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@noah-cochran

I’ve only written the first book, but I’m planning to have it be a five book series. The first one came in at a little over 190k words, and the rest will be at least slightly longer than that each, so it’ll take me a while. xD

Wow! *high fives*

I’ve discussed the topic of theme with my older sister (also a writer) several times, and personally, I rarely give a central theme to a book, and I build a story on plot and character without even thinking about a central theme. However, what I consider the themes of my books are the character arcs (and possibly the villain’s flaw), and putting together all the characters in my series, there is a strong central theme. In this case, it is dealing with the pain, death, and evil that is rampant in the world.

That is really neat! I look forward to reading it someday. 😜

How do you handle theme in your stories? Do you start with theme and build from there? Or do you start with plot?

I personally am more of a pantser and build around a central theme as plot lines rather box me in, and steal my creativity. 🤪 I wish I was better at writing intriguing plot lines, but my ideas kinda come sporadically as I write, and when I actually sit down to draw out a plot line, my mind draws a blank *gulp*.

I love it. Do you study all those parts of history before you write in them?

Yes, I do! I do a lot more studying during the drafting process though as needed. 🙂

Disappointingly, there are usually one of two problems with medieval historical fiction: one, they have inappropriate content (aka, everyone in their mother has a described affair), and two, they take historical fiction down a route I don’t prefer. Though I do love history, I prefer the central plot and characters to be fictional, and the setting to be historical. Most historical fiction I find is either about a historical person, or a historical event (like a war). The historical fiction I’m writing is centered on fictional characters and plot, but it had many historical features and events feature in it (and in several cases, those events are very much connected to the plot).

I totally agree! Good historical fiction books are true gems. One of my favorite authors for historical fiction is Elizabeth George Speare. They are easy reads, but I’ve fallen in love with her simple yet enthralling writing style.

Anyway, that answer was gratuitous in the extreme, but I felt the need to clarify, so there you go. xD

No, you’re fine! I appreciated it.

The single best medieval historical fiction novel I’ve read is Behold the Dawn by K. M. Weiland. I would highly recommend it. For non-medieval historical fiction, I would recommend Alexander Dumas–Count of Monte Cristo, and every 1800s mystery author (Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins).

Awesome! I will have to look those up! Thanks for the suggestions!

One fantasy and two historical fictions? Or what are they?

Yep! You guessed correctly! *high-fives*