Writing Fiction About the Silent Generation

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.

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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