A writer of medieval crime novels, I have an over-arching formula: Take real historical events and real people then throw a few bodies into the middle of it. So I merge the real and imagined worlds. I am not a writer with degrees in English and Creative writing. I have learned in many ways:
- Reading great writers in the genre such as C.J. Sansom, S.J. Parris, and Rory Clements
- Attending creative writing courses with established authors. The turning point for me was being tutored by William Ryan where I developed through feedback from him and my six classmates. The hour he spent shaving words from my paragraphs was like a light going on.
- Studying the art through the many books and websites on how to write, research, plot and edit.
- Working with expert editors and investing in my learning through their expertise.
It has taken me many years to reach the point of publication – years in which I wondered if I was ever going to see a book in print. I have had rejection after rejection. I’ve received feedback from agents stating ‘you can write, but it’s not for me’ as well as no response at all. I have gone through months of doubting my ability. But I am about to launch a book, the first in a series, and I am getting great feedback from established authors.
The big hook for many readers is that the history is real and many of the characters did walk the Earth. But that means readers want it to be accurate. They will be quick to pick on poor research and ‘iffy’ twists on reality and time. But you will sometimes get it wrong – or reality just messes your story. So my first tips for any aspiring authors in this genre are:
- Never give up on researching
- Keep learning and developing
- Accept all feedback – even the highly critical is useful
- If you need to twist reality – be honest
- People who point out your mistakes can seem pernickety, but they are generally of good intention. Even if not – pretend they are and keep a reader
So what have I learned along the way when it comes to bringing real history into you tale?
History
Readers of historical fiction are a historically aware, well-read and have a keen eye for a mistake. So it is essential to read the history of your period and read it thoroughly. Google research is your starting place, but is never enough. Many websites are inaccurate so you need to research more widely. In my research I have sourced information through:
- Academic books
Ensure you read more than one author as they often disagree with each other and some will have more detail than others. One of my detective-duo is John Dee, a real person who was astronomer and advisor to Elizabeth 1st. He is a fascinating character, of which much is written and much made up, so I read every academic book I could find about him as well as the mass of writing on the internet. By doing this you build up layers.
- Books which take a different slant
Since Victorian times history has been depicted according to the reigns of monarchs. There is less social history in which we understand life for ordinary people. But books such as The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England (Dr Ian Mortimer, 2008), Medieval Lives (Terry Jones, 2004), and How to be a Tudor (Ruth Goodman, 2015) will take you beyond the politics into the sights, sounds, beliefs, food and smells in which your story is based.
- Visit the sites
If you really want to get into the shoes of your characters, try to walk where they walked, see what they saw. It gives a level of detail when writing a scene which cannot be obtained through a screen.
- Talk to experts
Most people who love their subject are more than willing to give good advice. In the last few years I have had coffee with an expert in medieval swearing, brilliant advice from the experts in the Royal Palaces (did you know that Elizabeth would never had had a wardrobe?). Also remember the amateur experts. A real character called Blanche Parry – or to use her name as she would have pronounced it Blanche ap Harri - comes to the fore in book two of the Tudor Rose Murders series and I learned 99% of my knowledge about her through Ruth Richardson, a passionate historian in Hereford who wrote Blanche Parry, Elizabeth’s Confidente.
- Read other fiction
You can get huge insights into real characters through the imagination of other writers. Most of those writers are well researched. So reading Judith Arnott on Mary 1st (A Heretic Wind) and Alison Weir on Anna of Kleve, gave me a feel for the psychology of people in my novels – and both those authors are extremely accurate in their history. The same goes for Elizabeth Norman and Tracy Borman, both of who really seem to understand the people behind the events.
- Online resources
There are too many to list, but research to find what best suits and mix amateur with academic. A few I find very accessible are English History and Tudor Times. Never forget passionate podcasters such as Talking Tudors!
Period detail
As for period detail, again you need to check and double check. It is all too easy to use words which would not be in use at the time, to describe clothes or furniture which did not exist (Elizabeth’s wardrobe!) and food which was not eaten. If I had described a meal of potatoes in my first book I would be pulled up short as they did not arrive in England for another 31 years. I also had a female character wearing a veil until the Hampton Court experts told me veils had gone out of fashion years before and only hoods and coifs were worn.
Another source of period detail is film. All too often the history is irritatingly mashed, but set designers are detail lovers, great researchers, and love to create things as they really were. If nothing else, you get a visual feast to feed your imagination.
Again, the experts who base themselves in historic places are a rich source of information and extremely generous. Historians such as Owen Emmerson at Hever Castle is simply a human mine of information, the student historians at Hampton Court can give you insights beyond any book; and you will often find amateur experts roaming the ground. Never be shy in approaching. They love to chat.
To conclude. Writing historical fiction is a joy – every tap of the keyboard transports you to another world, another time and a rich tapestry of people, politics and power. But it takes hours of research, checking, questioning and adapting. To me, the challenge is ensuring that all my imagination and the story I want to tell can be fitted into reality and the timeline of real events. But when you have managed that and type ‘The End’ before a historical note which sets out all the reality behind the story, it is the best feeling.
G.J. Williams is author of The Conjuror’s Apprentice, the first in the Tudor Rose Murder Series, published by Red Door Press.
'A thoroughly engaging tale, beautifully written, and highly evocative of the period…Highly recommended.' Zoe Sharp
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