22 March 2011
|
How To Write History That People Want To Read
Not so long ago, history books tended to be learned tomes about medieval kings. There is nothing wrong with medieval kings if that’s what interests you, but books about history are now much more accessible and are written to have a wider appeal. And their subject matter can cover a broad field: you can write about anyone who had an impact of the shape of history, or you may choose to write a history of the industry in which you are employed, or even a history of your local football club. ...
Whatever person or subject interests you, writing the history can be a fascinating project to tackle, and this new how-to book shows you just how to go about it. An important part of the book deals with the research you will need to undertake, showing you how to locate and access relevant archives, libraries and other sources.
But then it shows you how to structure and write your book to make it appeal to the widest audience: how to shape your chapter openings; how to craft your endings; how to handle quotes (and to do so without infringing copyright). All these, and many more, aspects of the creative challenge that history writing can present are tackled in detail.
Content continues after advertisements