Transferring real facts into a fictional world is not always easy. You are essentially building a world from known details and working with readers’ imperfect understanding of that world. Deciding what to include and what to pare away can make the difference between engaging readers and losing them.

Can you make it all about the character’s experience?

One of the best ways to guide your thinking about the number of historical details to use in a novel is to remember that you are not writing a detailed account of a historical event or era, but a character’s experience of the event. How you use the historical details is more important than how much you use.

Readers need enough details to understand the context of the story and the character’s lives in it. You also need to trust your readers to fill in some of the details with their imagination. If you are writing in an era that is familiar to lots of readers, they need fewer details to feel immersed in the setting.

Consider historical setting as an additional element that influences the plot and character arc. As historical novelist, Susan Messier, says, “It should help reveal character, add texture, and set the mood.” The more unique and specific you can make the details, the more likely they will connect the reader to the characters. Balance is key, because too much historical detail that does not serve the story will annoy readers and pull them out of the book just as much as an inaccuracy or anachronism can.

Is your story plausible, possible and internally consistent?

Incorporating historical details also makes the story feel authentic. What I mean by authenticity is that the story remains possible, plausible, and internally consistent. This is often something that trips up new writers of historical fiction. Many get hung up on being strictly historically accurate. It’s important to remember that you are writing fiction and, therefore, you have some leeway to bend the truth as long as it is for the benefit of the story.

Most successful authors of historical fiction aim for authenticity over strict accuracy. That doesn’t mean you can just make things up though. If the details are readily available then the readers will want them to be accurate, or, at least believable. It’s okay to let go of strict historical accuracy for the sake of the story as long as you have good reasons for the changes.

Your readers want to be swept away, not get buried by a thousand interesting facts that sound like they belong in a history textbook. Readers can be very accepting if you strive to remain true to the era, even if some of the facts are changed. Most of them appreciate a note at the end that lets them know what was true and what was changed for the sake of the story.

So, what can you fictionalize?

Most authors and readers agree that you can invent characters, change timelines to make the most of a character’s arc, create new events or places, and even fictionalize real people as long as the changes are plausible within the context of the time period and your story. Remember, writing authentically means ensuring your characters’ worldview matches the realities of their time period.

Let’s use The Huntress by Kate Quinn as an example, since she is known for her meticulous research and attention to detail. Don’t worry, I won’t reveal any spoilers. In her author’s note, Kate describes the real people she used as inspiration for her fictional characters, including one character that was a composite of several real individuals.

She goes on to explain how some of the events that occur are based on real-life things that happened. The parts she did make up during the war were things she believed were plausible based on her research. She includes a number of other notes about tiny details that were changed and why she did so. I do recommend you read the book and her author’s note for a great example of infusing fiction with historical details.

Can you use dialogue to your advantage?

Dialogue is one place where it is more important to create an authentic feel rather than adhere to historically accurate language. Readability is much more important than straight accuracy in this case. No one wants to wade through a novel full of Middle English, but if you sprinkle in a few era-specific words that are easy to understand it will add atmosphere and authenticity.

On the other hand, you don’t want to stuff details that characters would already know into dialogue in order to share more details with the reader. This often starts with the ubiquitous, “As you know…” phrase and goes on to fill readers in on backstory or detailed descriptions of how something works. While you might think it was such a fascinating detail, all readers will want to know it, that is not the best way to share it. A much better strategy is the show your character using the item, living the event, or using a small amount of exposition (telling) to bring the reader up to speed.

What kind of writer are you?

It can be hard to know what details are important when you are first writing. If you are the type of person who needs to include all the details while you are writing, just make sure you dedicate a round of revision to pairing it down to only those details that are absolutely necessary. The reverse may be necessary if you tend to leave out setting in order to get down your plot and character motivations. In that case, you will need to spend some time incorporating enough details to make the world feel real.

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