Dominion of Mercy - Writing Historical Fiction

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How do we understand the past? As a historian, perhaps it is the events that mark a particular time. Key figures, wars and their significance, their carnage. We can judge history's limitations in order that we may evolve, gain some insight so that society at large will not repeat the errors of the past. We can marvel how far we have come. Technology, yes, but by the most essential of measures, how we treat each other, we have not come that far. How we perceive race, the migration of people seeking a better life, differences and inequality, still dog the progress of humanity. Perhaps history is only a reflection of the level of consciousness of the day. So, to write a fictional piece of a time that we can longer find, that does not possess an objective reality, but resides in photographs, writings, and in our imagination, we can view history without judgement, but with a kind of empathy that recognizes the struggles of a particular time. We can create a dreamlike world, some aspects solid, some ephemeral, some that resonate with today, and of course all through the creativity and filters of the mind of a writer.

It is a daunting undertaking. We have limitations ourselves, personal struggles, experiences that inform us, that shape us, and even haunt us. But we can do the work, the research, all with a passion to tell a story like no other on the planet can. Your point of view, your sensibilities. What a gift. Society desperately needs inspiration. We can inspire with story-telling. We can offer our measure of words, impressions, and our vision to the world. 

 


 

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