Choose a topic from this list to research and use it as the basis for your story. You can choose a different topic if your teacher approves it.
a topic related to ancient Greece, Rome, or Egypt
the signing of the Declaration of Independence
the Wright Brothers’ first flight
World War I or World War II
the Apollo 11 mission to the moon
the conquest or colonization of some part of the Americas by Europeans
After selecting your topic, follow these steps:
Research the historical period.
Outline and brainstorm about how you want to recreate a particular period of history.
Conduct more research to gather facts and details that you can use in the story.
Using the information you gathered, plan your plot and sketch out the characters, events, and scenes in your story.
Write a draft of your story.
Revise your draft to improve any story elements. For example, you might find an illogical plot point or unbelievable character development.
As you work, consider how the authors constructed the historical fiction stories "Inge's Wall" and "Behold the Brooklyn Bridge." Also, think about factual historical information that was presented in the lesson. Here are a few points for you to keep in mind:
Your story should include and focus on at least one of these three elements: a historical character, a historical event, or a historical setting.
Include historically accurate information.
Use your research to identify many types of details and ways to bring them into the narration. However, you don't have to add all the details you gather from your research.
Add details to make your sketch of the moments in the story as lifelike as possible. Details can include geographical features (such as craters on the moon's surface), clothing (including astronauts' spacesuits or the typical dress in ancient Greece), food, buildings (such as the Coliseum), technical facts, and so on.
Make your story believable. Think of both what would be likely and unlikely in the story’s historical context.
Check for anachronisms—details that do not fit in the time period you've chosen.
Try not to be judgmental in your character descriptions. Let your readers judge the characters for themselves.
