: Re: Is it okay if I wrote a story based on true historical events? I had a story in mind that basically came from a true historical event in the 1930's. I won't be using real people for the

@Megan928

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A good historical novel is well grounded in history, including "true historical events." The part that should be fictitious is that "your" characters are doing the heavy lifting.

You might have a major character that was a bodyguard to General George Washington. You should not have your character "lose" George Washington to the enemy (that would be historically inaccurate; a "near miss" is ok). Instead, the bodyguard character then uses his access to Washington for his own personal and professional development.

In most historical fiction, major characters in history should be minor characters in your novel, and major characters in your novel should be minor characters in history (as in the case of Washington and his bodyguard). The exception would be if your main character was a historical figure; George, or at least Martha Washington.

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