One of agent Kevan Lyon's favorite areas to work in is historical fiction. In this interview she shares tips for creating well-written historical fiction, with examples drawn from her own work. "The best authors in the genre are passionate about getting the history right," she says, "but because it's fiction, they get to use their imaginations, too." You're going to have readers that know the types of flowers growing in the region at certain times of the year so accuracy is vital. However, you get to create and develop relationships in a way that allows people to connect with your readers. The balance is tricky, but the payoff of writing really beautiful historical fiction is fantastic.
Historical fiction is my favorite genre to write in. I agree that getting the details is very important. Sometimes the researching is difficult and tedious, but the end product is worth it. The better your facts are, the more real your books seem to be. For me, it is exciting to write historical fiction because I get to learn about a certain place and time, then add in extra stuff and create my own adventure in the place. So far, I've written one historical fiction book called Ninjas of the Mountains. It is about the lives of three teenage ninjas trying to survive, and the theme of the book is courage. Since there aren't many known facts about ninjas, it was fairly easy and very fun to write. However, my next book is going to be about the Holocaust, so I am spending a lot of time researching things for it. -- Kayla Wong, 15, Author