How do you balance realism and creativity in a historical script?

1 Know your genre

Historical scripts can fall into different genres, such as drama, comedy, thriller, romance, or biopic. Each genre has its own conventions, expectations, and audience preferences. You need to know what kind of story you are telling, and what kind of tone, style, and structure it requires. For example, a comedy might allow more room for exaggeration, satire, or anachronism than a drama, while a biopic might demand more accuracy, detail, and respect for the real-life characters than a romance.

2 Research your period

Before you start writing, you need to do some research on the historical period you are portraying. You need to understand the social, cultural, political, and economic context of your setting, as well as the customs, values, beliefs, and language of your characters. You also need to be aware of the historical sources, documents, and evidence that support or challenge your interpretation of the past. Research can help you avoid factual errors, clichés, and stereotypes, and also inspire you with new ideas, perspectives, and themes.

3 Find your angle

While you want to be faithful to the historical facts, you also want to bring something fresh and original to your script. You need to find your own angle, or point of view, on the past. What is the main message, question, or conflict you want to explore? What is the relevance or significance of your story for the present? How can you make your characters relatable, complex, and dynamic? How can you use dialogue, action, and imagery to convey your vision? Finding your angle can help you shape your plot, theme, and style.

4 Adapt and invent

Writing a historical script is not a simple copy-and-paste of the past. You need to adapt and invent some elements to suit your genre, angle, and audience. You might need to condense, simplify, or dramatize some events, or create fictional characters, subplots, or scenarios to fill in the gaps, or add some humor, suspense, or romance to spice up your story. However, you should not distort or ignore the historical facts or context, or offend or misrepresent the people or groups involved. You should also acknowledge and justify your creative choices in your pitch, treatment, or notes.

5 Get feedback and revise

Finally, you need to get feedback and revise your script based on the responses of others. You might want to consult some experts, historians, or consultants who can verify your accuracy, authenticity, and sensitivity. You might also want to test your script with some readers, actors, or directors who can evaluate your creativity, clarity, and appeal. Feedback can help you identify and fix any problems, gaps, or inconsistencies in your script, and also enhance your strengths, originality, and voice.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?