by K. Z. Murphy

Created on: August 06, 2011

It's fun to write about history, and explore the people who get into extraordinary situations or make far-reaching decisions.  History isn't dry dates and facts, it's great stories.  There are some things you can do to convey this to your readers, and make your history articles really pop.

The first challenge is to pick a subject that's appropriate for the word limit you're working with.  Articles of about 1000 words are good for most online writing sites.  So you don't want to write "The History of the Hundred Years War."  Instead, focus on one battle, say the battle of Agincourt.  That way you can touch on the causes and results, and get more into a description of the course of the battle, the strategy and tactics, the weapons used, the type of soldiers involved, and the personalities of the leaders.  You can include more interesting details that will keep your readers engaged.

What really makes history fascinating is the people.  They can make your article an absorbing story.  Focus on the principle characters of your story.  What were their backgrounds, ages, positions in life?  What kind of situations were they in?  Were they happy or unhappy about where they were in life?  What did they plan to do about it?  What were their beliefs and values?  What kind of people were they-kind, friendly, laid-back, or dogmatic, dictatorial, even cruel?  How did their beliefs and personalities influence history?

Be sure to tell your readers how these people interacted with each other, whether they formed alliances out of mutual need or came into conflict with each other.  Hopefully, readers will be able to connect with the people you're writing about, and say "I would have done the same thing" or "I would have been angry, too, if I were her." 

For example, say you're writing about the relationship between Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn.  You might describe Henry as a king who's used to having his own way, a lady's man; also a man who's been married to Catherine of Aragon for eighteen years and having a bit of a midlife crisis.  So he couldn't help being fascinated with the bold and beautiful Anne.  And you might describe Anne as flirtatious, ambitious, determined to become queen, and so proud and arrogant she made many enemies in Henry's court, which led to her downfall.  Readers should feel that they knows both Henry and Anne by the end of your article, and

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