Author: Janet Gershen-Siegel

A Look at Writing Fiction About Early Boomers (1946 – 1953)

I prefer to split the Baby Boomer generation, as I feel there’s a marked difference between this group and the latter half (Generation Jones). When writing fiction about Early Boomers, it makes sense to lean into the 60s. But there’s more to this group than flower power.

And now, let’s look at some pivotal moments, to help inform us when writing fiction about Early Boomers.

Early Boomers Turn 18 (1964 – 1971)

This time frame starts off with the US Surgeon General declaring that smoking may be hazardous to one’s health. The the US government authorizes the 24th Amendment, thereby outlawing the poll tax.

The first computer program written in BASIC is run. And the first student protests against the Vietnam War happen while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed.

The Vietnam War dominates the middle of this period. Many other student protests follow the ones in 1964.

By the time this period ends, Charles Manson and three of his followers (Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten) are convicted in the Tate-LaBianca murders. The UK and Ireland switch to a decimal-based currency.

And Led Zepellin performs Stairway to Heaven in concert for the first time, in Belfast.

Early Boomers Turn 25 (1971 – 1978)

This time frame starts off with the founding of NASDAQ and Satchel Paige being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. And there’s the founding of Starbucks, in Washington state.

The Watergate scandal and its aftermath dominate the middle of this period.

By the time this period ends, the Blizzard of ’78 hits New York and New England, killing about 100 people. The world’s first test tube baby, Louise Brown, is born in the UK. Pope John Paul II becomes the 264th pope.

The First Half of the Baby Boomer Generation Turns 35 (1981 – 1998)

This time frame starts off with Iran releasing the 52 American hostages it had held for 444 days, just after the swearing in of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States. The first successful flight of a space shuttle happens (it’s the Columbia).

And the CDC reports that five homosexual men in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia only seen in people with weakened immune systems. This is the first documented report of HIV.

Everything from bombings by the Unabomber to scientists discovering the hole in the ozone dominates the middle of this period.

By the time this period ends, the Drudge Report breaks the news of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, and there’s the founding of Google.

Early Boomers Turn 65 (2011 – 2018)

This time frame starts off with Kim Jong Un succeeding to the leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Prince William and Catherine Middleton wed, and President Obama announces the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Unrest in the Middle East and Africa dominates the middle of this period.

By the time this period ends, seventeen high school students are killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida. Also, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed; Canada legalizes the recreational use of cannabis; and Saudi Arabia allows women to drive.

When I’m Writing Fiction About Early Boomers

So, here are my characters from the Early Baby Boomers cohort.

The Duck in the Seat Cushion is all over this cohort. There’s Sid Tanner, born in 1946, and main character MJ Tanner. She’s born in 1949. All of their classmates, and both of their spouses also belong to this group.

MJ and Sid’s stepbrother, Hal Brown, also has a birthdate during this time frame.

Takeaways for Writing Fiction About Early Boomers

While the 60s are a truly pivotal time for early baby boomers, they’ve done a lot since then. Their sheer size has made them the 900 pound gorilla in a lot of spaces.

So, when writing about Early Boomers, don’t stop with 1969 or with ok boomer cliches. The first half of the Baby Boom cohort is more than that.

Want more about writing fiction about current generations? Then be sure to check out my thoughts on multigenerational fiction writing and the other blog posts in this series:

• The Greatest Generation
† The Silent Generation
• Early Boomers
† Generation Jones
• Generation X
† Millennials AKA Generation Y
• Generation Z AKA Zoomers
† Generation Alpha

My parents are/were members of the Silent Generation, and they have inspired me when it comes to writing fiction about the Silent Generation.

The Silent Generation (1928 – 1945)

When writing fiction about the Silent Generation, the Second World War isn’t quite as dominant as it is for their forebears in the Greatest Generation. It’s more of its aftermath, and the lead up to the Vietnam War that color their lives.

In addition, they deal with the fallout from the Great Depression, and may have a scarcity mindset, even decades later.

Yes, I Have Written Fiction About the Silent Generation!

Or, rather, about one particular person. I originally wrote Mettle with 2020 in mind as its temporal setting.

While that exact year isn’t really feasible anymore, due to the pandemic (and due to the year having come and gone already), I will still use 2020 as the second year without a summer until I decide on something else.

Because Eleanor Braverman is in her seventies for that book, she fits perfectly into the real-life Silent Generation. I give her a birthdate in 1938.

And now, let’s look at some pivotal moments, to help inform us when writing fiction about the Silent Generation.

The Silent Generation Turns 18 (1946 – 1963)

When this time frame starts, the United Nations and the UN Security Council hold their first meetings. The ENIAC computer is unveiled. And Winston Churchill gives a speech about the Iron Curtain.

The Silent Generation Turns 25 (1953 – 1970)

This time frame starts off with over 70% of all TV sets tuned into I Love Lucy, to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky.

Also in 1953, Stalin dies, and Jonas Salk announces the development of his polio vaccine.  Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed. In addition, Christine Jorgensen comes back to New York after receiving successful sex reassignment surgery in Denmark.

The war in Vietnam dominates the middle of this period. However, many of the men in the Silent Generation are too old to take part (or at least be subject to the draft) once the United States enters the war in earnest.

In 1964, at the time of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, the oldest members of this generation were in their mid-thirties.

By the time this period ends, Apollo 13 barely makes it back to earth, there are shootings at Kent State, and Jimi Hendrix dies of an overdoes. The Beatles break up.

The Silent Generation Turns 35 (1963 – 1980)

This time frame starts off with Patsy Cline being killed in a plane crash and Tito being declared president for life in Yugoslavia. Martin Luther King, jr. issues his Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Mercury space program ends.

