Building Societies, Taking Names

Did you tune into Twitter last Wednesday to see my discussion with SF/F Writer Chat?  I'm sure there's a transcript of it somewhere around the internet and I'll get it to you as soon as I can, but I'd genuinely like to know if you were around to see it.

If you choose to answer Sam Sykes with the affirmative, turn to page 8.

If you choose to answer Sam Sykes with the negative, turn to page 43.

Page 8:

A topic came up with our discussion on real life historical cultures and how they factor into fantasy writing.  Specifically, the question was how much research goes into creating a fictional society?

My personal answer?  Very little.

Keep in mind that I can only answer personally, as I've no idea how other writers do it, but that's about the size of it for myself.  I don't like having real world analogues with which to compare to.  It feels less fantastical to me if someone can go "oh, so they're basically just like Muslims/ancient China/gold rush diseased miners."  That's not to say I don't borrow from existing or historical cultures and use them as a jumping-off point.  Far from it; history books are some of the greatest troves of material for using as inspiration.  And no one from that historical society can complain about it…because they're dead.

It can't be overstated how much reader reaction is out of the writer's control, though.  No matter what you write, people will see what they see.  But you can certainly make it harder for them to justify their conclusions.

The kind of research that goes into the cultures I write, though, comes less from architecture, rules of decorum, etiquette and more from national character.  I think less about what the society does and more about why they do it.  My general opinion of putting things into fantasy is that you can put as many assblasting dragons and sexy plants and religious fanatics as you want, but you have to have a reason, biological or cultural, as to why they do that.  That reason doesn't always have to come up.  That reason could never come up.  But you, as the author, have to know why they do that.  And writing from that position of knowledge means the character of that society is so much more defined, because you're writing with confidence.

I occasionally get asked about the shicts and they're as good an example as any.  What are they?  Native American?  Elves with copies of Mein Kampf?

Shicts, for the most part, are defined by their paranoia.  They don't so much hate humans as fear them terribly (for reasons that you can read more about in Black Halo–oh so much shicty goodness in those pages), and their actions are driven by this fear.  Their society is built around protection from the disease, their methods of warfare revolve around a genuine belief that they cannot coexist with humanity.

Of course, this doesn't really come up in Tome of the Undergates as our only glimpse into shictish life is Kataria.  And, based on our experiences with Kataria, we have a hard time understanding shicts as anything but murderous racists.  Kataria certainly seems to think it works that way, thus begging the question if she really understands her own society.

Pow. Characterization.  Look at that.  My God.

But it can't be overstated that this style works for me and me alone…and maybe someone else.  The fact is, you certainly can get away with borrowing more heavily from a historical culture and you can tell an amazingly excellent story out of it, as Jim Butcher and George R.R. Martin's success can attest.  It's all about finding your own thing and what works for you.

And just like that, I've rendered all the above advice completely useless.  It's a burnt earth policy, baby.  I'm Moscow and you're Napoleon and you ain't gettin' none of my fine goods.

But let's hear from you, as readers and writers alike, what do you look for in a fantastic culture?  Are you more comfortable with cultures that are more familiar or do you prefer something totally out there?  How much research goes into writing your worlds?  What do you do with them?

Tell me.  Tell me everything.

Page 43

You are eaten by a grue.