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Historical Fiction Writing

with Barbara Shoup

Are you fascinated by events of the past? Intrigued by how people lived and what they thought—and ate and wore and did to stave off boredom? Would you like to live in another time, by way of writing fiction?

This class will provide an overview of the practical considerations of writing historical fiction, addressing such questions as, Where do you start? How do you keep your research from overwhelming the story? How true to the historical facts must you remain? How can you create characters true to the standards and knowledge of their time? And more.

This workshop is presented in partnership with the Indiana Writers Center. Check out other writing workshops at library branches this season!

And to get prepped, here are some book lists about writing and historical fiction!

• Writing and Creativity
• Creative Writing Inspiration
• Best of Historical Fiction- 2024

Instructor Barbara Shoup is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, most recently An American Tune and Looking for Jack Kerouac, as well as a memoir about writing, A Commotion in Your Heart, and Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors Share the Creative Process. Shoup is the Writer-in-Residence at the Indiana Writers Center and a faculty member at Art Workshop International, in Assisi Italy. She hosts the Substack newsletter Book Pilgrim. A new YA, About Grace, is forthcoming from Querencia Press in 2025.

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