For Historical Fiction Writers

Mistakes Will Be Made

by Stephanie Dray | December 23, 2017 | Bloopers, For Writers | 0 Comments

I hope I never reach a point in my career where I will feel perfectly confident dispensing literary commandments like Moses with stone tablets. But since I was raised Catholic, I thought I’d take a humbler stab at The Gospel of Historical Fiction according to...

Write Something Else

by Stephanie Dray | January 16, 2017 | For Writers, Miscellany, Other Writers | 0 Comments

From time to time, readers and fellow authors email me asking for advice or sharing with me their own stories about obstacles that come between them and the stories they want to write. This past summer, I received the following letter from aspiring African American...

Author Tips for Book Signings

by Stephanie Dray | July 20, 2016 | For Writers | 0 Comments

Book signings. What aspiring writer doesn't fantasize about sitting behind a towering pile of books surrounded by adoring fans, scribbling one's John Hancock across a clean page. It's the stuff of dreams and fairy tale snow castles. And today I received an email from...

Shaping Characters in Historical Fiction

by Stephanie Dray | May 13, 2016 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre | 2 Comments

Shaping Historical vs. Fictional Characters If you’re writing a historical fiction novel that features characters you made up out of whole cloth, congratulations! Your job is, paradoxically, a thousand times easier than writing about someone who actually existed. The...

How to Start a Local Chapter of the Historical Novel Society

by Stephanie Dray | April 10, 2016 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre | 0 Comments

As currently structured, the Historical Novel Society is open to readers, bloggers, and authors. It alternates conference years in the United States and England. This often means two years between seeing friends and colleagues, pitching to editors, and...

Choosing a Tense in Historical Fiction

by Stephanie Dray | March 2, 2016 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre | 0 Comments

Hello fellow writers! When it comes to writing commercial historical fiction, your options are pretty much limited to: Present Tense: I kill the dragon Past Tense: I killed the dragon? But which one should you choose? Here are some things to consider. Which is more...

Finding, or Remembering, Your Voice

by Stephanie Dray | February 16, 2016 | For Writers | 0 Comments

When it comes to books, readers and publishers are all suckers for a strong voice. A strong voice can sometimes overcome plot holes and otherwise weak writing. And a weak voice can sink an otherwise competently written book into obscurity. But what is voice? Sometimes...

Let’s Talk About Writer’s Block

by Stephanie Dray | January 25, 2016 | For Writers | 0 Comments

Let's talk about so-called Writer's Block.Many, if not most, professional writers will tell you that there's no such thing. Nurses don't get to call off work at the hospital because they're having nurse's block, so you just have to put your butt in the chair and...

Publishers to Consider for you Historical Novel

by Stephanie Dray | January 4, 2016 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre | 0 Comments

Fellow authors sometimes write to me for recommendations in terms of which publishing companies they should consider when submitting their historical fiction novels. At this point in my career, I've published with several different companies, big and small. I've also...

10 More Tips for Historical Fiction Authors

by Stephanie Dray | September 19, 2015 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre, Miscellany | 0 Comments

Last year I threw together a list of 10 Tips for Aspiring Historical Fiction Authors. But to some extent or other, we're all always aspiring, as I've never really known a writer who was satisfied. Now I'm back with ten more tips that might be helpful to you, or at...

10 Tips for Aspiring Historical Fiction Authors

by Stephanie Dray | February 13, 2014 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre | 17 Comments

I'm mostly unqualified to be giving career tips--better to ask someone who has had a long and storied historical fiction career like Margaret George, Bernard Cornwall, Diana Gabaldon, Wilbur Smith, Philippa Gregory, etcetera. But the request comes up frequently enough...

My 10 Step Approach to Copy Edits

by Stephanie Dray | July 25, 2013 | For Writers | 0 Comments

When I started a series of posts entitled ADVENTURES OF A DEBUT AUTHOR, I had a lot to learn. As it happens, I still have a lot to learn but I also have a lot to share. So this is my newest addition to that series and I hope authors get something useful out of it.Copy...

If You’re Serious About Historical Fiction… #histnov #histfic

by Stephanie Dray | July 10, 2012 | For Readers, For Writers | 7 Comments

Unlike many writer's organizations, the Historical Novel Society is for readers too. If you haven't joined, but you love historical fiction, please consider it. Writers love to meet the people who actually read their work. And if you're a writer, well, one of the...

Writing Tips for Historical Fiction

by Stephanie Dray | March 7, 2012 | For Readers, For Writers, Other Writers | 8 Comments

It's been a good week for me as a historical fiction author. I just finished a novella for an anthology on Queen Arsinoe II of Egypt and I lunched with fellow members of the Chesapeake Bay Area Historical Novel Society chapter. We had a lovely lunch over which we...

My Sophomore Novel (Or, How Kate Quinn Nearly Got Me Arrested On Release Day by Drag Racing Through Baltimore)

by Stephanie Dray | October 17, 2011 | For Writers, Miscellany, My Works, Other Writers, Song of the Nile | 0 Comments

Most authors are nervous about their debut novels. It's your first offering to the world and you have no idea if the world will embrace it or spit on it. But what most people don't know is that it's the second book that can make or break your career. If your first...

Q&A with Cleopatra Contest Semi-Finalist Abigail Grant

by Stephanie Dray | August 22, 2011 | Cleopatra Contest, For Writers, Miscellany | 6 Comments

It gives me great pleasure to introduce another semi-finalists for the Cleopatra Writing Contest for Young Women. Abigail Grant is a talented young woman. Over the course of the next few weeks I'll be featuring these young authors and I hope you'll make them feel...

Cleopatra Confesses, by Carolyn Meyer

by Stephanie Dray | August 15, 2011 | For Writers, Fun Stuff, Historical Fiction Genre, Miscellany, Other Writers | 2 Comments

Most novels about Cleopatra focus on the tumultuous events of her adult life--the love affairs, the heart-break, the warfare, and ultimately, her tragic failure. This new novel by historical fiction author Carolyn Meyer zeroes in on Cleopatra's early life, the...

Q&A With Cleopatra Contest Semi-Finalist, Diane Ward

by Stephanie Dray | August 8, 2011 | Cleopatra Contest | 12 Comments

It gives me great pleasure to introduce another semi-finalists for the Cleopatra Writing Contest for Young Women. It thrills me to have Diane with us today because she's drawn upon Eastern mythology instead of Western for her work. Over the course of the next few...

Q&A With Rebecca Wilson, Cleopatra Contest Semi-Finalist

by Stephanie Dray | May 23, 2011 | Cleopatra Contest, For Writers, Miscellany, Other Writers | 14 Comments

It gives me great pleasure to be able to introduce the first of our semi-finalists for the Cleopatra Writing Contest for Young Women. Over the course of the next few months I'll be featuring these young ladies and I hope you'll make them feel welcome and help...

Magical Realism in Historical Fiction

by Stephanie Dray | April 18, 2011 | For Writers, Historical Fiction Genre | 4 Comments

When an author throws magical elements into a modern setting, its called paranormal romance or urban fantasy. But what about when an author injects magic into a historical setting? Usually we still just call it historical fiction. The use of magic in historical...