1. THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION
A lesson on how literary elements interact with historical fiction
Social Studies Mr. Presley

2. Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, student will be able to . . .
Define historical fiction and identify its purpose.
Identify and explain the seven elements of fiction.
Explain the how each element is applied to historical fiction writing.
Analyze an author’s literary work according to the elements of fiction.

3. What is historical fiction?
Historical fiction is a fictional story in which elements of history, be they persons, events, or settings, play a central role.
Historical fiction does more to show how and why it happened – it gives us, “Wow, so that’s what it was like!”

4. Historical fiction can be classified into two categories
Historical fiction can be classified into two categories. First of all, some fictional stories are based on actual people and recorded events of history. This style is based on reconstruction of the past through research. Secondly, other stories are based on social history with no reference given to actual people or recorded events. This is based on recreation of the past through memory. Both forms are fully acceptable, but the stories based on real people and events must adhere to greater standards of accuracy. In either case, they are influenced by various elements, including style, setting, and theme.

5. What are the elements of fiction?
Style
Setting
Point of View
Characters
Conflict
Plot
Theme
Although there is no official elements of fiction list, there are a few traits that are worth classifying.

6. Style
Style is the way something is written as distinct from the content of the writing or performance.
Style is the particular way a piece of literature is written.
Not only what is said but also how it is said, style is the writer’s unique way of communicating ideas.
The presentation of the story (through tone and mood) is as important as the content itself.

7. Tone is the general quality or character of something as an indicator of the attitude or view of the person who produced it: It can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, playful, ironic, or bitter.
Mood, or atmosphere of a story, is the impression it creates and the emotions it arouses in readers through choices of specific details, images, and chosen words and phrases.
Tone is the reflection of the feelings of the writer, while mood is the feeling created within the reader.

8. More traits contributing to fiction style include diction and figurative language.
Diction is an author’s choice of words based on their correctness, clarity, or effectiveness
Figurative language is language that communicates ideas beyond the ordinary or literal meaning of the words, such as a simile (comparison between two different things using “like” or “as”), metaphor (the application of a word or phrase to somebody or something to make a comparison using “is”), or a hyperbole (the deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect).

9. Historical implications
Style in historical fiction refers to language conventions used to construct the story or article. The style should generally follow the “show, don’t tell” method and demonstrate careful craftsmanship through concrete, specific word choice, sparkling descriptions, and well-structured sentences and paragraphs. A historical fiction writer may manipulate diction, sentence structure, tone, mood, dialogue, and other aspects of language to create this historic style or mood. Attention to detail is another important aspect of artistry and is particularly essential for historical

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fiction. Good attention to detail will be apparent if the story maintains basic historical accuracy and self-consistent descriptions, as well as if it contains interesting dialogue. A good style will also include a consistent tone throughout the piece.

11. Setting
Setting the time and the place in which the events of a story take place; moreover, it is the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs.
The major elements of setting are the time, the place, and the social environment that frames the characters.
These elements establish the world in which the characters act.
Setting can be used to evoke a mood or atmosphere that will prepare the reader for what is to come.

12. Historical implications
In historical fiction, setting is the most important literary element. Historical fiction must have an integral setting, meaning that time and place in and during which the novel takes place have a tremendous influence over the characters, conflict, and plot. Because the author is writing about a particular time in history, the information about the time period must be accurate and authentic. To create this believable setting in the story, authors must research the time period thoroughly. They must know how people lived, what they ate, what kinds of homes they had, and what artifacts were a common part of their lives.

13. Point of View
Point of view is the perspective on events of the narrator or a particular character in a literary work. The various points of view that storytellers draw upon can be grouped into two broad categories:
A third-person narrator (uses pronouns he, she, or they) is outside the story.
An omniscient point of view is when the narrator is all-knowing and takes the reader inside the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motives, as well as shows what the characters say and do.

14. The narrator in a limited omniscient point of view takes the reader inside one (or at most very few characters) but neither the reader nor the character(s) has access to the inner lives of any of the other characters in the story.
An objective point of view is when the narrator does not see into the mind of any character; rather he or she reports the action and dialogue without telling the reader directly what the characters feel and think.

15. A first-person narrator (uses pronoun I) is inside the story.
The narrator presents the point of view of only one character’s perception.
This limits the narrative to what the narrator knows, experiences, infers, or can find out by talking to other characters.

16. Historical implications
Diaries and eye witness accounts, however, will use first person narration. A character's general perspective on the world will be obvious in books written in the first person. Most historical writers, however, will use third person omniscient. If the book is written in the third person, a character's values as defined by the time period can be demonstrated through the character's dialogue and actions, or through the narrative voice recounting the thoughts and feelings of the character.

