Macbeth

Today for Writers' Wednesday, we're going to take a look at historical fiction. I write historical YA fiction; my stories come from the pages of history, and I weave a story around something that really happened. For In the Shadow of Mr. Lincoln, the Civil War is the backdrop for a story of finding your place in the world, for being the justice this world needs, for chasing dreams and upholding your responsibilities, and for admitting when you're wrong. On the Brink and the sequel Jump carry a tale of forgiveness and starting again, over a waterfall at the edge of the world in colonial Pennsylvania. In The Music of the Mines, the coal mines of Pennsylvania will be the harshest teacher and task master you've ever seen.

I'm as much a world-builder as any sci-fi and fantasy author. The difference is you can find pieces of my world in fact. Truth and fact are sprinkled in them like sugar in my coffee, dissolved and sweetened throughout. And like sugar in my coffee, there's a lot of it. Historical fact, that is.

What does that have to do with Macbeth? That's a Shakespeare play, right? Killing and mayhem and superstitions.

Macbeth is inspired by a true story; it was on this day in 1057 that Malcolm Canmore killed King Macbeth of Scotland at the Battle of Lumphanan. It was a revenge killing; Macbeth had killed Malcolm's father King Duncan I, in 1040. Both Duncan and Macbeth had a claim to the throne, so when Macbeth decided he didn't agree with Duncan's foreign policy, so to speak, he rebelled and killed the king, taking the throne for himself.

Macbeth didn't approve of Duncan's friendship with the Saxons, and it was the English who supported Malcolm as he pursued and killed his father's murderer.

Sounds like fiction, but it's not.

However, Macbeth is not considered one of Shakespeare's historical plays, which include Richard III, Henry V, and Julius Caesar. Macbeth is a tragedy. Perhaps the reason it is not strictly a history play is because Shakespeare's version, including witches and death in the castle, directly reflect Holinshed's Chronicles, a collection of stories well-known in Elizabethan England, published in 1587.

It begs the question: what, exactly, makes a story historical fiction, as opposed to just fiction that takes place at a period in the past?

Historical fiction includes actual people and places but invents scenes and dialogue. Some of the greats, such as Jeff Shaara, read extensively the papers of famous people and only use those words in the dialogue they create (or try to).

According to Bryanna Liccardi in a lesson for study.com, "Historical fiction will have one of three techniques. First, some will use real events, but with fictional people. A good example would be a novel about World War II, with fictitious military leaders as characters and invented scenes and dialogues. Second, some historical fiction will use fictional events, but with real people. A good example would be a novel about President George Washington that explores a fictitious affair he had with a Native American. Finally, a story may include both real events and real people. In this case, the writer must make up the scenes, dialogue, and overall plot; otherwise, the story would become nonfiction."

My novels will fit into the third category. In the Shadow of Mr. Lincoln follows a group of (fictitious) young people living in a real town (Millerstown, Pennsylvania), and as these young people navigate a war-torn country, they encounter real generals and doctors, but only the shadow of Mr. Lincoln. On the Brink and Jump have fewer real characters, but the research I've done has helped me create a true sense of life in colonial Pennsylvania.

Do you write historical fiction? Do your works fit into one of those categories? Share your favorite historical fiction in the comments!