By Murray Andrew Pura
Murray Pura’s “Beautiful Skin”, published by MillerWords out of Mount Dora, Florida, is a World War II
Romance based somewhat on his family’s real-life experiences. He shares with us
his thoughts on how to write compelling historical fiction, or as he says, how
to weave the “spell”.
People that read
historical fiction primarily want two things: they want to be entertained
(something common to every reader) and they want to be educated (something that
is not common to every reader). Moreover, they want the education aspect to be
pleasant and painless. Many of them avoid the reading of history books because
they find them dull. They want their history to be as exciting as an action
film with lots of layers of plot and character development and intrigue and
romance. The writer of historical fiction is expected to deliver if he and she
want to have a growing fan base and better than average sales.
So the entertainment
part is a given for any genre of fiction: offer up characters the reader soon
begins to care about, create an intriguing plot with plenty of subplots and
dramatic twists and turns, and bring about a conclusion that satisfies, even if
the tears are flowing.
The education part is
trickier. Historical fiction fans want to feel like time travelers. They are
excited about living in the past, not just reading about it. They want to feel
as if they are really there: the clothing, the cooking, the houses, and the
ways of getting around (whether by Model A Ford or by chariot) have to feel
like the real thing. Every aspect of the story needs to be authentic. They
don’t want to find out that the author got the airplanes wrong, or the
firearms, or the dresses, or the dialects, or the politics.
Another part of the fun
is truly being in the past, so far as the imagination goes, and finding out
what you would have done if you really had lived during that era and
experienced a dramatic turning point in history (Pearl Harbor, the Battle of
Saratoga in the American Revolution, the rule of Henry VIII, the fall of the
Roman Empire). So readers need to be able to identify with some of the main
characters and some of the lesser characters too as, along with them, they make
decisions that not only affect their personal destinies but the destinies of
nations. This means that, coupled with meticulous research into the historical
era represented in the story, the author must possess the skills to make
history live, and make it so personal the reader is there, is feeling the
tension and the pain and the wonder, and believes their actions make a difference
to the fate of thousands, if not millions.
That’s a big part of the
draw and the thrill of historical fiction: hearts really beat, lips really
touch, blood really flows . . . the fictional world is real . . . history
comes alive in human skin and emotions and spirit . . . and the reader is a
part of it, making history happen. This is the reality the writer must pursue
with his research; this is the I-am-there feeling the author must bring to pass
with the power of her story and the power of the words she weaves.
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Murray Andrew Pura is the
author of more than a dozen novels, two collections of short stories, and
several non-fiction titles including the Zondervan books Rooted and Streams,
as well as the Baker devotional Majestic & Wild. Born in Canada,
he is a recent transplant to New Mexico. His first novel was released in
Toronto in 1988 and was a finalist for the Dartmouth Book Award. Pura has been
a finalist for several awards in the US and Canada, including the $25,000
Kobzar Literary Award for his novel Zo. In 2012, Pura won the Word
Award of Toronto for Best Historical Novel for The White Birds of
Morning. Connect with the author on Facebook. MillerWords is a
Florida based independent publisher of positive and inspirational books
for all ages that can be found online at www.MillerWords.com or
on Facebook at FB.com/MillerWords.
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