Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
Fantasy
>
WIP - please need advice on fantasy genre
date
newest »
newest »
I'm afraid that for me, that clash between historical setting and modern attitudes would jar and just drop me straight out of the book. I may not be alone in this. One constant comment I've seen made by critics of BBC historical dramas is where they try and impose modern mores and social norms onto people who lived in a very different society
I really didn't know where to post this, but I just would like some advice both from avid fantasy readers and fantasy authors.
I primarily write in YA dystopian/Sci-Fi, but have started a book (about 25,000 words) that is a YA/NA romance fantasy. I'm new to the genre in terms of both reading and writing it, but I've been trying to pick up some novels to get a feel for it.
Anyways, my novel is historically set in Europe in the 1600s. I have done some research about the era, clothing, lingo etc, picked up a Julie Garwood novel (The Prize) and even an "Author's writing guide..." similar to the time period. However, I just don't want to make my novel so focused on the history.
There are supernatural elements, a fictional map of the novel's world, the lingo/dialogue is modern, clothing is semi-modern, and no major historical events are mentioned (like ongoing wars or division of royalty etc) but my setting is medieval in terms of kingdoms, kings/nobles/common folk, no modern technology, no electricity, accurate housing, etc.
As a reader and/or more experienced author in this subject, how would you go about this? Or more so, do readers get turned off by modern themes, dialogue, plot, in some alternate universe of historical Europe in the 1600s? Does it take away from the novel picking and choosing what I want to be historically accurate?
I've been stuck on this notion for a while--partly because I've been writing in modern language, dialogue, how characters conduct their lives, clothing, etc. and don't know if I should rewrite everything before I continue. I don't want to brand my book as historical fantasy, but do want medieval elements to it. I feel as if it should hold some truth to the time period.
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. I'd be happy to also show you some of my work if you're interested so that you could understand what I'm talking about more.