Historical Sagas – Reading and Writing them

Before I began to write, I was a fan of long historical novels and interconnected family stories. My husband used to accuse me of choosing a book by the number of pages – the more the better. Novels like Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children which began with Clan of the Cave Bear, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War followed by War and Remembrance … I could go on but I’m sure you get the idea.

These sagas – the word saga can be traced back to an old Norse word for tale – typically involve rich historical settings, complex but relatable characters, multiple generations of a family whose fates, fortunes and passions sweep through the novel or novels.

What is it about such stories that are so compelling? Readers love the deeply immersive experience of a saga, the storylines and conflicts that span generations, the ability to witness each character’s growth and struggles over a long time period, and the complex family dynamics that play out across multiple generations. In addition, readers appreciate the drama of historical events that create conflict and tension and the grand or compelling settings involved.

The attributes of successful historical fiction apply to sagas just as they do to regular historical fiction. Through the surveys I’ve conducted, readers cite the following important attributes of a ‘great read’.

• characters both heroic and human
• superb writing
• stories that immerse them in time and place
• a dramatic arc of historical events

The beauty of a saga is that you as a reader get to stay with the characters for a long time following both the arc of history and the arc of a family. Most sagas feature fictional families which is excellent because readers tell us that they prefer fictional characters within a backdrop of great historical events. These deeply immersive experiences allow readers to become fully invested in the characters’ lives, witnessing their growth and struggles over a long, rather than short, time. They also allow readers to feel a strong connection to rich historical events and settings. Such an experience can provide a sense of belonging within a large, evolving world.

For writers, the challenge is to construct a long, sweeping, multi-generational historical that will satisfy readers. Let’s look at several key elements.

Characters – of critical importance is crafting a character arc that spans decades not months or years. Actually, writing this has just made me realize that the novel I’m currently working on is a saga since it follows the life of one woman over a span of 90 years. Aha! Could be back to the drawing board for me. If you construct a multi-book saga, you will need to design a character arc for each book as well as an over-arching character arc. Don’t forget that your characters must be complex and interesting and have strong motivations.

Writers will want to build character arcs for each novel along with character arcs that encompass the wider multiple book timeline and developments. Think of it as developing the entire lifespan of a character with all the complexities and changes that take place from birth to death. Consider character growth across books, develop characters with distinct personalities and motivations, internal and external arcs.

Arc of history – what critical events take place in the span of your saga? How will those events involve and/or affect your characters? Where is the drama? How will an event that took place in one generation affect the generation that follows? Note that your choices concerning the arc of history are not the same as your plot, although they might, and likely will, affect your plot. Never forget that you are writing a novel and not a work of non-fiction so while striving for authenticity, don’t overwhelm the saga with historical detail.

Setting – some sagas feature a family property such as a mansion or family estate. Others feature a village or city. Settings like these become almost a character over the course of the saga which suggests the need to develop a character-like arc for the setting. Does the mansion crumble or get sold in the end? Does the village change in some fundamental way due to an event or crisis or growth?

World building – closely allied with setting is the bigger picture of world building. Think of the world George R.R. Martin created with his saga Games of Thrones or the one Ken Follett created in Pillars of the Earth and its sequel World Without End. Design a world your readers can inhabit, one that includes such parameters as geography, culture, society, history, geography, religion, language, technology, food, plants and animals. That world must remain consistent – which doesn’t mean that it can’t change or that change might bring about its own tensions and conflict for your characters.

Theme – a saga provides a wide canvas through which to explore big emotions such as love, romance, jealousy, and betrayal and to encompass complex issues featuring “timeless themes: love, loyalty and friendship; identity and alienation; good vs evil;  power and corruption; loss and grief; crime and punishment; freedom, courage, faith, redemption” (source Regency Chronicle).

Plot – just like the multi-level character arcs required for the main characters of a saga, a writer must also create plots for each novel or part of the saga plus a meta-plot that holds the whole thing and its multiple generations together. Will the story be told chronologically? Furthermore, will there be flashbacks and time jumps? Using one of more generations of a family, or perhaps interconnected families, the plot must closely follow their fates, fortunes and passions. Make sure that some of your plot lines are unresolved so that they can carry over to the next novel of the saga or the next part of a multi-part novel.

Conflict is another element to consider. Will you have conflicts that span generations or are resolved as a new conflict emerges. Is there a mega-conflict that holds the saga together?

For those who are planners rather than ‘pantsers’ you will be outlining a saga that spans several novels not just one. To do so, you will want to develop techniques to keep character arcs, plot lines, and other story elements straight as the story evolves. For added perspective, check out Derek Birks’s guest post on Writing Family Sagas.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on sagas – both reading and writing them.

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.