Overall, literature works may stress some elements more than others but, a good historical fiction novel should address them all in some shape or form. In literary fiction, study of the characters is the works purpose. These are the things you need to focus on if you want to master the art of storytelling and build a strong foundation of readers who keep coming back. Historical fiction novels are typically meant to place the reader into the past and allow them to experience what it was like. In this article I’ll be breaking down the 7 elements of fiction: complex characters, point of view, plot, tense, setting, voice, and meaning. Think of world building as creating a scene for the reader to step into and become a part of. This brings the last element, world building. The previous example about Julius Caesar could revolve around many conflicts, whether it is with Rome’s enemies at the time or, internal conflicts with himself. A story about Rome around 45 BC may revolve around the life of Julius Caesar and his infamous dictatorship over the Roman people.Ĭonflict, which is critical for any good story to have, involves the characters themselves or even a group of people. Typically the historical events that take place will shape the plot. In the book, he breaks down these seven elements that stories need to be viable to readers, executives, and audiences. The next element, plot, must correspond to the time period, as well. Hes now written a book entitled The Idea: The 7 Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage, or Fiction. For instance, loyalty may mean something completely different during the Wei Dynasty when compared to America in the 21st century.
The theme of a novel is important to the time period.
They should transcend into the setting of the novel even more so as the story goes on. The reader should be placed in the period almost immediately. Setting is perhaps one of the most important elements of any historical fiction work. The writer should introduce some vocabulary and general grammatical structure from the time period but, they should stick primarily with words and phrases the reader is familiar with. The second element, dialogue, can easily distract the reader if a literature work is comprised entirely of a vernacular foreign to them. The writer’s goal is to expose these characters of the past to the reader. Grammar and spelling are the obvious ones, but today, Im talking about the key elements of fiction: character, plot, setting, point of view, theme. For instance, a slave during civil war times would behave much differently than a Confederate soldier. They typically would however, act appropriate for the time period. The characters could be based off of real or imaginary individuals. According to an article titled “7 Elements of Historical Fiction”, in general writers of fiction must address seven crucial elements: character, dialogue, setting, theme, plot, conflict, and world building.
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