A sense of time and place is crucial in the narrative style of historical fiction. The author has to make the reader feel as if they are transported back in time. This can be achieved through the use of sensory details like the smell of the sea in a story set in a coastal town in the past. And often, there is a balance between historical accuracy and fictional creativity in the narrative style.
The narrative style in historical fiction can make historical events more vivid. It often uses detailed descriptions, like the settings, costumes, and social atmospheres of the time. For example, in 'War and Peace', Tolstoy's narrative style of switching between different characters' perspectives gives a comprehensive view of the Napoleonic Wars era.
Basically, a historical fiction narrative combines history with imagination. It uses a historical setting as the backdrop and adds fictional characters or events to create an engaging story. For example, a novel about a made-up person's experiences during the Roman Empire would be historical fiction.
Definitely not. Narrative non-fiction focuses on presenting true events and people accurately. Historical fiction, on the other hand, builds fictional stories around historical periods or figures, adding imagination and creativity.
The narrative style advocated by traditional Chinese historical works was usually grand, complex, rigorous, and logical story structure, as well as attention to detail, depicting characters, and showing the details and complexity of historical events. These narrative styles usually involved a grand historical background, many characters and plots, as well as a large number of historical events and details. In traditional Chinese history, various rhetorical devices such as metaphor, symbolism, and contrast were often used to enhance the expression and influence of the story.
Biographical novels usually have a narrative style that is more focused on the individual's experiences. The story is told in a way that highlights the person's character development. For instance, if it's a biographical novel about a writer, it might focus on how their writing evolved over time. Historical fiction, on the other hand, may have a narrative style that jumps between different events and characters to create a more panoramic view of the historical period. It might use different voices and perspectives to show the complexity of the era.
Accuracy of historical details is one key element. Writers need to research and include correct historical facts. Another is character development. The characters should be believable and fit within the historical context. For example, in a novel about the American Revolution, the characters' beliefs and actions should match the time period.
You can start by researching a specific period and event that interests you. Build your characters based on the context of that time. Also, think about an engaging opening scene that sets the tone.
To write a good historical fiction narrative, you need a strong plot. It could be based on real events or a fictional story that fits the time period. Also, pay attention to the language and style to make it feel authentic to the era.
There were many common ways of narrating a novel: traditional, suspense, science fiction, romantic, historical, fantasy, and so on. Traditional novels usually used plot development as the main means to let the readers feel the atmosphere and emotions of the novel through the psychological description of the characters and the description of the environment. Suspense novels focused on revealing the truth and the murderer of the story through the investigation of the characters and events. Science fiction novels usually used science and technology as the theme to explore human destiny and social problems by describing the future or past technological life. Romance novels, on the other hand, focused on the description of emotions and the shaping of characters 'personalities so that the readers could feel the protagonist's emotional journey and life experiences. Historical novels usually used historical events as the main theme to let the readers understand the truth of history and the character of the characters by describing historical events and characters. Fantasy novels usually used magic and fantasy elements as the main theme to let the readers feel the fantasy world and imagination by describing the settings and characters of the magic and fantasy world.