Blog

Read articles submitted by our members! Explore the craft of writing historical fiction, including research tips, plotting techniques, character development, time periods, setting descriptions, and more!

Do you have a historical fiction-related idea you think will interest historical novelists? Email Carol Cram, the Board’s Marketing Chair. We love hearing from you!

My Experience at HNS2022 in Durham, UK

Guest Post by Marie Powell My first glimpse of Durham was the stark Norman cathedral, outlined against the horizon, on the drive from the airport at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.…

The Quest for Accuracy

Guest Post by Marlie Parker Wasserman When writers of historical novels talk about their preparation, they usually focus on how many months or years they spend on…

Why Women Wear Skirts

Guest Post by Jane Stubbs – When you travel in a country where the toilet—if you can find one—consists of two places to put your feet and…

Three Promotional Tools That Worked for Me

Guest Post by Lilianne Milgrom – I spent ten years researching and writing my award-winning historical fiction L’Origine: The Secret Life of the World’s Most Erotic Masterpiece.…

Putting the Color Back into History

Guest Post by Zenobia Neil We all know that history has been written by the victors. Those who recorded history and the texts that survived determine what…

My First HNSNA Conference in 2013

By Guest Poster Sharman Burson Ramsey – My first experience with the Historical Novel Society was in 2013 when I attended the HNSNA conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.…

Tools of the Trade

Guest Post by Amanda Cabot – Carpenters need saws and hammers; portrait painters use brushes and palettes; chefs rely on whisks and saucepans. Those are all tools…

Historical Fiction in Four Nouns

Guest Post by Deborah L. Williams – “Well, as you revise, think about food, clothing, wine, and gestures,” said my friend Allison. “The manuscript needs more texture.”…

Updating Serialization for the 21st Century

Guest Post by Angeline Walsh –   Before narrative radio dramas and television sitcoms, there was the serial novel. Ever popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth…

Using Art to Inspire Story

#HNS2021 Conference Preview by Elisabeth Storrs – Have you ever strolled through a museum and found yourself drawn to a painting or a sculpture? What attracted you?…

Shake Up Your Story With Art!

#HNS2021 Conference Preview by Paula Butterfield – I feel lucky as an historical fiction writer to have found my niche writing biographical fiction about women artists. Aside…

Blue Pencil Café: What’s in it for you?

#HNS2021 Conference Preview by Sandy Frykholm, Blue Pencil Café Coordinator – I remember my first Blue Pencil Café experience a few years ago. The buzz of lively…

5 Good Reasons to Volunteer for #HNS2021

#2021 Conference Preview by Janna G. Noelle, Volunteer Coordinator – The biennial Historical Novel Society North America Conference, #HNS2021, is going to look a little different this…

13 Tips for a Winning Program Proposal

#HNS2019 Conference Preview by Leslie Carroll, #HNS2019 North America Program Chair –  So, you’re thinking of proposing a program for HNS2019. You’ve read the “Call for Proposals…

Your HNSNA Conference Board Hard at Work!

#HNS2019 Conference Preview by Christine Trent, HNS North America Venue Chair – After an exhaustive examination of nearly a dozen suitable properties in the Washington, D.C. and…

Remembering 2017, Looking Ahead to 2019

#HNS2017 Conference Roundup by Rosanne Lortz Spears, HNS North America Marketing Chair – As we near the end of June, I recall with pleasure that time a…

2019 Conference Venue Announcement!

#HNS2019 Conference Overview – We are pleased to announce that the 2019 HNS North America Conference will be held Thursday, June 20 – Saturday, June 22, 2019.…

The Writer’s Toolbox

Guest Post by Kate Forsyth – Writing is an art, and therefore mysterious and intuitive. But it is also a craft, like building a cathedral or weaving…