I actually got this idea from another conversation I was having. So, I was wondering if you prefer to write in the real world, or to make up your own place (fantasy or otherwise).

There are benefits to both of course, but I prefer making up my own worlds. I don't have to worry about being accurate with places or time periods I've never encountered. Even if it's just a slightly different parallel world where most of the things are the same. So long as I can still say sometimes "It's because this isn't our world. That's why this happened." Unless it's a really complicated world I'm making up, it would be easier for me than trying to set my story in New York or something.

What do others prefer?

I prefer a made up world for the exact reason why you listed.

I hate trying to be accurately correct in terms of history or places (there's just too many factors to look for to be historically correct and looking at google maps for places to make sure I'm naming the places right is not the same as having been there).

On the other hand, world building takes forever because you have to consider all those factors like language, religion, currency all of which is simple common knowledge in the 'real' world. Sure if you could just be like "I'm gonna name the currency this" and just be done or if you're lucky currency won't even come up in your story, language could be assumed to be whatever language you're writing in, etc, etc.

Yeah I still preferred a made up world even though sometimes worldbuilding just takes forever and I just want to start writing but can't until I make up my mind about rules and laws and stuff governing the place. It also probably has to do with the fact that I like whole high fantasy genre too.

I suppose it would be easy just to use your hometown as a setting, but I feel kinda...weird doing that. I don't know, it's like it becomes somewhat autobiographical and too close to write about. A writer should have some distance from their story unless they're writing a memoir.

Normally I would use a similar world over and over again with slight changes. I do it a lot in rping because I can throw it out quickly. Basically the same mostly wooded, human and fanstasy populated, non-urban world.

But as I try to create more complex places yeah, I run into those problems. I'm having oodles of trouble with my new novel even though it's set in the real world and near present time, because it's so governed by it's own rules. There's all the effort that has to go into making sure everything adds up and doesn't contradict itself.

Yeah writing about your hometown is just too weird. I tried that once, it felt... like an awkward Mary Sue story?

I know right? I'm a little scare to do things I don't have knowledge on (like how fast does a language evolve into two separate languages because at some point in history they were one country but present day they were too) but I find these days it's easier to handwave away and say it's different.

I also find this is why I prefer a magic element everything? Because it's a lot easier to do/say the Wizard did it instead of trying to explain scientifically this why the character can control electricity because his cells have been modified to increase the bioenergy that's stored in your body, amplifying it outwards to create a charge. He requires two hands because that closes the loops, allowing the electricity to pass through your body (which because it's made up of 70% water will kill you) assuming his body can generate over 10 milli amperes and can directly target your heart.

But that also might be laziness when I think about it. Already researching history, languages, social impacts. Trying to figure out the science element kinda just goes out the wind.

It turned Mary Sue? Really? I would think that hometown stories would just turn into secret bitch-rants about people you know.

yeah. I think that's a saying fantasy writers in particular like to fall on. Of course, it might be really good not to take the easy way out and actually try to figure out those things, but yeah.

You say you prefer fantasy, but that little sci-fi example was kinda awesome! I think when you do have reasons, even fantasy based ones, it makes things more real to the readers. too much 'because I said so' requires a lot of suspension of disbelief and that would pull the reader out of the story. Being specific is important.

xD Well yeah. Mary Sue that's superior to others and/or why this is the great place to live. Basically this world is wrong. NEED TO CHANGE.

I would love to write a sci-fi one day * u * But see~ I only know about electricity (somewhat) and a little bit about computers. But other physics kinda go over my head D: Like I have one story where these pet creatures are machines with supernatural powers and I wrote the details on one creature and then went and changed it to Ghosts + Machine fusion. I might change it back though.

I agree. Too much because I said so breaks the suspension of disbelief. D:

sooo....like a travel brochure? I think that only works if you like your hometown. Mine would be 'why not to live here'.

sounds unique. machine ghosts. I don't think I've heard that before. But I think it's fine even if you only know about electricity. You use what you know, so you just need to create a world where electricity is really important.

I've always appreciated Christine Feehan's Carpathian series. Even though it's smutty romance novels, the fantasy elements of it are rendered surprisingly well. She manages to make the fantasy perfectly merge with the real world, so you almost believe there could really be this magical race living in the wilderness of the Carpathian Mountains.

Pretty much. Ah well I really like my hometown. Moving away is actually something I don't really want to do haha. I mean there are stuff it could be improved on but I like it here. xD

Hehe thank you. That is true. Could make it where an entire race has electricity powers * u * That would be kinda cool. (Offtopic but you wouldn't happen to know any plants that can grow without sun? I have a world where it rains 24/7 and I'm trying to figure out what they actually eat aside from fish.)

*nods*

you're lucky then. I purposely went to school not even in the same state I was born in.

storm people. they are made from clouds. lol, you can ignore me. Um, plants? I know there are quite a few that don't need much light. Google is your best friend though. Try for cave plants or something. or...ocean plants? I've actually had similar questions with worlds I've created. I've got my two parallel worlds/one world torn into two. One is always night and the other always day. neither is ideal for plants.

It's been a while since I wrote any fiction, but thinking about it... I suppose my style has always been magical realism, or a mix of both. My stories are usually set in our world but then something sort of fantastical happens. That, or the setting is so vague and unmentioned that it could be just about anywhere. I love me some vagueness when I'm writing.

