In my short story The River Lords, I’ve undertaken to give it an admittedly pan-Asian feel. I’m sure my approach would horrify those who know well various ethnographic and geographic details of countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and so forth, but the asianesque setting was in my head as I began conceptualizing, and then writing, the story. I’ve attempted to provide a Thai weight to the Asian feel by researching Thai names, words and Buddhism, taking
what I like, what I think is appropriate for the telling, and what sounds right (to me, at least). However, and here’s the key, since this is fantasy fiction that I’m writing, I feel like I can borrow and still evoke a cultural feel to my setting and characters without worrying too much about getting the particulars to match with real world cultures.
Me, I’m in West Virginia in the U.S. so I borrow where I can. What techniques do you use when you want to give your story an ancient vibe that doesn’t exist in your everyday world? Where do you go for information to give your story a certain cultural flavor?
Hi Jonathan. When I write I need to already have a connection with that world, be it through movies or stories I have watched and read growing up or places and times I have been interested in and studied. I think otherwise the story wouldn’t come to me. That being said, I do a significant amount of research to make certain i get the details correct. But the flavour? Somehow, I just have it or I don’t.
That’s a great point. If there is no connection, there is no story. When everything’s working, I like how the mind draws from everything that’s packed in there and allows me to actually see the world.
I did a lot of research into early Christianity when I started working on my current WIP. I read a lot of early Christian documents to help with Lucian’s speech patterns, I wanted him to sound old world without being stilted.
I’ve also spent time researching demonology from the early Christian viewpoint including exorcism rituals. None of the facts overwhelm the novel, but they do give certain realism to the action scenes.
I think one of the hardest things to do is to pare back what I’ve learned and not interject all the fascinating facts into the novel. I could read three books before I get a piece of information that will only be one sentence! 😉
Yet it all goes into developing the atmosphere you’re talking about Jonathan. Personally, research is one of my favorite parts of writing.
Nice topic!
I’m with you Teresa — research is one of the best parts. For me it represents the possibilities. The downside is that there are always a million directions I can go and can wind up haring after some interesting, but not so relevant stuff. The upside is that there are infinite story ideas out there waiting to be unearthed.