Writing Saturday; Creating Nonexistent Places
9:20 AMWhen I started writing, I really wanted to set my books in the middle ages, but I didn’t want to be tied to a particular country's history. I wanted the freedom to write stories without doing a lot of research about what was going on in a country and fitting my story around that. So, I came up with a fictional country that I have placed a lot of my stories in.
Some of the pros of setting books in nonexistent places
1. You don’t have to do a lot of research on a specific country
2. You can put whatever kind of terrain you need for your story in your book (mountains, deserts, lakes etc.)
3. You can have fun creating a unique culture.
The Cons of setting you book in a nonexistent place;
1. You have to come up with everything out of your imagination
Do you have any thoughts on the subject?
2 comments
I've written short stories set in various places, some real and some fictional. But my book is set in California and Tennessee. The main town where the characters live is fictional, but it's set in real states and a real country. I'm currently editing it, so I'll be doing more research on the locations. I've spent a lot of time in both states before, though, so at least I know what the places are like! ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Makes sense too!
ReplyDeleteThis post has helped me very much ;) So thanks Sarah!
R.J.