Are you fascinated by writing in the past? Does your story demand a historical setting? Do you wonder how to bring antiquity to life? To meet the weighty challenge of writing historical fiction and enliven your plot, characters, setting, and story, pick up Crafting Stories from the Past from the Paper Lantern Writers. No matter how, when, or where in the historical world your imagination takes you, this guide can help.

Paper Lantern Writers, an award-winning international collective of historical fiction novelists, developed and curated this compendium of insightful how-to articles from genre experts, twenty-four chapters of hard-earned wisdom from working authors. From deciding when and what to research to building a historical world, we bring you practical advice, authorial insights, and helpful guidance to make your writing process easier, start to finish. Big picture to small detail, working your process or retooling your manuscript, we give you a multitude of ways to make your story shine.

These incisive how-tos are followed by many research and writing resources—some general, some specific—culled from the authors’ own shelves: the places these professionals go to research and write their own books. Whether you are just starting your path into the past or are a seasoned multi-book author, we have tips, tricks, ideas, and resources you can use at every stage of your writing journey.