Writing alternate history fiction

What if Hitler won the war?

Wednesday, September 15, Writing Alternate History I've been doing a lot of research on 19th century American history. Did you know that James Monroe died on July 4th?

Five years later, inJames Monroe died on that day. He was the last president to serve who actually fought in the Revolutionary War. He was injured at Trenton, and is depicted holding the American flag in the famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware.

I find the fact that they all died on the 4th kind of eerie and yet fitting.

Alternate history - Wikipedia

Call me a sentimental American. But James Monroe isn't the point of this blog. That was one of those, "But I digress," moments, when we run across some new little tidbit of historical trivia that captures our imagination.

We all have them. I love American history. I have a graduate degree in it and taught it for ten years. So when I do research in American history I tend to have a lot of those moments; more so than when I research my Regency novels. And my love of American history is the problem. I'm writing an alternate history science fiction book.

That means that I have to pick and choose what historical facts I'm going to keep, and which I'm going to toss out in favor of the new history I'm creating. This is very, very hard for me. I'm trying to stay true to the heart and spirit of American history and not change the character of America while creating a wildly different historical path, one that impacts not just The United States, but most of the world.

First, I'm trying to make my alternate history logical. It started with a simple what if question. What if one event changes the course of world history? The event is the survival of one fictional man.

And his inventions will change the map of the world. It's all very plausible. There are no aliens or paranormals running around.

One man changes the course of history, and our book, I'm co-writing with a partnerexplores the implications of that on a small scale. By that I mean the book focuses on one group of people and one event, yet another event brought about by this one man that could again change the course of history.

Our characters are trying to prevent it. Another problem with writing the alternate history is that the historical events we use have to be recognizable. I'm not focusing on obscure events in history.Sep 15,  · I'm writing an alternate history science fiction book.

That means that I have to pick and choose what historical facts I'm going to keep, and which I'm going to toss out in favor of the new history I'm creating.

This is because alternate history fiction is concerned with stories stemming from real life. An AH story begins with a single fact that differentiates the world of the story from our own, and goes on to detail the events that might have occurred if this fact was true. A clear explanation of the Point of Departure helps you make your alternate history story grab the reader.

The Point of Departure should be clearly explained in the first chapter of your novel. Using the Point of Departure will help you be more successful as an author, but there’s still a lot more to learn about writing Alternate History.

Alternate History Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction (or science fiction) and historical fiction that is set in a world in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world.

Techniques in Writing Alternate History. by Chris Gerwel on February 22, If futuristic science fiction is about imagining a possible tomorrow, then alternate histories are about imagining a possible present. This at once constrains our world-building.

So What is the Alternative History & Alternative Reality Sub-Genre? As the name suggests, alternative history is where authors get to rewrite the events of the past. In alternative reality, the present, the never-was and the future are the subject of speculation.

She studied science while writing fiction and poetry in her spare time. She's.