Historical Fiction Pitch

Your Mission

You've developed a concept for a historical fiction trilogy that blends genres in a fresh, compelling way. Your work packet got you in the door. Now it's time to close the deal.

Convince the executives to invest $1,000,000 in YOUR trilogy.

🎯 The Assignment

Goal Persuade executives to fund your historical fiction trilogy Role An aspiring writer or creative professional in your chosen industry (film, publishing, or gaming) Audience Studio or publisher executives deciding what projects to buy Situation You've been invited to pitch after executives read your initial concept packet. They liked what they saw—now they need to hear more before committing. Product A 5-7 minute persuasive presentation with 10-15 slides (max 8 words per slide)

Solo or Pairs

You may work alone or with a partner of your choosing. If working in pairs:

Both partners must present (roughly equal speaking time)
Submit a brief contribution statement explaining who did what

Your Concept

You may continue developing the concept from your work packet, or you may pivot to a new idea. Either way, you must meet all the requirements for this pitch.

What Your Pitch Must Include

🎨 Character Image

A visual representation of your protagonist—hand-drawn or AI-generated.

If using AI, you must include the prompt you used to generate the image.

👤 Character Description

Who is this person? Their age, background, and situation. What makes them immediately interesting to audiences?

30-60 seconds

🔍 Character Analysis

Go deeper. Cover all of the following:

Motivation: What do they want? How does this evolve across the trilogy?
Strengths: What makes them capable of driving a story?
Flaws: What creates conflict and room for growth?
Key relationships: Who matters to them and why?
Trilogy trajectory: How do they change across three stories?

For top marks, connect these choices to your historical context and genre conventions. Don't just describe—explain WHY these traits matter for THIS story.

90-120 seconds

🎭 Genre Blend Slide

What two genres are you blending? Why do they work together? What does this combination offer that neither genre alone could provide?

30-45 seconds

📜 Historical Context Slide

What time period and location? Why is this setting essential to your story—not just a backdrop?

Required: Reference at least one specific historical event and cite your research sources.

30-45 seconds

🌍 Setting Description

Bring the world to life:

What is this time and place like to live in?
What are the key locations where your story unfolds?
What specific historical details make this world feel authentic?

45-60 seconds

💰 Why This Will Succeed

Make your case:

What's fresh or compelling about your concept?
What comparable products have succeeded—and why does your project share their appeal?
End with a strong, memorable closing

For top marks, analyze why your comparisons work—don't just name similar products.

60-90 seconds

Slide Requirements

10-15

Total slides

8

Maximum words per slide

Your slides should enhance your spoken pitch—not replace it. Let visuals do what visuals do best. Your words do the persuading.

⚠️ Research Requirement

Any historical information you include must be cited. When you reference a historical event, person, or detail, you must be able to identify your source.

How You'll Be Assessed

A

Analysing

Assessed by your teacher

Your character analysis connects traits to genre conventions and historical context. Your "why this will succeed" section shows genuine understanding of what makes comparable products work.

This is also assessed through a post-presentation reflection.

C

Producing Text

Assessed by audience scores

All audience members—teachers and students—will score your pitch on three questions:

Structure: Was the pitch well-organized and easy to follow?
Development: Was the concept fully developed? (Character, setting, story)
Persuasion: Did the presenters convince you this deserves investment?

Teacher scores count 3× student scores.

D

Using Language

Assessed by your teacher

Your presentation delivery—confidence, clarity, professionalism, and audience engagement. For pairs, both partners should contribute effectively.

🏆 The Stakes

The pitch with the highest combined score wins milk tea.

Convince the executives. Win the investment. Claim your prize.

Before You Present

✅ Final Checklist

Character image included (if AI-generated, prompt is noted)

Character description is vivid—we can picture this person

Character analysis covers: motivation, strengths, flaws, relationships, trilogy arc

Character traits connect to historical context and/or genre conventions

Genre blend slide explains what genres and why they work together

Historical context slide explains when/where and why it matters

At least one specific historical event is referenced

Research sources are cited

Setting description includes specific, authentic historical details

"Why this will succeed" analyzes comparable products (not just names them)

Closing is strong and memorable

Slides follow rules: 10-15 slides, max 8 words per slide

Pitch runs 5-7 minutes

Both partners speak (if working in pairs)

Contribution statement ready to submit (pairs only)

Timeline

200 min

Class time to develop your pitch, create slides, and rehearse

12 min

Per presentation (including transitions and feedback)

Tips for Parents

💚 How to Support Your Student

🎯

Be the audience. Ask your student to practice their pitch for you. Give honest feedback: Could you follow the story? Did you understand the character? Were you convinced?

❓

Ask guiding questions. "Why did you choose that historical period?" "What makes your character different from others like them?" "Why would someone want to read/watch/play this?"

🔍

Help with research access. If your student needs historical information, help them find reputable sources—library databases, documentaries, museum websites.

⏱️

Time the rehearsal. The pitch should be 5-7 minutes. Too short suggests underdevelopment; too long suggests they need to edit.

🎨

Support visual creation. If your student is drawing their character, encourage their effort. If using AI image generation, ensure they save the prompt they used.

What to Avoid

Don't write or heavily edit the pitch content—this is their voice
Don't create slides for them
Don't provide "the answer" when they're stuck—ask questions instead
Don't stress perfection over authentic effort

The goal: Students should feel ownership of their pitch. Your role is to be a supportive audience and sounding board—not a co-creator.