What I mean is that characters and their interactions are timeless. I don’t mean that an author should use anachronistic language and dialogue, or that the story itself should be applicable to any time period (you can’t write a story like Number the Stars set in modern-day California). Which brings me to my second point–that great historical fiction reads like a contemporary story. I bet no one said that to Rainbow Rowell about Eleanor & Park. While I was writing Gilt, I attended a workshop where an agent mentioned that she never wanted to see another query about a book set in the 1980s, because it usually meant that the author wanted to reference her favorite music and was too lazy to figure out how to put cell phones into the narrative. I have a nagging feeling that there are agents and editors out there who might feel the same way. However, part of me still balks at the thought of writing (or reading) something historical that is set during my own lifetime. Great to live through, but not so interesting to read!) I had a spectacularly bland and uneventful childhood, full of love and well-being. (That is, if your childhood was more interesting than mine.

We can immerse ourselves in ancient Egypt, imagine life amongst the princes of Renaissance Europe or, possibly, write an autobiographically-based novel of our own childhood. By that calculation, a novel published today about the terrorist attacks on Septemcould be considered historical by modern teenagers.Īs writers of historical fiction, we are so incredibly fortunate in the richness and scope of our source material. And yet, I was six years old when Saigon fell. When I was Platoon, it was as a work of historical fiction. As a teen, I considered the Vietnam War to be history. The first thing I did was put myself back in the shoes of my younger self.

And I continue to do so as I read new books and think about future projects. As an aspiring author of historical fiction, I had to reset my understanding. Most of the audience gasped, because most of us had lived through the 70s, making it difficult to believe it could be considered history. So I almost missed it when an agent, talking about her client’s work, mentioned that it was a novel of historical fiction, set in the 1970s. Four days of writing craft, page critiques, networking and an overwhelming amount of information.

The year I started writing for young people, I attended my first international SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in Los Angeles.

Gilt by Katherine Longshore