Writing alternate history (Small or Large scale)

[Miskatonic]

Has anyone decided to base their story around certain historical events?

One story I've worked on a little, as far as gathering research details, takes place between the end of the 15th century and middle of the 16th century. The story starts from Russia and moves along Persian trade routes to China and eventually to Japan where the majority of the story takes place.

 

[TheCatholicCrow]

Yes. One of my WIP is deeply inspired by the French Revolution(s).

Hunger Games seems to have been inspired by Fascism and subsequent Socialism/Communism (and the eventual fall of that) in
Central Europe. Of course it draws inspiration quite heavily from gladiator games so- Roman history as well.

I would guess that in order to be Alternate History, by necessity, it must alter history and therefore have some historical grounding. At least in culture but ideally around real events as well. I'm not sure if this is a standard of the (sub)genre but basing alternate history around an event is certainly more pragmatic as researching it would be easier and there should be more resources to draw from.

Writers are usually big readers too so it's probably more common than you would think.

 

[Ireth]

I have one historical fantasy set in 14th century Scotland, that takes some liberties with actual history (aside from the inclusion of vampires). In my story, Eilean Donan is unoccupied in 1360 when the MC goes there, whereas IRL the MacKenzies had a hold on the place. But the arrival of the MacRae clan in 1362 is historically accurate, and an important plot point.

 

[WooHooMan]

Are we talking historical fiction or alternate history? There is a difference.

I've done a ton of historical fiction but I'm currently working on my first alternate history.

 

[Gurkhal]

I haven't writen it around specific events or characters but I have most surely writen it for specific times and with a mind to that time's society, technology etc. Most of them have been low-magic and in Norse area since that's the culture I'm most into, at this moment at least.

 

[Miskatonic]

Are we talking historical fiction or alternate history? There is a difference.

I've done a ton of historical fiction but I'm currently working on my first alternate history.

Basically the character's own sequence of events and experiences is unique but it takes place in the context of recorded history. It may include fictional characters and events and a slight altering of when certain events take place in order to fit in within the necessary timeline.

 

[WooHooMan]

Basically the character's own sequence of events and experiences is unique but it takes place in the context of recorded history. It may include fictional characters and events and a slight altering of when certain events take place in order to fit in within the necessary timeline.

Ok, that sounds like historical fiction.

 

[Miskatonic]

Ok, that sounds like historical fiction.

Ok, definition agreed upon.

 

[Epaminondas]

Not alternative history exactly in that I use my own world which is heavily inspired by ours but my WIP basically started by wondering what would have happened if the Byzantines had an Alexander the Great type leader who tried to reclaim the Western Roman Empire.

 

[skip.knox]

Yep. Everything I've written is alternate history.

Do you have a particular question?

 

[Miskatonic]

Yep. Everything I've written is alternate history.

Do you have a particular question?

Just curious about what others have written about where this particular subject is concerned.

 

[Russ]

Yup, my WIP is alternative history. Set in an early medieval area that would later become known as Austria, although the word was not around yet.

 

[skip.knox]

Just curious about what others have written about where this particular subject is concerned.

Fair enough. I took Earth history up to the fall of the Roman Empire, at which point I introduce both magic and magical races. From there on, right up through modern times, I tell of an Earth whose general history follows real history (same rulers, same approximate development) but I weave in fantastical races and events. It's a bit like trying to weave new threads into an existing carpet. The closest parallel would be people like Harry Turtledove or Naomi Novik. That sort of thing. Since I'm a historian by training, it's not just writing, it's a kind of personal recreation (in both sense of the words).

Ooh, I just invented a new title. I'm a Literary Recreationist.

 

[Miskatonic]

Fair enough. I took Earth history up to the fall of the Roman Empire, at which point I introduce both magic and magical races. From there on, right up through modern times, I tell of an Earth whose general history follows real history (same rulers, same approximate development) but I weave in fantastical races and events. It's a bit like trying to weave new threads into an existing carpet. The closest parallel would be people like Harry Turtledove or Naomi Novik. That sort of thing. Since I'm a historian by training, it's not just writing, it's a kind of personal recreation (in both sense of the words).

Ooh, I just invented a new title. I'm a Literary Recreationist.

Very cool.

One thing I've found that is a lot of fun when working within a historical setting is just researching new things and learning about what was taking place at different locations around the world during the story's time period. This has helped me a lot with deciding on the time between major events, since I'm trying to line them up with important historical events.

In it's own way it's a great motivator to learn more about history in general.

 

[skip.knox]

My world is unusual in that I have two thousand years worth of history for grist. Many alt-histories deal with a short time frame--typically within a single generation.

But for those who are spanning centuries, here's one possible tip. I approach the malleability of my narrative a bit like Doctor Who's vision of the time stream. Many events can be changed, but certain events are fixed and cannot be altered. Choosing which ones are the anchors is critical. You build everything else around those, and then put your stories in the interstices.

Which can be painful, especially if your interstices are ... oh, let's drop that.

 

[Miles Lacey]

To clarify for some people the difference between alternative history and historical fiction is this: Alternative history involves a point of divergence from actual historical events and thus results in the creation of an alternate history. Historical fiction is anything set in the past that is fictional and where historical events don't deviate from what happened. An example of the former would be a story about German troops taking Moscow in December 1941. An example of the latter would be writing about a fictional German company commander on the Eastern Front during the Battle of Moscow who is given a mission to kidnap a famous Soviet general.

Now back to the topic at hand...

I have written alternate history in the past. My first was speculating what would've happened if Hitler had been killed as the result of the Munich Beer Hall bombing in November 1939. My second is a story set in a Germany in the 21st Century where Hitler never took power because the police killed him during the Munich Putsch in 1923.

I have also published a work of historical fiction set in Nazi Germany. I do not speak of it these days and if anyone asks I will disavow all knowledge of it.

It's very hard to write either alternative history or historical fiction because if you make even the tiniest mistake you will be pounced on, chewed up and spat out because historical fiction and alternative history readers tend to know their history. And I'm one of the worst offenders in terms of pouncing, chewing and spitting out people who make mistakes in their historical or alternative history.

 

[Gurkhal]

The fact checking of historical fiction does indeed mean that its to my knowledge often stands head and shoulder above fantasy when it comes to research, and makes it my favorite genre to read.

The problem is of course that the obsession with getting all facts right means that I personally write fantasy because I wan't my work to be rejected on its literary qualities and not because I confused north-western Pictish footwear in Scotland with north-western Norse footwear in Scotland in AD 878. I hope you get my point.

 

[skip.knox]

*chortle*
I belong to a listserv for medieval historians (dates all the way back to the late 1980s). I long ago learned to spot the historical fiction author in our midst. The example that springs to mind indeed involved footwear: the question was about what a Cistercian monk would be wearing if they were traveling to another monastery. IIRC, there was a choice between this <named footwear> and that <named footwear>. I do not strive for such specificity in Altearth, but I confess I do enjoy the research.