Entry 03 | Historical Fiction: The Emotional Toll of Time Travel

(TAP PLAY TO LISTEN)

As an African American woman, I thought it would be entertaining to write about an enslaved woman who finds an unconventional way to freedom. I believed that it would lighten the load of the story of enslavement and make it easier for the reader (and the writer) to digest the history. What I have found is that Sally isn't the only one traumatized by the quest of time travel; writing her story demands deep reflection on the past, a past that is so close to my own heritage. Sally the Time Traveling Slave, my historical sci-fi series, forces me to come face to face with a history that is not only painful but also personal.

Historical fiction that involves the painful period of slavery requires a balance of emotional intelligence. As a writer, I am not only called to dive deeper into the pain and fears of the enslaved characters, but I am also forced to recognize, express, and empathize with the hate in the enslavers. To remain true to the characters, at times, I must dishonor my own natural inclinations. As I write Sally and develop her character, I realize that her enslavement is unique but still reflects the circumstances tied to the history of my ancestors, many of whom faced similar scenarios.

Toni Morrison, an author of my admiration, who has always held a mirror up to America’s painful history of racism and slavery, once said, “You are your best thing.” In the context of writing Sally’s story, she being the main character and protagonist, Sally is my best thing, and her journey is both my responsibility and my privilege to share. As an author, it’s easy to get lost in the emotions of the characters and as a Black woman writing about slavery, I sometimes feel the weight of that history obligating me to sacrifice the plot to avoid the pain. It feels as though I am time-traveling with Sally, inhabiting both her body and my own, while navigating an emotional terrain that is neither wholly in the past nor present. I can't express to you how relieved I am when I edit the last word, and I can return again to the present.

When I craft Sally’s thoughts and reactions to the brutalities of slavery, I am not only telling her story; I am reconnecting with the pain of my ancestors, a collective pain of a system that, while no longer in overt practice, still resonates in the lived experiences of Black Americans today. In her story, I must abandon myself and write what I see and in doing so, I risk losing pieces of myself—pieces that may never fully heal from the emotional toll of revisiting that trauma.

Toni Morrison often spoke about the need for Black writers to reckon with the past, to “make the world more bearable.” She said in The Origin of Others: “The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work.” As I write Sally’s story, I am forced to realize that racism is not just a distant historical occurrence. It is still a distraction in the work of telling these stories. It asks me to carry not only the weight of the characters I create but also the emotional weight of the society in which we live today—a society where the wounds of the past continue to bleed into the present.

Sally’s journey is not just about time travel—it’s about traveling through time to connect with the souls of those who have come before me, whose lives shaped the world I inhabit now. But it is also a journey that takes its toll on me as the writer. It demands that I confront painful emotions and reflections, forcing me to face the complexities of my own identity and the history of my people.

I have only released the Prologue and 3 parts to Sally the Time Traveling Slave, but even this early in the story, I see clearly that writing historical fiction about slavery is, in many ways, an act of emotional courage. It’s about going to the places within myself that I would rather avoid, acknowledging the pain, but also finding the strength to bear witness to that pain. It’s about crafting stories that not only bring history to life but also allow me to make sense of my present, to understand who I am by exploring who we were.

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Discussion: What do you think is the most important responsibility of a writer when telling stories of historical trauma, and how do you think readers can better understand the emotional weight behind these stories?