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Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Any advice on creating fictional locations in real places when writing historical fiction?

Asked by: Jenny Berinstein

Can I write a fictional story about a real place?

Yes. You can make up places. Just make sure to indicate in the foreword that everything in your writing is purely a work of fiction, especially when you use the names of famous places. Otherwise, you might confuse readers – especially the young ones – if such a place exists.

How do you write historical fiction in real life?

Here’s how to go about writing your own historical fiction with a healthy balance of historical accuracy and creative writing chops:

  1. Freewrite to brainstorm ideas. …
  2. Find an interesting way into a time period. …
  3. Do your research. …
  4. Build a world. …
  5. Don’t get bogged down in dialogue. …
  6. Add fictional characters.

What kind of setting is usually found in historical fiction?

real historical place

Setting: The setting is the most important part of a historical fiction novel. It should take place during an authentic period in history and be set in a real historical place. For example, New York City during the Great Depression or Paris, France during World War II.

What are the 7 tips to writing a historical fiction story?

How to Write Historical Fiction: 7 Tips on Accuracy and…

  • Have fun with the research, but do your homework. …
  • Let the characters engage with the historical details. …
  • Allow your characters to question and explore their place in society. …
  • Use the internet wisely, to inspire and inform.

Do you need permission to write about a place?

You do not need permission to include song titles, movie titles, TV show titles—any kind of title—in your work. You can also include the names of places, things, events, and people in your work without asking permission. These are facts.

Can I mention NASA in a book?

You can write about government agencies in any way you want, including fiction.

Can you base a fictional character on a real person?

Using real people in your fiction—whether they are correctly named or not—can be legally hazardous. If an author includes enough details that a specific fictional character is identifiable as an actual person, that person could possibly pursue legal action.

What makes a good historical fiction story?

1) Tell a fictionalised (but accurate) version of a true story. This includes biographical historical fiction, where the focus is on telling the story of someone’s life. The aim here is to explore the real events and characters of history with careful attention to accuracy.

Can you use real names in historical fiction?

If your characters are based on real people and you are using the names, be reasonably responsible to the originals. You are probably going to have to fill in a lot of gaps in the historical record: you may know from the record what a person did and when he did it, but not why.



What are the elements of historical fiction?

According to an article titled “7 Elements of Historical Fiction”, in general writers of fiction must address seven crucial elements: character, dialogue, setting, theme, plot, conflict, and world building.

How do you start a historical fiction book?

How to write historical fiction

  1. Choose a clear starting point. The Shogun’s Queen begins with the most dramatic and momentous event in Japanese history. …
  2. Hit the books: research, research, research. …
  3. If possible, visit the places you are writing about. …
  4. Remember that the story is always important.

How do you create a fantasy world history?

How to Create a Fantasy World

  1. Use real life as inspiration. That doesn’t mean taking people from existing ethnic groups and putting costumes on them—but observe how other cultures live, how they interact with their environments and each other. …
  2. Define the setting. …
  3. Create inhabitants. …
  4. Make magic.



How do you create a fictional society?

How to Create a Fictional Culture

  1. Pull inspiration from the real world. Pay attention to the cultural behaviors within your society. …
  2. Build off your main character. …
  3. Develop a belief system. …
  4. Create a social structure. …
  5. Construct a technological system. …
  6. Write a brief history.

How do you make a fictional city?

Consider the landmarks and location of your city and create a name that incorporates that. Find root words in Latin or Greek or other languages specific to your book’s culture and derive a name from them. Consider the town’s history and maybe create a name from its founding members or specific mythology.

How do you make a fictional world map?

10 Rules For Making Better Fantasy Maps

  1. Understand how your map tells a story. …
  2. Always keep the viewer in mind. …
  3. Study real geography. …
  4. Pick your palette. …
  5. Look at the work of real-world cartographers. …
  6. Break out of the rectangle! …
  7. Consider embellishments — but don’t overload your map with them. …
  8. Try different types of maps.

What makes a good fantasy map?

Fantasy maps need to toe a line between fantastic, imaginary worlds and modern brains that trained by things like GPS and Google Maps to process spatial information in very rational ways.



How do I create a custom map?

Start by heading to maps.google.com. Click on the menu icon on the top left hand side of the screen and select “Your Places.” (The menu icon is just to the left of the search bar on the top left hand side of your screen.) Select the maps tab. Navigate to the very bottom of that window and select “Create a Map.”

What should be in a fantasy world map?

Whether you do this through notes or sketches, be clear about the type of land being mapped (island, mountains, city, forest, etc) and the landmarks to include that are symbolic of other aspects of the fantasy world (these might be caves, an underground river, a shipwreck, a castle, etc).

What is Project Deios?

PROJECT DEIOS is our shared vision – ONE system that can support ALL your map-making and storytelling needs. DUNGEONFOG was a massive Kickstarter success back in 2017, and our toolset makes the mapping process effortless, quick and perpetually interconnected.