Writing Fiction With More Showing, Not Telling
by Karma Kitaj | Blogging | Sep 21, 2020
Families migrating away from the Dust Bowl in Texas. Photo by Dorothea Lange.
My sequel to BEGUILED is a historical novel taking place between 1938, when the Great Depression is still evident, to the 1970s. Most of the story covers the years 1938-1942.
There are a number of (I hope) compelling scenes of the protagonist Miriam Butler working for the Federal Theatre Project in New York City, interviewing Dust Bowl refugees in California, and navigating the personal losses brought on by WWII and the Holocaust.
One of the great challenges of writing historical fiction is the balance between showing and telling. It's tempting to explain the historical context to the reader — to tell them what the Great Depression was like, what the Federal Theatre Project was. But the more powerful approach is to show it through the characters' experiences.
When Miriam stands in a breadline, we feel the Depression. When she watches a Living Newspaper production at the FTP, we understand the excitement and innovation of that program. The history comes alive through the story.
This is the craft challenge I've been working on in revision after revision of this novel.
Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theatre Project, at the CBS microphone.
A breadline during the Great Depression. Library of Congress.