’s how we stay fresh. And every now and then, we need to take risks.

I took a risk with my new release, the 7th in the Kelly Flynn Knitting Mysteries, DROPPED DEAD STITCH, out June 2nd. Amidst all the good times with Kelly and the gang and warm and fuzzies in the knitting shop, something bad happens. A murder, right? Well, yes, someone is murdered, and Kelly has to solve it. But something else occurs before that. Something bad happens to one of Kelly’s close friends.

It’s a sensitive subject, and I did my best to handle it with respect and sensitivity. Why take the risk and include the subject at all? Because I had to. My characters bring the stories, and they expect me to pay attention.

Risky? You bet. I had no idea how it would be received. I’m extremely gratified that reviewers have responded so favorably. DROPPED DEAD STITCH’s cover was even featured in the May 4th Publishers Weekly article on Traditional Mysteries.
All of that is wonderful. But I didn’t take the risk for the reviews. I took it for my characters, because the whole point of what happens is not the trauma, but the transformation that follows. For me—it’s all about the characters. Always has been.