My friend Sheila Bali wrote an essay in Captivate Audiences To Create Loyal Fans titled, “How History Leads to Historical Fiction.” She is working on Swans and Cranes about a woman who travels to her homeland to revisit scenes of her lost youth cut short by the harrowing 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
Bali states, “But I understand now why historians cringe at the release of a historical novel: sometimes historical fiction produces historical distortion.”
I agree with Bali that the historical novelist “takes the reader to the doorstep of history” and writes about people, how they survived in amazing conditions and what they discovered. Sensory details such as sounds of tanks and shaking houses contribute to a successful experience of an historical event.
I’ve learned to appreciate history now that I’m older. In college it was my least favorite subject. Even the dreaded math classes seemed more interesting to me. The fact-infested text included too many dates and not enough feeling for the times and the people in my opinion. Historical novelists make the past real and memorable.
Successful speakers use the same idea when telling their life experiences that relate to the topic of their presentations. Describing a scene with sensory details help the audience live it. When people live it, they bond with the teller, and become a loyal fan.
You can read Bali’s essay in #1 Amazon Best seller Captivate Audiences to Create Loyal Fans available on Amazon, click here.
Julaina Kleist-Corwin
