The Historian and Historical Fiction: What are the Similarities and Differences?

The historian provides the raw material. Their research into historical events, people, and cultures gives historical fiction writers a foundation to build on.

To think like a historian, you need to question the sources, look for multiple perspectives, and consider the context of the time.

Fiction and nonfiction have some clear differences. Fiction is made-up stories, while nonfiction is based on real events and facts. But they also have a similarity - both aim to inform or entertain the reader in some way.

Both drama and fiction aim to engage the audience. But drama relies more on visual and auditory elements for effect, whereas fiction depends on the reader's imagination through words. Also, drama might have more constraints in terms of time and space during presentation compared to the flexibility of fiction in a book.

Fiction is all about creativity and creating worlds and characters that don't exist in reality. Nonfiction tells real stories about people, history, science, etc. One similarity could be that both aim to entertain or inform the reader.

Fiction involves imagination and creativity to create plots and characters that don't exist in reality. Nonfiction presents real people, places, and events. But sometimes, fiction can draw inspiration from real life, and nonfiction can be told in a way that reads like a story. So, they can overlap in some aspects.

New historical novels and revolutionary historical novels were both novels that described historical events and characters, but the historical background and theme described were different. New historical novels usually focus on modern or contemporary historical events and attempt to explore historical and social changes through fictional stories. New historical novels could be political, cultural, societal, and anthropological in nature, with the aim of exploring the impact of historical events on contemporary society. These novels usually use fictional plots and characters, sometimes appearing in the image of real historical figures, but usually as the background of the characters. Revolutionary historical novels usually described the revolutionary process, political struggles, characters and events in historical events, as well as the impact of these events on history and society. These novels could be political, social, and cultural, and they were designed to explore the impact of revolutions and democratic systems on history and society. These novels usually used real historical events as the background and emphasized the authenticity and importance of characters and events. Although both new historical novels and revolutionary historical novels pay attention to historical events and characters, the historical background and theme they describe are different. New historical novels pay more attention to exploring the influence of modern society and contemporary history, while revolutionary historical novels pay more attention to the political, social and cultural influence of historical events.

Science fiction and fantasy have some overlaps but also key differences. Science fiction often focuses on technology and future possibilities based on scientific concepts. Fantasy, on the other hand, usually involves magic and mythical creatures.

Science is based on facts, research, and evidence. It aims to discover and explain how the natural world works. Science fiction, on the other hand, is a genre of literature, film, etc. that uses imaginative concepts often inspired by science. A similarity is that science fiction can sometimes predict future scientific developments. For example, early science fiction works envisioned space travel long before it became a reality. However, science is constrained by what is currently known and provable, while science fiction has no such limits and can explore wild and unproven ideas like time travel with ease.

YA and Teen Fiction have some similarities. Both often deal with coming-of-age themes and address issues relevant to young people. But YA might have more complex characters and deeper themes.