I've Got an Anachronism For This: How to Write a Hysterically Inaccurate Historical Novel
Get it? Like, "I've got a knack for this", but with anachronism instead of knack. No? Nobody? Ok.
For those of you who don't know, an anachronism is someone or something that is out of place in time. Check here for the Merriam-Webster online definition of the word. In historical fiction, an anachronism is usually something that proves the author didn't do his homework--a Civil War general saying "LOL," a Medieval knight tying his shoelaces, a Victorian heroine smoking a joint. These, of course, are absurdly easy to spot, and no writer would accidentally write these. They might write them on purpose, for comedic effect, if the piece they are writing is more spoof than substance.
The truth is, though, that most historical fiction does contain some anachronisms. The most common one I see is the "Call me Jane" error. The setting will be some Victorian manor, and the lady of the house will say to some random man she's just met, "My name is Duchess Von Pince-Nez, but you may call me Jane." That would never happen. Respectable men and women who had just met were never on a first-name basis. Some couples continued to address each other as Mr. and Mrs. even after they were married!
This page offers some examples of anachronism, even in great literature--for instance, Shakespeare writes about a clock striking in Julius Caesar, but the ancient Greeks didn't have mechanical clocks.
Some anachronisms may be necessary for the story; for instance, if you have your heart set on telling the story of a young woman who goes West to California during the Gold Rush in 1849, you'll have to overlook the fact that no such thing happened, or would have been considered acceptable. You can still do it, as long as you address its unlikelihood, and your story is compelling enough to warrant the suspension of our disbelief. Other things, like a general modernization of the speech, can help the reader's comprehension and are acceptable. Be careful, though-- your 18th century pirate shouldn't be going around saying "OK" and "whatever."
The best way to avoid anachronisms is to do your research. Study up on the period a little. Find out more about the customs, norms, and manners of the time. Did they celebrate Christmas, or Micklemas? Did they were doublets? What currency was in circulation? Find out about world events at the time. If newspapers were around, what would the headlines be?
My one caution in this area is to avoid Over-Researched Syndrome. The books I've read which suffer from ORS were otherwise well-written, but tended to veer off on long tangents about current events and customs, or about the details of a certain occupation. It's great that you learned all of this in order to write more accurately, but just because you've acquired this knowledge doesn't mean we want it, or that it belongs in your story.
Finally, to all those of you who insist that it's "creative license," I say... fine. But use that license sparingly, or it might get revoked.
Check out this page for a brief summary of what historical fiction is, for those of you who don't know yet, and for links to pages with common historical plots and characters.
This has been a very brief foray into the topic of writing historical fiction. Check out this site for all kinds of help with historical periods.
For those of you who don't know, an anachronism is someone or something that is out of place in time. Check here for the Merriam-Webster online definition of the word. In historical fiction, an anachronism is usually something that proves the author didn't do his homework--a Civil War general saying "LOL," a Medieval knight tying his shoelaces, a Victorian heroine smoking a joint. These, of course, are absurdly easy to spot, and no writer would accidentally write these. They might write them on purpose, for comedic effect, if the piece they are writing is more spoof than substance.
The truth is, though, that most historical fiction does contain some anachronisms. The most common one I see is the "Call me Jane" error. The setting will be some Victorian manor, and the lady of the house will say to some random man she's just met, "My name is Duchess Von Pince-Nez, but you may call me Jane." That would never happen. Respectable men and women who had just met were never on a first-name basis. Some couples continued to address each other as Mr. and Mrs. even after they were married!
This page offers some examples of anachronism, even in great literature--for instance, Shakespeare writes about a clock striking in Julius Caesar, but the ancient Greeks didn't have mechanical clocks.
Some anachronisms may be necessary for the story; for instance, if you have your heart set on telling the story of a young woman who goes West to California during the Gold Rush in 1849, you'll have to overlook the fact that no such thing happened, or would have been considered acceptable. You can still do it, as long as you address its unlikelihood, and your story is compelling enough to warrant the suspension of our disbelief. Other things, like a general modernization of the speech, can help the reader's comprehension and are acceptable. Be careful, though-- your 18th century pirate shouldn't be going around saying "OK" and "whatever."
The best way to avoid anachronisms is to do your research. Study up on the period a little. Find out more about the customs, norms, and manners of the time. Did they celebrate Christmas, or Micklemas? Did they were doublets? What currency was in circulation? Find out about world events at the time. If newspapers were around, what would the headlines be?
My one caution in this area is to avoid Over-Researched Syndrome. The books I've read which suffer from ORS were otherwise well-written, but tended to veer off on long tangents about current events and customs, or about the details of a certain occupation. It's great that you learned all of this in order to write more accurately, but just because you've acquired this knowledge doesn't mean we want it, or that it belongs in your story.
Finally, to all those of you who insist that it's "creative license," I say... fine. But use that license sparingly, or it might get revoked.
Check out this page for a brief summary of what historical fiction is, for those of you who don't know yet, and for links to pages with common historical plots and characters.
This has been a very brief foray into the topic of writing historical fiction. Check out this site for all kinds of help with historical periods.
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