All writers of fiction have to consider seven critical elements: character, dialogue, setting, theme, plot, conflict, and world building. While every story succeeds or disappoints on the basis of these elements, historical fiction has the added challenge of bringing the past to life.
Since I work best by example, I’m developing an explanation of the seven elements in the context of historical fiction.
Character – whether real or imagined, characters behave in keeping with the era they inhabit, even if they push the boundaries. And that means discovering the norms, attitudes, beliefs and expectations of their time and station in life. A Roman slave differs from a Roman centurion, as does an innkeeper from an aristocrat in the 18th century. Your mission as writer is to reveal the people of the past.
Dialogue – dialogue that is cumbersome and difficult to understand detracts from readers’ enjoyment of historical fiction…
View original post 937 more words
suzannebowditch 
Leave a Reply