Historical fiction is realistic fiction but the author tells the story set in a time at least 20 years before the time it was written. This gives the author the ability to compare historical events that may have happened with the repercussions that are made known because of what has happened in history since the time that the story would've taken place. Although the characters are imaginary and the plots are made up they need to be realistically possible according to the time period which the author is portraying. These stories are usually framed around actual historical events and include actual people that are remembered historically.
If there are not actually any historical characters, the story could be based around events of that time. For instance, depicting life in the early colonies and having characters experience some of the same social customs or hardships that people of that time experienced.
Historical fiction stories need to be able to captivate the reader and to help the child feel as though they can identify with the characters. One way in which this can be done is by the setting of the story. If the characters are authentic and well described according to that time and place, the students will gain much more from the story. The stories must do well in describing why characters act the way they do and incorporating in that the time and place in which the story takes place. Voice and language are also crucial to creating great historical fiction. If the language is especially different from the time period in which the story will be read, The author needs to decide how much of the actual dialect from that time period will be used in developing the characters. This is tricky because the author does not want to confuse the reader but also does not want to lose the richness found in dialect.
Another important aspect of historical fiction is perspective. An author must steer away from presenting only one view or perspective of a particular time period or event and include many perspectives using the characters to do so. A great example is a story told from a Native American's perspective and a story told from the same time period from the settler's perspective. What a powerful voice an author can have by re-thinking events of the past and putting them into perspective with the knowledge a few years’ removal from the situation can bring.
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