And of course the most significant event by far is the assassination of JFK.

JFK’s death and its aftermath, the Vietnam War, and pretty much everything we think of when we think of the 60s dominate the middle of this period.

By the time this period ends, the US Olympic hockey team wins the ‘Miracle on Ice’, Reagan becomes president, and John Lennon is murdered.

The Silent Generation Turns 65 (1993 – 2010)

This time frame starts off as Czechoslovakia is dissolved, the World Trade Center in New York is bombed for the first time, and the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas results in the deaths of over seventy people, including cult leader David Koresh.

The events surrounding 9/11 dominate the middle of this time frame.

By the time this period ends, Wikileaks releases confidential government information to the general public. The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform explodes, and there’s the launch of Instagram.

When I’m Writing Fiction About the Silent Generation

So, here are my characters from the Silent Generation.

Apart from Eleanor Braverman, there are Graceanne Davis Mason Brown Tanner, and Susan Tanner (Aunt Suzie). Plus, there are three additional Tanner siblings who don’t reach adulthood, all from The Duck in the Seat Cushion.

Takeaways for Writing Fiction About the Silent Generation

When writing fiction about the Silent Generation, keep in mind that they have seen a lot! They’ve gone from silent films to Instagram.

Want more about writing fiction about current generations? Then be sure to check out my thoughts on multigenerational fiction writing and the other blog posts in this series:

• The Greatest Generation
† The Silent Generation
• Early Boomers
† Generation Jones
• Generation X
† Millennials AKA Generation Y
• Generation Z AKA Zoomers
† Generation Alpha

I have one piece where I was writing fiction about the Greatest Generation. It’s a short story called Three Minutes Back in Time.

The Greatest Generation’s earlier years are dominated by the Great Depression and the Second World War. When writing fiction about the Greatest Generation, particularly when writing about them as younger people, you really can’t avoid WWII.

And for characters from the Midwest, you should be at least mentioning the Dust Bowl.

Fact and Fiction About The Greatest Generation or GI Generation (1901 – 1927)

Every generation consists of a range of years, and some ranges will have more going on in them than others. Of course! Therefore, this information is meant to cover some of the bigger changes and news stories from the time.

If you think I’ve missed something big, feel free to let me know in the comments.

These events are mainly going to be America-centric or at least from a US POV. There is a lot more to the world than the United States, but I didn’t want to write a novel-length blog post!

So, let’s look at some pivotal moments, to help inform us when writing fiction about the Greatest Generation.

The GI Generation Turns 18 (1919 – 1945)

Of course, the two biggest events during this time frame are the Great Depression and the Second World War. And given when the oldest people in this generation turn 18, WWII looms extremely large for this group. Particularly because these people just missed fighting in WWI.

But there were plenty of other events during this time frame. For example, in 1919, this time period starts off with a bang as Prohibition begins in the United States. Also in 1919, Congress passes the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

This time frame ends with two major events—the end of the Second World War and the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

His successor, Harry S. Truman, drops the atomic bomb on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only time nuclear weapons have been used in combat. So far.

The Greatest Generation Turns 25 (1926 – 1952)

As this time frame begins, Gertrude Ederle swims the English Channel. And a newfangled technology called television is first demonstrated.

Naturally, WWII and the Great Depression dominate the middle of this period.

And as this time period concludes, Queen Elizabeth II succeeds her father. In the following year she will be crowned Queen of England. Evita Peron dies.

The first hydrogen bomb is detonated, and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl is published in an English language translation.

The GI Generation Turns 35 (1936 – 1962)

As this time period starts, so do the Berlin Olympic games. This is also the year when King Edward VIII abdicates the British throne.

As before, the dominant event of the time is the Second World War.

This time frame concludes with the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK announces that the United States will go to the moon, and Marilyn Monroe dies.

The Greatest Generation Turns 65 (1966 – 1995)

When this time frame starts, Leonid Brezhnev becomes the leader of the Soviet Union, the Beatles play in Candlestick Park in San Francisco in their final live touring concert, and people celebrate the first Kwaanzaa.

The Vietnam War and its aftermath dominate this time period. Operation Desert Storm happens toward the end of this time frame.

By the time this period ends, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols have bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, and President Clinton announces the resumption of relations between the United States and Vietnam.

And former professional football player OJ Simpson is tried for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

When I’m Writing Fiction About the Greatest Generation

So, here are my characters from the Greatest Generation. Apart from Rosemary Parker and James Warren, a grandfather of Dr. Mei-Lin Quan from Mettle is born in 1926. Mei-Lin recalls him still referring to Taiwan as Formosa. The island’s name officially changed in 1949.

In addition, in The Duck in the Seat Cushion, main character MJ Tanner’s father, Walter Tanner, is born in 1924. Five of his nine siblings are born before him and they all perish before reaching maturity. Another two born after him also fit in the generation and die young.

Walt’s two other siblings are born too late for this generation. As one of just two of his parents’ ten children, and a survivor of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, Walt is a defeatist at times, but also down to earth and practical.

Takeaways for Writing Fiction About the Greatest Generation

When writing fiction about the Greatest Generation, the two world wars are like the elephants in the room. The second more than the first, but these people were teenagers during the Great War. So, don’t forget about it.

When writing them later in life, keep in mind that they need to adjust their way of thinking to the Computer Age at a rather late age, often in their forties or older.

Unlike for many later generations, computers and the internet are not second nature, and these folks may even resent those technological advances.

Want more about writing fiction about current generations? Then be sure to check out my thoughts on multigenerational fiction writing and the other blog posts in this series:

• The Greatest Generation
† The Silent Generation
• Early Boomers
† Generation Jones
• Generation X
† Millennials AKA Generation Y
• Generation Z AKA Zoomers
† Generation Alpha