December 24, 2018

History can provide many different ideas for a short story, inspiring enough creativity in the writer and provide a feeling of authenticity to captivate the reader. Of course, the writer of the historical short story spends time researching the time period to be written about, making notes about the habits, manner of dress, type of food eaten, and social norms, as well as mention important historical figures who were in power at the time, such as Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the governor of Louisiana from 1701-1743.

In bringing the story's characters to life, the writer should be able to place them in the proper historical context, including the that belong to the time period written about. Use words and phrases common to that time period in the telling of the short story, as the language spoken at the time will make the characters sound authentic. Blend the details in with the story as it unfolds, while at the same time creating the clear-cut personalities of each character in the historical short story.

Say a writer wants to compose a story based on historical New Orleans, after having read a few novels on this southern city rich with history. The writer in question has already read the novels "Voodoo Dreams" by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and "Crescent City" by Frances Parkinson Keyes. While both of these books are full-length novels - the latter measuring a whopping 807 pages long - for the historical short story, "Old Creole Days" by George Washington Cable may provide a better model of story length. "Old Creole Days" contains seven short stories which take place in New Orleans 200 years ago.

Quite possibly the most important thing for the writer of the historical short story to keep in mind is that the writing procedure should take time, and not be rushed. Having the passion to write is not enough in this case; having the passion for the time period and historical context in question is absolutely essential in writing the historical short story.