What is Historical Fiction?

Storytelling, lies, truth distortion, stretching it a bit, what is historical fiction? I just finished reading two books, one a modern day western, with historical flashbacks, and the other from the genre of historical fiction. In many cases I can’t tell the difference between westerns and historical fiction.

I often read through various online review sites and found some interesting reviews of the two books. Below is a summary of what I found – just the bad stuff.

1.    People complain that it doesn’t tell the whole story (It’s not a history book)

2.   It didn’t really happen that way (fiction)

3.   Plays too much with the facts (?)

4.   Varies from history (yep)

5.   Spelling and grammar errors (This should be fixed, but I did not notice much in my reading – might be some readers are looking for errors and not the story)

6.   Not enough research (This is what makes historical fiction great, an author can do as much or as little research as they want. Then run with their version of the story)

My point to this post is simple, it’s historical FICTION, not nonfiction. My Idea, at least what I like to read, of historical fiction is this – a story based on something real, a historical event. After that it’s up to the author. I am not crazy about mixed up time periods in historical fiction, but other than that I like every good story.

        What about fiction or westerns with no, real, to them, love them. Sometimes truth is better than fiction, but I can get completely lost in a great story. In the end it is still all about the story!

A notch in the Haystack Mountains of the Laramie Range Wyoming - This could be the basis for a good western story.

 

Great Western Line

Not sure if anyone ever rated, The Proving Trail, as one of Louis L’Amour’s best novels. I like to read what I classify as western mysteries and this is a good one.  I love this line from the novel, to me it is one of the best lines that late Mr. L’Amour ever put on paper.

“The way I see it, every time a man gets up in the morning he starts his life over. Sure, the bills are there to pay, and the job is there to do, but you don't have to stay in a pattern. You can always start over, saddle a fresh horse and take another trail.”

In my life I have done that a couple of times, changed directions, took another trail and you know what? Never regretted it. Who knows? Maybe I will try it again, just because I am retired, it’s never too late to saddle a new horse and ride a new trail.

Maybe I Am Not Who You Think I Am

Are any of you, like me, trying to decide what penname you will be using after you become famous and want to write as someone else? Just kidding, but I find pennames to be an interesting study. Why do people use them, to remain anonymous I suppose, but why? Seems I know more writers that would like to be famous than those who would like to remain unknown.

Mark Twain might be the most famous of all, but many other writers, some quite famous, have written with names other than their own. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Benjamin Franklin, Nora Roberts, J. K Rowling, And Charles Dickens among hundreds of others wrote at times with pennames. Some, which no one would ever suspect to have used pen names, like Agatha Christie and Emily Bronte also used pseudonyms when it suited them.

A few years ago I was flabbergasted to learn that two of my favorite western series writers, Dana Fuller Ross and Donald Clayton Porter were one in the same – Noel Bertram Gerson. I guess this falls under the heading of, you learn something every day.

Now I am beginning to think many of you that I follow are likely famous and using aliases on line so that I will not find out.

Or - probably not!

 Saw this little guy last evening just before dark

 

Home At Last

Maybe that's the best part of going away for a vacation-coming home again.” ―  Madeleine L'Engle, Meet the Austins

The North Platte River a few blocks from HOME

It is always nice to be back home. For me, two weeks away is too much. I love to see and experience new places, always learn a lot. But am always ready to get back home usually after a few days.

Have you ever noticed how plain things around you are? Then you go away and come back, and everything looks extraordinary. If for no other reason that is a good argument to take a vacation. We didn’t go far, not by today’s standards, but for us quite a trip.

The highlights? The Vicksburg Mississippi Battlefield National Park, and a riverboat ride in Branson Missouri. 

Southern Cemetery at Vicksburg - sobering

Questions I would like answered from my trip.

1.    Are there any live armadillos? I sure saw a lot of road killed ones. I have a theory that all armadillos are dead and there are no live ones, not sure but could be – maybe not.

2.   Are speed limits just a suggestion? Sure seems that way.

3.   Does Louisiana have more trees per acre than any other state?

-New to me, food, on this trip-

1. Jambalaya – not bad, surprised me, I kind of liked it

2. Southern Blackened Chicken – too hot for this ol’ Cowboy

3. *Arbuckle Fried Pies at Turner Falls, Oklahoma – now we’re talking, very good

The red beans and rice with cornbread - good both times I tried it, as always.

*Not my first rodeo here, love this place.

        Well there it is, my vacation report – Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma. Now its home until February.

The sun sets over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg

“How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.”  ― William Faulkner

 

 

Becoming a Famous Writer

Combing over the nonfiction section of a book store recently it looks to me that famous people write lots of books. Most of these titles didn’t tempt me much, not much at all. Funny how, not many authors get famous, but many famous people fancy themselves as authors. It does do one thing for the writing profession, it keeps authors willing to research and ghost write busy.

 I have been told that the average self-published book sells less than 100 copies and that the smallest of publishing houses often sell less than 100 of a title also. That’s not many books, the competition is fierce, but I still believe that well written fiction or nonfiction can sell if properly promoted. Therein lies the answer to most self-published authors selling so few books, marketing. If someone is already famous and has instant name recognition the selling part is easy.

Seems like I saw more unknown authors that were trying to sell fiction and how-to books than nonfiction. Not sure why, just what I ran across in my most recent visit to a book store – and it was an independent.

Oh – did I buy anything? One paperback by a midlist author that I like, I have read a half dozen or more of her books. When I read unknowns, I always download from Amazon. My price range for these unknown author books, free to $2.99.

Just Looking for a Good Book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Canvas of Our Time

Although there are quite a few western writers whose stories I enjoy as much or more than Louis L’Amour, his, Education of a Wandering Man, is one of my favorite books regardless of genre.

My favorite quote from the book:

“A mistake constantly made by those who should know better is to judge people of the past by our standards rather than their own. The only way men or women can be judged is against the canvas of their own time.”

In all my years in front of my classes I constantly reminded myself, and my students, that judgment is best left in its own day and age and Mr. L’Amour certainly said it most eloquently.

Another Time and Place

My All New, How to Write Book

Type, writing books, into an Amazon book search and you will get hundreds of books, yes hundreds. Seems how to write books are popular. Some are by famous writers, some by semi-famous writers and many by unknown writers. I googled a few of the authors of what I thought, were obscure books, about the art of writing, and you know what I found? It appears some have written nothing or very little other than the how to write book.

 

Humm, seems odd, writing books by people that are not really writers, or have very little writing to their credit. Think I will continue my practice of googling authors and reading previews of their work before buying. In the meantime I am working on my new writing book, How to Write a Writing Book, should be a best seller. Believe I will talk with my banker in the morning about where to invest my millions.

 

If this plan doesn’t work out for me, see my next book – How To Play In the NFL and Make Millions, Without Working Out, Regardless of Your Age.

 

Nice Wyoming Photo – just for fun.



Parade Grounds at Fort Laramie