Fact or Fiction?
Ken and I occasionally attend the Osher Learning for LIfe classes. This curent 3 consecutive Wednesday night session was on Bleeding Kansas--What Led to Our Part in the Civil War. One of the things the instructor, who is the curator at the Fr. Riley Museum on the army post just west of us, brought out was a movie called Santa Fe Trail, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland, Raymond Massey and Ronald Reagan (who played General Custer!) The reason our instructor highlighted this movie, made in 1940, was that it was filled with errors. One simple one was that one of the men was dating the daughter of another military man in the movie. But, in real life, that 'daughter' was actually 4 years old at the time. That was only one of many 'untruths' in the movie.
In 1940, people accepted what was in a historyical movie as fact. Where were they going to go to check? And all they wanted was to be entertained, which I'm sure they were with the stars they got to see. If they picked up a bit of history, all the better. Even if it wasn't always the real deal.
In today's world, fact-checking is a big thing. People check Facebook articles to see if they are true or not. They check politician's claims, newspaper articles, scams and more. What does that mean for writers?
It means that you had better have your facts straight, or you might be called out by a reader. There are many historical fiction books for children, young adults and the grown-ups. If you think you know a lot of history and don't bother to double-check, that's fine, but you could be called out on it. Wouldn't it be safer to make sure you have the real facts before you publish?
You are probably answering yes to my last question, but making those checks takes a lot of time. In the end, you will benefit from taking that time and making sure what you are writing is the real deal.
Dates can be a problem. If a historical fiction writer says her characters met on a Friday, naming the date, sh/'he better make sure that date was actually on a Friday. Your old friend, Google, can be a great help to check dates. If your character was born in 1855 and you say she celebrated her 21st birthday in 1865 (20 years) some reader will catch it. They most likely will not call you out personally on it, but in their mind, they are always going to wonder if the rest of what you wrote is correct.
Do it right the first time, and you have no worries. Take the time, make the effort to make sure your facts are correct.
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