Is This Story Historical?

As a writer, I like to continue writing flash fiction or short stories while working on a novel. My head is just too full of ideas and characters to focus on just my big project.

Recently, I found a short story contest I thought I could enter. The rules were simple and they were asking for clean contemporary romance. I began to write and the story was flowing.

Then I had an interesting conversation with someone who told me that if I’m writing for Young Adult (YA), in order for it to be contemporary, the story has to include today’s technology – laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc. I wasn’t writing for YA so I wasn’t worried, but decided to search for a current definition of “contemporary” fiction. The definition I found stated that anything after World War II is considered “contemporary”. So I thought I was okay.

But a little doubt kept niggling at the back of my head. Therefore I went to the contest website and posted my question: What is your definition of “contemporary”? A few days later a response came: anything that includes current technology.

I was flabbergasted! I mean, I’m a 50+ woman and don’t really consider things from my youth “historical”, but apparently things like pen pals who actually write snail mail are. Today’s technology didn’t exist in my youth. Therefore, the story I had begun did not qualify for this “contemporary short story contest”.

The story came to an abrupt halt, but my heart was broken. I love these characters and want to tell their story, but now there isn’t a pressing reason. I have a real historical romance novel to finish revising and send out into the world. Therefore, I don’t have time to work on a story I thought was “contemporary” but learned in today’s world is “historical”. So sadly, this story will have to wait, and maybe, instead of a short story, it will become a full-fledged “contemporary romance” story.

What’s the point of this article and what does it have to do with writing historical fiction?

The point is that you may have ideas for more wonderful historical fiction stories than you might think. If you’re in the 50+ age group, you, evidently, have a wealth of experience you could use to birth an historical fiction story. As long as your setting doesn’t include any of today’s technology, you can claim “historical fiction”.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26

Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer