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outoftheashes
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 13 May 2021 Status: Offline Points: 51 |
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Posted: 15 May 2021 at 6:14am |
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Hi, all! This is my first time participating in a writing challenge and I'm quite worried. My assigned genre is historical fiction (just had to be the genre I have no experience in whatsoever - reading or writing, aaaaa). Do I need to include an *actual* documented historical figure or are historical events and settings enough? Similarly, can I write about situations that weren't as common but still probably occurred or do I need to focus on situations that have a lot of evidence/proof? For example, female characters doing tasks one generally links to men, is that a step too far and grounds for being disqualified? Thanks in advance!
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NMiller
NYC Midnight Black Belt Joined: 15 Nov 2020 Status: Offline Points: 6194 |
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A story that takes place in a setting drawn from history. Historical fiction is usually presented from the perspective of the historical characters, whose behavior is consistent with the manners and social norms of the time. Scenes and dialogue are well researched and imaginatively reconstructed to be as authentic as possible. Common elements: believability, historically-accurate detail, authentic dialogue, historical settings and persons. While there are no rules on how far in the past a story must be set to qualify it as a historical fiction piece, many are in agreement that the story must be set at least 25 years or more in the past. Historical fiction books include Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels and Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Historical fiction films include Schindler’s List (1993) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). I generally check the archives in micro 100 to see how other people tackled the genre. Hope this helps.
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outoftheashes
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 13 May 2021 Status: Offline Points: 51 |
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@NMiller: ya, I checked both of those already but still feel rather iffy about it. It states on the genre page that the definitions aren't explicit instructions, hence my hesitation. Appreciate the reply, though.
Edited by outoftheashes - 15 May 2021 at 7:50am |
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NYC Midnight
Admin Group Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 1838 |
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We would recommend that your story include some actual historical characters and situations, though they don’t necessarily need to be well-known. If women from your historical setting actually performed the tasks generally linked to men, even if it was rare, it should be okay. However, passing off a historical situation as normal or accepted when it was actually not normal and/or extremely rare could possibly be flagged by some judges for disqualification. We recommend using your best judgment, but please let us know if you have any other questions or need anything else. Good luck!
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Next up is the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2024 kicking off April 19th |
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outoftheashes
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 13 May 2021 Status: Offline Points: 51 |
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I appreciate the reply! I ended up ditching my idea surrounding women and went with the first microfic I'd written, adding in a historical figure along with the historical situation I chose. I do worry I could still be disqualified but I tried my best.
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Rita
NYC Midnight Addict Joined: 23 Jan 2021 Location: nj Status: Offline Points: 615 |
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Your best is the only thing you can expect from yourself. Do your best and hold your head high.
Edited by Rita - 15 May 2021 at 9:51pm |
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Writing in Progress
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outoftheashes
NYC Midnight Newbie Joined: 13 May 2021 Status: Offline Points: 51 |
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You know what, you're right. It's all any of us can do. Regardless of what happens, I'm not regretting participating! All of you guys are great and I can't wait to see what people submitted.
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