17. Characters
Characters are the human or objects that carry out the plot of the story in a literary work.
Major characters are important figures at the center of the story’s action or theme.
The protagonist the most important character, and general the character that the story revolves around.
The antagonist is somebody or something opposing the protagonist that may spark the story’s conflict.

18. Supporting the major character are minor characters whose function is partly to illuminate the major characters.
Characterization is the development of the people portrayed in literary work.
Either type of character can be labeled as dynamic (a change of attitude, purpose, behavior as the story progresses) or static (unchanging).

19. Historical implications
Historical fiction may center on historical or on fictional characters, but usually represents an honest attempt based on considerable research (or at least serious reading) create characters that would fit in the time period. The characters of a historical fiction novel should have the mindset of people from that time period. Characters are shaped by their experiences, family life and culture, which includes the time and place in which they are born. However the character's viewpoint is demonstrated, it should be apparent that the character is not simply a modern person dropped into a different time period.

20. Conflict
Conflict are one of several types of forces in a literary work that shapes or motivates the action of a plot
External conflict involves forces outside the characters in the literary work.
Man versus man conflict pits one person against another.
Man versus nature conflicts an individual with natural or supernatural forces.

21. Man versus society puts an individual or group against the values and customs by which everyone else.
Internal conflict resides inside the major characters in the literary work.
Man versus self reflects how the internal conflicts of the character are good clues to the character’s inner strength.

22. Historical implications
The historical novelist presents the reader with characters caught up in a conflict and builds his narrative from historical details. The conflicts of men and women in history become real to the reader because these people can be presented in their human dimension. Historical fiction portrays conflicts that depended on a particular time period for their existence. These conflicts are inseparable from the author’s decision to set the plot in a non-contemporary era; the historical time and place influence the unfolding the central struggles within it.

23. Plot
Plot is the sequence of events in a narrated or literary work that usually turns on a conflict that is resolved by the end of the story.
Typical fictional plots begin with an exposition, that provides background information needed to make sense of the action, describes the setting, and introduces the major characters.
During the rising action, the tension builds as the conflict becomes more evident through a series of complications (intensifications) and crises (moments of great tension).

24. The climax (turning point) is the highest point of interest in the story, during which the main conflict are resolved and the fate of the characters are revealed.
The falling action immediately follows the climax as the plot’s complications are sorted out.
Finally, loose ends are tied up in the resolution (or dénouement).

25. Historical implications
Writers of historical fiction expended much time and effort in order to ensure that their fictional plot lines merge seamlessly with established historical fact or plausible hypothesis. While the plot structure should focus on a specific historical incident, the gaps may be filled with what we call fiction. In some books the historical period is not of great importance to the story but merely serves as a background to the plot. In others, the historical setting is crucial to the development of the action. Overall, plot must be driven by the

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important turning points (historical social and political) that could not occur in a contemporary setting. The novel must skillfully recreate a slice of the past and accurately put its players into the path of actual seminal historical events.

27. Theme Theme is the subject or unifying idea in the literary work.
Theme in fiction is rarely presented at all; it is abstracted from the details of character and action that compose the story.
It provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a story are organized.
In a narrative, motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the piece’s major themes.
The narrative motif is the vehicle by means of which the narrative theme is conveyed.

28. Historical implications
Understanding the sociopolitical conditions of an author's time period provides valuable insights into the thematic and symbolic devices used in the work. One of the ways that historical fiction connects the present to the past is through theme. An historical novel picks a theme that arises out of the true historical era or the life of the central character, and then uses versions of actual historical characters to illuminate that theme. Historical fiction might be set in the past but it emphasizes themes that pertain back to the present.

29. Book Review Question
Analyze your book for the review according to the following questions:
What are the general plot sequences of the book? What are the main conflicts?
How well is it written in terms of overall style (mood, tone, etc.)?
What are the key historical references (people, places, or events) in the setting?
Does the theme and conflict of the story connect with the real past?
Does the point of view affect the realism of the story?
Does the author provide enough historical experiences for the characters to make the story believable?
How is this book significant to your course of study?

30. As we end this lesson. . .
The great thing about historical fiction books is that they take you to a period that was real and re-create it for us - opening up both intriguing stories, plus also informing us of the actual history of the times, people and places - such detail is usually very close to the historical truth. When reading historical fiction, consider the following:
Why do you think the author chose to write about this particular historical episode?
What are the historically accurate details in the novel? What are the inaccurate details?
How would you know what is fact and what is fiction?
Why is this book considered a historical novel?
Do you think this novel a good or bad historical novel, based on the previous definition of historical fiction?
HAPPY READING!