What I Loved About the Historical Novel Society Australasia Conference

 by Marilyn Forsyth

Image courtesy of HNSA

I just spent the most fabulous weekend at the Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) conference in Melbourne. It was the first one I’ve attended and I assure you it won’t be the last. Sadly, the next isn’t until 2019, but at least it gives me plenty of time to save up 😊.

The selection of sessions, practical workshops and academic sessions was absolutely sensational (the only problem being that there were too many choices)! Everything you could ask for, from being allowed to heft pieces of medieval armour to listening to a panel of feisty romance authors vent their ire at the proposition that romance is written to a formula.

Lisa Chaplin’s From Elevator Pitch to Finish proved to me yet again what a wonderful author and teacher Lisa is. I attended her Deep POV workshop some years ago and it was shortly after that that my debut novel The Farmer’s Perfect Match was accepted for Harlequin’s MIRA line (due in no little way to Lisa’s suggestions, I’m sure). Fingers crossed, I now have the perfect pitch for my current wip.

I found out from the panel discussing Bio Fiction: Can You Defame the Dead? that according to Australian law, no, you can't defame the dead, or their descendants. Handy to know for those Aussie writing historical fiction.


The Outlander Effect: Parallel Narratives was of particular interest because my latest work is a time-slip novel. Ella Carey, Felicity Pullman, Belinda Murrell and Gary Crew gave some great insights into how to bring a dual timeline novel to life while maintaining the authenticity of both timelines and their characters' stories.

Looking like a dag

Having missed out on the Weapons session at last month's RWA conference (clashing sessions), I was so pleased to be able to attend the session on Armour with Matt Curran. I was able to get a tangible feel for the medieval past by trying on a chainmail hood and a twelfth century Norman helmet (recreated).

The discussion about the difference between historical romance and a historical love story was a lot of fun. The panel, consisting of Lisa Chaplin, Anna Campbell, Isolde Martyn, and Alison Stuart, presented a lively and entertaining discussion with a lot of laughs. 

The panel discussing Authenticity vs Truth: Does Historical Fiction Need to be Accurate? was interesting, but without arriving at a definitive answer, of course. There will always be those who believe that historical fiction should serve the narrative versus those who believe writers have a moral obligation to get the facts of history correct (even in fiction).

Photo courtesy of Jel Cel (HNSA)

I’m lucky enough to have had two books published (in a different genre to historical fiction), but there was so much I wasn’t aware of with regard to the process. Thank you to the panel of Pathways to Publication for outlining the different reasons why mss may not make the cut.





The last session, Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone: Sex and Violence, provided a lively conclusion to the conference. Thanks to Kate Forsyth, Anna Campbell and Luke Devenish for the laughs.

Over the weekend I also got to have a coffee with one of my all-time favourite writers, Juliet Marillier, and to actually meet the fabulous Anna Campbell for the first time in person. Talk about fan girl moments! Loved the way these ladies took the time to talk to their biggest fans (i.e. me :D).

Photo of Juliet Marillier meetup courtesy of Denniel Allysha

I love the conference experience! The interaction between writers of all levels is wonderful to be involved in. Needless to say, I've been totally inspired and can't wait to get back to my story with a heap of fresh ideas for finishing it off. (But I will miss Melbourne - despite the cold.)


What has been a memorable conference workshop you've attended? Would you rather interact or sit and listen to an expert?

Love to love meeting up with Facebook friends in person. I met a few Word Count Warriors for the first time - lovely to be able to put real faces (as opposed to Facebook photos) to names. Plus, I also unexpectedly ran into an old school friend - such a lovely surprise!

Love to laugh along with Anna Campbell's infectious laugh.

Love to learn about the concept of a 'sensitivity reader'. If you have a sensitive issue in your novel, it's a good idea to have an expert on the issue read your book to advise if your treatment of it is authentic. An example might be that if your book delves into the treatment of our Indigenous peoples in the past, your sensitivity reader should be an Indigenous person from the area you write about (the reason being that it's disrespectful for an Aboriginal person from one area to talk about the culture of an Aboriginal group from another area). I'd never heard the term before, but it makes sense to me.

That All-Important First Line

with Marilyn Forsyth

I love it when I open a book and the first sentence totally grabs me, forcing me to read just a little more, and then I end up reading the whole first page (or even more, depending on how busy the bookstore is J). That's a book I’ll buy.

So what makes a great opening sentence? I’ve narrowed it down to 5 techniques.

1. Arouse Curiosity. By throwing the reader immediately into the action, the author raises questions the reader simply must read on further to find the answers to. A great example of this is from Mandy Magro’s 'The Wildwood Sisters' (Romantic Suspense): Her laboured breath escaping her in short, painful gasps, the girl staggered through the engulfing darkness, the towering ghost gums she’d found so beautifully mesmerising in the daylight now seeming menacing and foreboding.

2. Set Time and Place. A first sentence that establishes time and place immediately grounds the reader. Teresa Medeiros does this really well in 'Goodnight Tweetheart' (Contemporary Romance): In her darker moments Abby Donovan had often fantasised that her career of choice might lead her to become intimately acquainted with the phrase ‘Would you like fries with that?’ but she’d never guessed she’d end up embracing the traditional uniform of working women the world over-the bunny costume.

3. A Strong Sense of Impending Trouble. Actually, even the merest hint that trouble is about to break out is enough to invite the reader to keep reading, but Judy Nunn hits the reader over the head in her opening line to 'Spirits of the Ghan': James McQuillan knew he was a dead man. (Australian fiction)

4. Introduce a Unique Character. A short piece of dialogue or brief description can be enough to give insight into an intriguing character the reader will want to know more about. Cassandra Samuels found a unique way to introduce the reader to her heroine in 'A Scandalous Wager' (Regency Romance): From the diary of Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst… I refuse to give in to the curse of the Black Raven.

5. Establish the Writer’s Style. The tone of a book is apparent from the opening sentence, so make the reader laugh or take them by surprise or provide them with an instant image, something to show your distinctive writer’s voice. Juliet Marillier does this so well in all her books. I love this from 'Twixt Firelight and Water: A Tale of Sevenwaters' (Historical Fantasy):
A fair maid in the wildwood lies
A raven pecks her sightless eyes
Then wings into the heavens again
To shriek his song of death and pain.

I have a tale to tell.

Crafting the perfect opening line takes a lot of thought, but remember: you don’t have to make your first sentence perfect before continuing on with your story (although it’s a Procrastinator’s dream defence J)  Personally, I’ve changed the beginning sentences of my books more times than I’d like to admit, but I do try to save that for the editing stage.

Do you have a favourite opening line you’d like to share? When you read, is the first sentence a deal-breaker/deal-maker for you?


Here’s a bit of fun for those who might need help to get started with their opening lines. These are from Clifford Fryman’s 'Story Starters'.

What a huge mistake.

He got hit by a car just to get her attention.

What do you do when the thing you need most is from the person you like least?

Love to Love: meeting the original Time Slip Queen (IMO, anyway), Barbara Erskine, at the Hay-on-Wye Festival. 'Lady of Hay' was first published 30 years ago so Barbara kindly signed my original copy and the Anniversary edition.

Love to Laugh: at the Scottish accent (in a good way). Had so much fun trying to work out that the 'coo' the lady was referring to was actually a cow.

Love to Learn: about aspects of British history from people passionate about keeping history alive. It was fascinating to have my many questions answered by the different characters at this re-created mediaeval fayre last month at Harlech Castle in Wales.