Castles and fiction; some might argue that there’s no connection, but I would beg to differ. Castles, in particular castles of old, have four basic elements that make them unique and, for most of us, a bit magical. First, they were all built as fortifications or strongholds meant to house a king or a queen and to protect them from the predatory forces of the day.

Second, castles were meant to awe, in size, in structure, and standing, as all did, high on a hill or mountain overlooking all who gazed up at it in, well, in awe.

Third, no castle ever stood in isolation. A castle was always part of a community. Actually, two communities: the one within the castle and the other surrounding it. Or, in other words, the real world that made the castle just a little less unworldly.

And lastly, every castle is unique in its architectural design, because every castle was designed to fit the mood of its master, and who knew what the mood of the master might be from one moment to the next.

Fiction is built upon four similarly basic elements: plot, setting, theme, and characters. English 101. Sometimes you can get away without one of these, but most often the reader isn’t fooled.

Plot is the fortification of the novel; without that, the novel crumbles, just as a castle without walls will. Setting gives a good book a certain awe factor, that sense of place that is so indispensable. Theme brings the book closer to the real world, just as the surroundings outside a castle do for the people hiding out inside. And a book’s characters are what make every piece of fiction unique and provide the mood that drives the other three elements.