Use historical details to anchor your story in time and place, says Calkins Creek editor Carolyn P. Yoder.
Carolyn P. Yoder is the editor of Calkins Creek Books, a U.S. history imprint of Boyds Mills Press. She is also the U.S. and world history editor for Highlights for Children magazine.
At a recent Illinois writing workshop sponsored by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Yoder encouraged all historical writers to make their stories real by anchoring them in time and place.
Your reader should be able to tell when and where the story is set from the details you give. More than that, your story should not be able to happen anywhere or anytime else.
Here are some details to consider:
Housing: What type of home do your characters have? What is it made of? How many rooms? What are the plumbing, windows, floors like? How does it compare to other homes?
Clothes: What do they wear? What colors are their clothes? What texture? How do they keep warm? Shoes or no shoes? What type?
Dialogue: How do your characters talk? What idioms do they use? Is their language precise and educated? Full of slang?
Transportation: Do your characters walk? Ride horses? Trains? Cars? What type of cars or trains? Do the cars have license plates? What are saddles like in your time period? What ads are on the subway walls? Was a large group required for safe travel?
Communication: Is your character waiting for a telegraph? A letter? Does she have to pay the postage on it? How much does it cost? How long does it take?
Distances: It’s crucial to know your way around your setting. Does it take half an hour to walk to the next town? A day? How many weeks to cross the ocean? Does it change by season? If going by horseback, how long to ride at a walk/jog? At a gallop? Can a horse even gallop for that long? And don’t forget to add time for saddling!
Weather: What was the weather like in your particular year? How do your characters cope with hot, humid days? Snow storms? How do they travel in the rain or snow? How do they react to a tornado or sandstorm?
National / World Events: What else is happening in your character’s world, beyond the intimate story? An election? A flood? A war? Immigration? Disease?
Yoder says she gets too many manuscripts with people living in a vacuum. She’s looking for stories of people who “live in a recognizable place, are affected by that place, and are affected by an even bigger place.” Soak your story with details and it will come to life.
