If It's Not Fact, Does It Still Educate?

If it's not fact, does it still educate? This is a question that someone asked during a recent historical fiction panel I attended online. When I first read it I thought, that's such an obnoxious question to ask. It actually reminded me of a quote from one of my favourite books:

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling 

But the person then went on to explain that what she meant was, specifically in respect of historical fiction, if the story based around the past era or event is made up, does it really educate the reader on that particular time, or is it just misleading? This got me thinking...

I love to read and write Historical Fiction (with one HF novel in the making for the past 6 years!). So I understand the pressure on the writer to make sure that when talking about real past time or event, you get your facts right. The last thing you want to do is misinform either you readers or your characters. So, if it were me, I guess I'd like to think that after all that work to get things factually correct, readers would be able to take something educational away from my work. However, we are talking about fictional stories. Even if they are based on or around true-life events, they are essentially just a creation of your imagination as a writer so maybe it's understandable for a reader to question the reliability of the facts? 

Why do we read Historical Fiction?

What makes you pick up a historical fiction book? Unlike other fiction genres such as romance, thriller and fantasy where most of the time you know you're going to be whisked away to a made-up land or immersed in imaginary lives of characters, with HF you know from the onset that you're getting a bit of both. So what side most attracts you to pick up an HF novel - the historic era it surrounds or the fictional story within it?

I think for me, I'm initially attracted to the era that the book is based around. For example, I love anything to do with the Tudor period, World War One or Two and Anglo-Saxon England. I've read my fair share of non-fiction books on these periods but as much as facts alone do interest me and I love hearing about real people who lived during these times, I honestly find that facts alone only hold my attention for a so long. What I really want is for those facts to be taken and put into a story that can bring them to life.

In what ways can fiction educate?

Okay, so it's fair to assume that an author has done their research on their chosen era or event, so let's focus on the main point of the question: the fictitious aspect of these types of novels. My personal opinion is that no matter what the material is that we choose, we read for the experience. When I close the last page of a book, I want that book to leave a lasting impression on me. I want to be hugging those pages tight to my chest crying "I can't believe it's finished!" (Now, I know I'm not the only one who's done this before 😜). I have a select few fiction books from both my childhood and adulthood that have really stuck with me and when I think about what makes them so memorable, it's the emotions or thoughts it left me with and I can honestly say that they each educated me in one way or another. 

Impressionable characters

As a writer, I think you're naturally curious about the thoughts and behaviours of others. We study people because it helps to understand how to bring our characters to life. When a character has such life-like qualities it makes it easy for the reader to believe they are real and in doing so, feel a connection towards that character. Maybe the reader has gone through a really bad break up and has taken it very bitterly. They could then read about a character who has also gone through a bad break up but by the end of the story, they have pushed past the hurt and decided to put themselves first in a bold, confident way. When the reader has finished they could be left feeling a little more empowered to do the same. Okay so that's a bit of a cliche, but the character has taught the reader to take a different outlook on a situation. 

It could work the other way around as well. Perhaps the impressionable character is the antagonist. They've done something bad and now their running from their mistake, trying not to get caught out. The reader most likely hasn't made the exact same mistake but maybe they are too feeling guilty for something they've done and they're currently trying to make sure no one finds out. If the antagonist ends up getting caught or even realising his mistakes, maybe the reader will too?

These are all hypothetical thoughts and I don't think authors really ever write their stories to "teach their readers a lesson". But I do believe that readers themselves if a book has a strong enough impact on them, can be educated in one way or another by fictitious characters. 

A new point of view

The great thing about fiction is that you're delving into the mind and imagination of the author. The way they shape their imaginary worlds, the way they see the story playing out, the twists and turns they create within their plots are complete of their own creation. Have you ever read a book and at a certain point thought "wow, I never would have seen that coming!" It makes you take a whole new view of the story. Maybe you saw the story going in a completely different direction. But it took you by surprise and probably made you see the bigger picture in a whole new light. I always love when a plot twist can surprise me. I'm one of those really annoying people who sit through movies, particularly crime films, and guesses out loud who I think the perpetrator is really early on. I like to think I have a knack for getting it right most times but it does spoil the fun. I love when I plot twist completely takes me by surprise as it makes me change my train of thought. 

A Love of language 

Lastly, the biggest lesson I think fiction teaches all of us, is how to read. Think about it: how do we teach children to read? How did most of us learn to read? We learn in school or at home at a young age by reading children's books. Children learn to read by opening fiction books with stories about fairytales and superheroes. The characters and worlds that children absorb when learning to read are wild, exaggerated and bursting with imagination. Even as we get older we continue to learn new words consistently through fiction.

I'm confident in saying that there are still far more words out there for me to learn, more points of view to consider and more emotions and feelings for me to acknowledge and so  yes, I do think that if it's not fact, it can still educate! 

What do you think? Do you feel educated reading fiction? Have you got a particular book that has heavily influenced you over the years? Please comment below and let me know 😊