Here we are! Quick update since it was in my head.

Girl with the amethyst eyes wanted me to stress the importance of historically accurate stories. Now simple mistakes don't really matter, such as one I had where a phone hadn't existed in the 1700s or whatever year it was. But it made little difference to the story whether Arthur was calling from a phone or writing a letter for a pidgeon to send, the result would've been the same. What she wants is the big things where history is altered badly. I hope this satisfies you!

Update! I've finally made a Twitter dedicated to my writing, so if you're wondering why I'm taking so long to update and want to know the status of my stories, follow me on Twitter and you can ask some questions there too! (PLEASE don't ask Mr Kirkland for questions on my Twitter because I can't reply a decent answer for you there. Ask them in a review or PM me if you're really shy.) Tweet me BlahstarBlackie

Lesson #3; The Importance of Historically Accurate Stories

"I'm not good at history, but does it really matter in a fanfic if history is incorrect at times?"

Mr Kirkland wasn't really happy about that question and slammed his whip down on the table. "What kind of idiotic question is that? Of course it matters! Much of what is written is taken from history and some people choose to alter it. Those that do should really put a warning, the warning commonly noted on fanfiction as AH, standing mostly for Alternate History. It can also mean All Human if you're on a certain fandom that calls for it, Twilight, for example."

Kirkland went and sat his buttocks down on the table, he was too short for his feet to touch the ground properly whilst sitting on the table, but that hardly mattered. You knew the saying, don't lie. Small but deadly.

Kirkland put his whip to the side and took out a history book. "October 1929, Wall Street Crash. Surely you've done research on this. The first big financial crisis that affected the world. Badly affected areas were largely factories and the business markets, but rural areas were mostly unaffected. Lead to a twelve year Great Depression which then hence affected Britain's performance when Hitler then came into power in Germany around 1934. We created something called The Appeasement, which basically meant we agreed to deals with Nazi Germany to keep them happy, hence the term 'appease'. But eventually Germany broke out at war anyway, though we had delayed them, but possibly gave them more power as well, letting them take parts of Czechoslovakia and allying with Austria, which was against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles."

Mr Kirkland closed the huge history book and placed it beside him; "So you see, you shouldn't take history lightly or change things without a thought. If you'd seen or bothered to watch much Doctor Who, you'd know that if history changes then a lot gets changed, not a bare few things. If Wall Street Crash never happened, maybe Germany wouldn't have felt so inclined to start a war, so think carefully before you try to alter history."

The pupil spoke up again; "But what if we wanted to change a few things, like, say, the weapons MI6 used during the Second World War."

Kirkland smiled; "Depends what kind of weapons you mean. It also depends on whether what gender you're using, as British spies were more often female. It's true! There were such weapons as a single bullet firing lipstick, lethal every time. I don't think it's wise to change things like that, many spies had to depend on them to survive and it's always easier to just stick to facts and do your research. Research is important and you have to do it if you're writing a story about something you're not sure about."

"Here's an example, a lot take the Battle for Independence between America and the British Empire because they're more familiar with that and that's about the only big interesting thing that happened in America concerning wars, although the American Civil War could be something too, if you're American yourself. If you're European, say French, British, German etc. you might take the First or Second World War, although noted as World War, it did mostly concern Europe though Japan and Russia got largely involved too in a way. I have to say that America did pretty much end the War on both accounts, the Second especially though they were very late."

Kirkland picked his whip back up and stood up, his hands holding each other behind his back and the whip lying flat up his back, tapping his back out of a habit or a need to move; "Now, changing history has dire consequences, you probably figured. Simply changing it to your will to centre the entirety of the world on the character and how you like probably isn't a very smart thing to do." Kirkland continued talking whilst he was walking around the class, the rest of the class taking notes as you should be doing. You try your hardest to continue listening to what he is currently speaking about. "It could actually be viewed as arrogant and may even be listed as a Mary Sue type thing, which we will cover later. Making your own history is not advisable, it doesn't work the same as making a new future, making your own future because we can't prove that it's impossible, anything is possible for the future, but to change the history is definitely not advisable, as so many different things could go wrong. Do your research, remember. Wikipedia, emailing companies, talking to a very educated friend, ask a teacher, professor, anything but at least try."

"I also want to point out that trying to write me in your stories is especially important that you do research. Especially if you're an ignorant American that doesn't even realise we drive on the other side of the road!" Kirkland stomped back to his desk and sat down, almost appearing to sulk. You frown; you didn't think Kirkland was really the type to sulk, no matter the circumstances. Turns out you were wrong. "But I'll get to that later. Now I'll try to explain about Mary Sues, OCs and the pros and cons about them, so be ready to write a lot."

NEXT; Pros and cons of Mary Sues, Gary Stus and OCs.

Not sure what's coming after that, probably characterization.

Review and ask Mr Kirkland a question! He shall answer ;D
~Blackie