*pats*

That's a pretty good idea actually. They could have a cloud city and the different races of people would be based on the different types of clouds.

Haha yeah I started looking into them and then got lost in the fungi section. xD But yeah. I know what you mean.

World building definitely. <33
I love world building so much I start from creating the world from the universe down to the little tiny bacteria in the world.

Other than the reasons you listed, I just always fall in love with made up worlds, felt that they are indeed FAR away from the real life. More enjoyable. Besides, I personally like to design things, every kind of thing.

so you don't set the writing somewhere specific and real, Cherry? Just kind of like "average high school in a small town". this could be your small town, but I'm not gonna tell you!

Seito: fungi is edible....sometimes.

Xuv: wow, sounds very time intensive. I bet your worlds are really fleshed out though.

World building is really hard, haha. I am far more comfortable working in a world that's already been built for me. xD

Kat - Well, sort of. Usually I do short stories, and they're so short that the setting doesn't really matter. One took place on a bus, but it wasn't relevant to the story to know what city the bus was in or what type of city it was. Another had a short bit that took place in a mall, but it wasn't relevant to know what sort of mall it was or where it was. Another was just in a house. Usually the focus is more on the characters and what's happening that where it is doesn't matter.

And I had one other that... well, it didn't really take place in this world, but the characters were from this world. It was sort of a surreal afterlife type thing that someone woke up into and they were trying to figure out where they were.

Vox: do you set your story in specific cities then?

Cherry: I understand. So your solution is to write the sort of story with a very narrow setting. I did something similar with a train station and I got a lot of critiques of people wanting to know if it was in London, or fantasy land, or what. I didn't think it mattered. But that also begs the question, do you make up the mall or house completely, or is that based off a real place you've been too?

The setting usually isn't mentioned enough for it to even have enough details to make it be based off anything. In my mind I might picture it like a place I'm familiar with, but the description doesn't really lend any details like that. Like, the living room, for example. It was mentioned that there was a couch because I said people were sitting on the couch. It was mentioned that there was a bookcase because someone was on top of it. But it's not like I took a paragraph to describe what the living room looked like, that would have been silly and irrelevant.

your writing sounds like it must be very sparse on description. Mine is with flash fiction and a few short stories, but that's about it. I've learned the setting is always there in the story even if it's barely written in. Because you really can't set your story nowhere...or everywhere for that matter.

Originally Posted by Kat Dakuu

so you don't set the writing somewhere specific and real, Cherry? Just kind of like "average high school in a small town". this could be your small town, but I'm not gonna tell you!

Seito: fungi is edible....sometimes.

Xuv: wow, sounds very time intensive. I bet your worlds are really fleshed out though.

I know right? * u * I thought about making them glow cause yeah.

Actually I'm not sure if this world have electricity for that matter and fire would be next to impossible to keep if it's raining all the time.

I prefer to make up my own places so I don't have to spend hours researching towns and cities that I'm not familiar with. My worlds are often very similar to the real world as I don't tend to write high fantasy stories, however they're all completely fictional.

Yep, I had think of many aspects of world building. I followed a guide blog, creating a world in 30 days. Aspect like astronomy, religion, history, philosphy, sociology, economy... and so on. I love the process of growing a world. OR, base on a certain element I like, determine what can cause it. It goes both way.
love it so much I made maps for them~ <33 I am not writing essay, lol, but just keywords and bare necessities that I think the main storyline would need. While doing the story on the way, keep adding more to the world building if needed.

I am fine with story not being pin point to a specific real world place, but I do appreciate some more descriptive sentence about the place. Not just, the bus stop. or the train station. It would help if can describe the atmosphere...

I love to create my own world. It is so much fun creating the different species and creatures as well as thinking up unique names of places.
I don't think I have ever used a real setting, even if it is similar to this world, mine always has some type of twist to it that would be out of place.
Sometimes there is no specific location for it, just a generalization, like a forest somewhere or a prison, but it still has that odd element in it that sets it aside from this reality.

Seito: try vocanos. they'll create fire in rain.

Xuv: That sounds awesome! Could you maybe share the link to that blog? I think it could be very useful for other people and I want to see it.
sure sure. the bus stop/whatever should have some description to it, but it's not necessary to say as much when you use a stock image type place that most everyone has their own image of. So long as you make it unique enough to be a grimy, windy, rainy, bus stop with few people.

Dragoness: That's like me. It works pretty well huh?

30 Days of WorldBuilding > the world building.
I don't remember whether I READ it all, but I surely copy a lot of their aspects.

Originally Posted by Kat Dakuu

Seito: try vocanos. they'll create fire in rain.

Xuv: That sounds awesome! Could you maybe share the link to that blog? I think it could be very useful for other people and I want to see it.
sure sure. the bus stop/whatever should have some description to it, but it's not necessary to say as much when you use a stock image type place that most everyone has their own image of. So long as you make it unique enough to be a grimy, windy, rainy, bus stop with few people.

Dragoness: That's like me. It works pretty well huh?

ooo that's a good idea :O I know all about volcanoes~ Oh oh! I bet one of the Dragon King lives in there. Oooo then that's why it always rain because the other Dragon King will create rain and it's a never ending battle * u *

Originally Posted by xuvrette

30 Days of WorldBuilding > the world building.
I don't remember whether I READ it all, but I surely copy a lot of their aspects.

*gasp* This is epic xuxux. I love this * u * Thank you for sharing. *bookmarks for later*