Writing the Past as if it was Now

Free Historical fiction workshop with Mrs Finnegan, Housekeeper at The Regency Town House ALL TICKETS TAKEN – NEW WORKSHOP DATE ADDED

The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like.
E. L.Doctorow

MRS FINNEGAN is running a writing workshop for both beginners and those with experience AND Gentle Readers it won’t cost a silver sixpence. NO! Not even a farthing….

Actually, she’s not running it – I am, her mild mannered alter ego Bridget Whelan and I’m not going to teach in long skirts and petticoats wearing a really unattractive cap that is bound to end up dangling over one ear by the end of the session. (I speak from experience.)

What to expect…

Together we will explore the many forms historical fiction can take and work on short exercises that explore useful techniques. We will also look at how to overcome the challenges facing writers of historical fiction such as:

• Striking the balance between including too much or too little history in your story
• Bending the truth – can you? Should you?
• Injecting suspense when the reader knows what happens next (we won the war; Bonnie Prince Charlie didn’t become King, Anne Boleyn had a daughter)
• How to make it sound and feel authentic

PLUS
There will be a lot about getting to grips with the basic tools of creative writing: description, dialogue, creating a sense of place and how to move the story along.

That’s why I think it’s suitable for people who aren’t sure they want to dive into historical fiction but know they want to write.

When? Where? How to Book?

Monday September 11th
11am to 1.30pm

The Regency Town House 
13 Brunswick Square
Brighton & Hove BN3 1EH

All the places were snapped up within two hours of opening the online booking office on Monday August 7th at 12 noon, so we have added an extra session. Same times, same place on the following day Tuesday September 12th. Click HERE to get your ticket, but hurry!

Contact me (using the contact form on the left) if you can’t make that day but are still interested in creative writing at the The Regency Town House.

What is historical fiction?
There are almost as many definitions as there are writers. It’s not good enough to say writing about the past because yesterday is the past and your childhood is definitely the past, a world where things were different.
Here are a few definitions that some authors and organisations have used: at least 50 years from the present day; at least a hundred years; not within the author’s own lifetime…

And for the purposes of this workshop…

In the Eventbrite description I’ve added the phrase period fiction so you have a lot of freedom. Your story can be set at almost any time as long you as a writer have to convey a sense of a world that is not now.

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there
L.P. Hartley

So, here’s a little about me…

I’ve been teaching fiction and non fiction on university courses and in adult and community education for over 15 years.

I won $4000 in an international writing competition with a short story set in the 1950s and my only published novel, A Good Confession, was set in the early 1960s, just before The Beatles changed everything.

I am currently working on two projects: one a romance in the Victorian London slums and the other is about female friendship and loyalty in the 1980s which doesn’t seem very long ago but is a generation away for 30+ year olds. (And still requires an amazing amount of research even though I lived through it).

Evidence is always partial. Facts are not truth, though they are part of it – information is not knowledge. And history is not the past – it is the method we have evolved of organising our ignorance of the past. It’s the record of what’s left on the record.
Hilary Mantel

I also volunteer at The Regency Town House in Hove and since the first lockdown (way back in March 2020) I’ve been writing as Mrs Finnegan, the 1830s housekeeper with attitude.

If you are new visitor you will get an idea of what she’s like from a recent article and one from the archives.

By the way, if you’ve already started a writing project or have one in mind, I aim to put time aside so we can discuss it on a one-to-one basis (but this may have to be after the class ends). It would be so good to hear what you’re working on.

Why it’s Free…

The workshop is part of Heritage Open Days – HODS – the largest community heritage festival in the country. This year there are over 5,000 events and experiences being organised between  8th September and 17th September 2023 and all of them are free.

They range from visiting 200 year old copper mine on the Staffordshire Moorlands to riding free on an old London bus on route 38, between Victoria and Hackney.

There are walks and talks, exhibitions to view and new things to learn. It really is a fabulous festival and it’s happening everywhere.
You can find out more and discover what is on in your area HERE

Image Credits:
Drawing of a rainy Victorian day. Punch Magazine in the public domain.
Me as Mrs Finnegan: anon Regency Town House volunteer. (I have no idea why I appear to be in anguish as I was supposed to be welcoming guests at the time…)
Photo of a Punk on a beach by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Photo of London Buses by Jude Mack on Unsplash