So, this is going to sound very weird but here goes...

I want to write a period drama set in the 1800's but I want to downplay slavery...like not have it at all...I do want there to be a power struggle between the races however.

I guess what I'm asking is...when writing fiction and setting it during a certain period how much has to be accurate? Isn't the point of fiction to make things up?

Or should the answer be why bother writing it in that century in the first place?

Help me out here guys. ??)

This will also have supernatural elements also. It's three little women meets penny dreadful.

Write it as you have it in mind.

Look at Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slaye or even Django Unchained.

Gabe

Quoted Text Or should the answer be why bother writing it in that century in the first place?

It depends. If you're setting it in 1800's USA, I would question that. Especially if race is a thematic element. It would be too much to ask an audience to "ignore that slavery happened" in that time period in that part of the world, unless the focus was so esoteric that it would make no sense to mention it anyway -- however, you've stated that there's race involved, so it's tricky. Not to mention that invoking an 1800's USA setting without slavery, depending on its execution, might be seen as insensitive.

Set in in the north. Very popular books now deal with the underground railroad that helped escaped slaves get to Canada. Free blacks were free to live as citizens in the northern states.

As a general question, it's a good one. There is no clear answer,  but I would say one thing you don't want is people to be confused. So if you're going to have an alternate reality, make it clear from the start. For example, let's say in your world slavery was outlawed in the Constitution and abolished. Make that clear. Maybe even have a black President. The more we know this is not OUR history, the more clear this is alt history.

In Inglorious Basterds, Hitler dies in a movie theater to the tunes of David Bowie. IMO, you don't  have to stay true to history at all. Only if you say, based on a true story, do you have to. Since you will be having supernatural elements in the story as well, it will be clear that you are not trying to portray history accurately.  :)

Actually, great example, Pia, and I have learned from that example. What I learned was this: you HAVE to have some element that distinctly separates the story from real history so we are not confused. Everyone knows Hitler did not die that way, so that helps establish this as alt history...though it does come at the end.

Quoted from Grandma Bear In Inglorious Basterds, Hitler dies in a movie theater to the tunes of David Bowie. IMO, you don't  have to stay true to history at all. Only if you say, based on a true story, do you have to. Since you will be having supernatural elements in the story as well, it will be clear that you are not trying to portray history accurately.  :)

Exactly what came to my mind. This is a perfect example.

Hmm all very good points. Thank you all very much.

I for one believe there can still be tension between races without one specific race being enslaved.

I should mention that the tension won't be exclusively between blacks and whites but also native americans etc.

I started toying with this idea when I was in the eighth grad after watching 'The feast of all saints' great book..great mini-series..watch it. Anyway, I was so interested in the 'Free People of Colour' that inhabited New Orleans at the time. . They had a great deal of privilege that rivaled that of white people.

So, that's where I was going with this work

There will be servants however of all races. No slaves.

The supernatural elements are based in all the races traditions and the struggle to become superior to all other's in some way.  

Quoted from Female Gaze This will also have supernatural elements

Ashlie, I think that right there is the key to the alt-history of your story.

• An event (or series events) occurs prior to the start of your narrative
  
• This event has a supernatural component to it
  
• This event alters history in a way that thwarts the practice of slavery before it could become the terrible, tragic legacy that we know today

It would require doing some history homework, and then inserting the 'butterfly effect' at the right moment.

Then you can explain this pre-history in an opening title card, or integrate some backstory into the beginning so the audience understands the alt-history context.

Amazon's The Man in the High Castle is another alt-history story you might want to check out.

I was thinking the same thing.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the pre-face, I like to jump straight into the narrative and let the audience come up with their own conclusions.

But, I guess in this case, a bit of handholding might be necessary.

Thank you.  

I also prefer a "show, don't tell" approach.  I think you may be able to create the set-up without title cards, it will just take some homework and legwork to get there.

Why do you not want slavery?

You can do whatever you want of course but if you are changing history around there needs to be good reasons for it. Not having it at all is a pretty big historical omission and the audience is going to be scratching their heads as to why you haven't included it and the reasons they come up with won't be good.  Ahem, cough cough.... whitewashing. Yes Tarantino did it in IG, but I'm always weary of new writers using him as justification for the way they write. You are not Tarantino and I am not Tarantino. I am a history teacher though.

As others have said I think the best idea would be to set the story in the North where slavery was illegal and therefore would be a non issue in your plot. (Or simply have it take place after 1865 and the end of the Civil War) If you are writing a kids story then I can understand why you wouldn't want slavery around, but in a supernatural thriller it seems like it would help as it's a rather unpleasant and scary institution. Also, getting rid of it would require a lot of political changes to the country and backstory that I think would distract from your script.

Lots of popular movies have been set in the 1800s and dealt with slavery lightly like Gone With the Wind, and been more or less fine. But to just outright get rid of it only opens you up to much bigger problems and a lot of confusion. You can ignore it or even dumb it down but there's no need to get rid of it  UNLESS it directly relates to your story.

I just don't want it to bog down the narrative.

I've already started writing it so we shall see.

It is alt-history. It's not like people haven't done this before with WWII. AS I'm sure deciding to have hitler alive would be offensive to quite a lot of people.

I don't know what Tarantino movie you're referring too and considering how much he openly uses the N-word in a vast majority of his films and ppl herald him a genius.

I do believe that as an African-American woman myself I am fully capable of writing a form of FICTION that is for all to enjoy but does not have slavery involved.

However, I do find it interesting, that the moment we as a people want to tell a different kind of story the deviates from our past everyone wants to scratch their heads in confusion.

But thank you for the advice I will take it and smile and sing and dance.

I think you can totally write a period piece set in the 1800s without much slavery if you are careful about your setting and story. What I was saying is that avoiding the issue by simply writing it away is going to create issues and take people out of your story. Now if this is a heavily modified alt history then it would be easier to swallow, but if this is the only real change it may stick out like a sore thumb. Who cares about slavery if this is a steampunk world with flying machines and huge industrial robots for example? But if you are changing history you need to have a good reason to go against audience expectations.

For example, you could say, "I don't like the forced removal of Native American tribes from their lands so in my story it just never happens." The end. Ok, that's fine but you still need a good reason for making that change with relation to your story or else what is the point? All you said in your OP was that you didn't want to deal with a power struggle between races. You can do that without throwing history away and calling attention to it is all I'm saying. Set it in the North. Have it take place after the Civil War. Or in Victorian England where slavery had already been illegal for some time. Make the main characters abolitionists who strongly believe in equality already?  

Again I'm just a history teacher but to answer your original question I'd say yes, there is a right and wrong way to deal with writing alternate history and like most things in screenwriting it all goes back to story. Right now all I know about your world except you want one without a power struggle between characters. If that's the only reason I'd say muck with the past at your own peril.

But you already noted that I mentioned this was a supernatural period drama so....

This was just a general question and was only a tiny part of the story. I was just getting opinions because there is very little alt-history about African-American people during that time.

I was never intending to have away with it and then calling attention to it left and right...this isn't MARY-sue world by Ashlie lol

It's a world where it never came to fruition...due to a '...' moment

There is so much more to AFRICAN/AFRICAN-AMERICAN/HAITIAN/CREOLE history than just slavery.

Our culture is steeped in tradition and superstition that has been passed down through the ages. A vast majority of it is very supernatural. African wiccan and mythical creatures in lore etc.

So, if in 2017 the audience expectation is that every narrative involving black people from that time period or any other needs to be solely about slavery or racial injustices against black people in general than I think someone needs to write a new narrative ASAP.