Using Historical Figures in Creative Writing

!±8± Using Historical Figures in Creative Writing

There is a saying that there is a book within everyone just waiting to be written, so have you ever fancied writing a book?

So what is creative writing?

Essentially it's an acquired skill, to be able to produce original works, whether it be small article, a short story or a complete novel.

Well if that is a little too ambitious for you, how about a short story?

It's always difficult to decide when attempting to do creative writing, just where do you get inspiration from?

Maybe just start out by writing some articles first, then gradually by increasing the word count, your confidence will increase, especially if other read your work and leave pleasing comments.

Back to writing a book idea, if is true that inside of everyone there is a book just waiting to be written, then why not explore the possibility and at least make a start.

Maybe it will never make it into printed form, and never rise the dizzy heights of best seller, but at least you will have the knowledge that you attempted the task.

But what can you write about, why do you get inspiration, J.K Rowling once advised budding writers to read as many books as you can, of your favorite author, before attempting to write books. This should not be done directly copy their author's words or story, but more to adapt their style to your, there maybe inspiration be found from historical figures, including famous writers too.

As to myself I can not claim to being a famous or even well know writer, but I acquired the pleasure of writing when I entered a competition. Even though I didn't win, I was truly bitten by the writing bug, and have written other stories as they came into my mind, even though I have never attempted publishing them.

One such story I wrote was using Charles Dickens as the only character, as if he himself had written the story, perhaps you could choose some other famous person you could write into a story. Maybe choosing to rewrite some event from the past as if you where there, this is all part of creative writing, but researching the chosen subject is also of great importance.

Dickens was said to have a photographic memory for the way people were and a keen eye for details a personalities, and the ability from his past to incorporate all these elements into his novels.

Places to do research:

The internet, local libraries, even charity shops can be a provider of useful books to study.

Especially if you intend to use historical Figures from the past, as the more you know about them the more realistic the story will become. also checking on the lifestyle they were used to living may help.

Also planning out what type of story is a good idea, listing places and characters you intend to use, you may need to think of names too, so a book of names maybe of great use.

Proof reading, it is a good idea to gat friends or relation to proof read your finished work, before publishing it even onto a blog, as mistakes of any kind will affect the way in which it is received by the general public.

Persistence is a characteristic feature that you should encourage, even when you fail to impress others, never give up, constantly improve and increase you word base knowledge and your writing talent.

Choose who you write about.

With so historical Figures from the past to choose from, the task of who will be featured in your story could be daunting, it's probably a good idea to go for someone who appeals to you, for whatever reason.

Possible someone who has yet to be written about, as opposed to others whom have a great deal written about them, as it will be easy to keep your work original this way, without being influenced by other peoples work.
But you may find you work better when you have other great works to compete with, only you can decide which path to take.

Depending on what type of story you write, the plot will differ but it still maybe good to include some kind of twist to the tale, even if it's a romance story.
Some great writers have made use of Lucid dreaming, such as Lewis Carol who evidently wrote "Alice in Wonderland" after a lucid dream.
But inspiration can be found many other ways, such as studying large oil paintings by famous painters, listening to classical music as with this style has no distractions of words.

Important tools of budding writer (these are suggestions not compulsive)

Computer
Word processor with spell check
Internet connection
Reference Books and reading books
Printer for hard copy, in case others don't have internet access
Comfortable chair in which to sit while writing
Friends who you can enlist help from for proof reading

Creative writing software can be immensely helpful when you set out to write, there is even Free software on the internet, that's for those who don't consider this cheating
Also websites that offer help for writers, with newsletters to keep you informed of any new features or competitions.

In closing, I would like to say I hope you find this article helpful and may it inspire you to write great things.