How to turn historical fact into compelling fiction
BY Eleni Kyriacou
9th Nov 2023
Eleni Kyriacou is an award-winning editor and journalist. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Marie Claire, Grazia and Red, among others. The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is her second novel, and has been selected for BBC2’s Between The Covers, the TV book club hosted by Sara Cox. It’s inspired by the true story of the penultimate woman to be hanged in Britain – a Cypriot grandmother who has been largely forgotten. Eleni worked on her first novel, She Came To Stay, on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in London.
There are so many ways to write fiction that’s inspired by historical fact. Here are seven tips on how to turn historical fact into compelling fiction:
1. Choose a real person
You may want to focus on a famous figure from history, or perhaps an ordinary person living in extraordinary times. Ask yourself what interests you about this person? What is there to say or discover that nobody knows?
Letters, diaries, accounts written by others and biographies can all be invaluable here. You can decide to stick to the facts of their life (as far as they’re known) or simply use one element as a starting point.
My novel, The Unspeakable Acts Of Zina Pavlou, is inspired by the true story of a Cypriot grandmother who was accused of killing her daughter-in law in 1954. It’s a little-known case, yet the more I delved into it, the more intrigued I became, especially in the way the newspapers of the day reported the crime, and how there was an assumption she was guilty. I wondered, could she have been innocent? Or perhaps not been in her right mind? This gave me several jumping off points for the story.
A word of caution: don’t let the facts restrict you. It’s fiction! Your job as an novelist is to entertain and keep readers turning pages -you’re not writing a text book.
2. Choose your historical era carefully – and reflect it in your themes
Yes, write about a period that fascinates you, but a love of an era isn’t enough. What specifically appeals? What characterises that time for you? I write about the 1950s, and for me it was a decade of great hope (so many people arrived in the UK from other countries to make a better life, including my parents) but also a time of exploitation, poverty and crime. Life could turn out wonderfully, but equally be very dangerous. That’s what my novels centre around. Reflect the characteristics of the era you choose in the themes of your book. Your era is as important as your characters – it’s not simply a backdrop to your story, it’s crucial in reinforcing your message. How will it enhance the story you want to tell?
3. Mention real events
Anchor your story in real events – it adds a delicious air of authenticity and helps you build a world that readers can believe in. And remember, nobody’s life happens in isolation. Your character may have had her heart broken by an unfaithful lover, but what else is going on around her at the same time? Use what’s happening to reflect your character’s emotions and push the plot along. For example, the climax of She Came To Stay, my debut, takes place around the five days of London’s Great Smog of 1952. Dina, the protagonist, is lost emotionally and then goes missing. Yes – historical events can be metaphors!
4. It’s the colour that counts
The tiny details matter as much as the big picture in building a textured world. Does your character have buttons on her shoes or laces? If she went to the cinema in 1954, what might she have watched? How did friends address each other? Would she reapply her lipstick on the bus, or didn’t women do that – and is she the sort to even care? Letters, diaries, films and memoirs can all be invaluable sources.
5. Get outside – you probably won’t find what you’re looking for in a library
Often, when writing fiction based in fact, there’s one thing you find out that gets you interested in a topic or person and that leads onto another and then another. It’s like a domino effect. Then, as you go about your everyday life, you suddenly see so many things that feel relevant to what you’re writing. In fact, all that’s happened is that your creative antennae have come out and you’ve become aware of the world around you.
Of course, you can make great discoveries in a library, but venturing into the real word can help you shake it up a little, especially if you find yourself bogged down in research. For example, at an exhibition held by Scotland Yard, I read three lines that mentioned a woman I’d never heard of. After some digging, I realised there was a dramatic story here that I could base my next book around. Visit galleries, museums, talk to people. They’re all a great source of material.
6. Subvert the expected
History in itself is subjective - what we think we ‘know’ about people in the past is often a stereotype (not all Victoria gentlemen are repressed authoritarians, not every 1950s housewife wears her hair in rollers and a headscarf). Can your character be pushing against what’s expected of them? It will surprise your readers and make for a more interesting read. Hilary Mantel, famously, subverted history’s view of villainous Cromwell by depicting him as a compassionate if shrewd hero.
7. Make it relevant
Writing that’s based in historical fact isn’t automatically fascinating just because it’s true – it’s not enough to say ‘well that’s how it happened’. Why should readers care about your story? What makes it resonate today? How can they relate to your characters? People in the past had dreams, hopes, losses and secrets the way we do. Tap into their emotional lives and you’ll breathe life into them. Whatever you’re writing, remember that history isn’t set in aspic and neither are events or people from the past-help us relate to them and their situation and you’ll bring your fiction alive.
The Unspeakable Acts Of Zina Pavlou is published by Head of Zeus.
The books linked in this blog can be found on our Bookshop.org shop front. Curtis Brown Creative receive 10% whenever someone buys from our bookshop.org page.
Eleni was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in London. Our flagship in-person Writing Your Novel course is designed for writers who are serious about developing their novel to its full potential.
Applications are open for our upcoming Writing Your Novel courses (both online and in London).
You can find Eleni on social media @elenikwriter and her website is www.elenikwriter.com