we are such stuff as dreams are made of
Jun. 24th, 2012 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
communi_kate Why is world-building so *&^£&%£* HARD?
Over the last six months I've researched (among other topics) ancient Persia, daily life in ancient Persia, daily life in the medieval Arab world, slam and science fiction, the Greco-Persian wars, the trade routes of the Venetian Empire, the atlas of true names, the Grand Tour, Hashashin, trans-Saharan trade, alchemy, the School of Night, the Book of Learning By Example, Persian masculine names, demiurges, the emerald tablet, greek sea gods, Melek Taus, medieval demographics, the Sassanid Empire, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism, transport links and times in Middle-Earth, Renaissance astrological magic, Renaissance hermetic magic, the Book of Roger, the Ummayyad conquest of Hispania, Shakespeare, calligraphy, the dead city of Serjilla, the military history of Iran, the sunnah of wearing kohl, writing fight scenes, and troubadours.
I still haven't come up with a workable society, system of magic, or plot. THIS. THIS is why I write fan fiction. BECAUSE EVERYBODY knows what the setting is already.
I JUST WANT TO WRITE ABOUT STEAMPUNK PHOENIXES WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THAT???
Over the last six months I've researched (among other topics) ancient Persia, daily life in ancient Persia, daily life in the medieval Arab world, slam and science fiction, the Greco-Persian wars, the trade routes of the Venetian Empire, the atlas of true names, the Grand Tour, Hashashin, trans-Saharan trade, alchemy, the School of Night, the Book of Learning By Example, Persian masculine names, demiurges, the emerald tablet, greek sea gods, Melek Taus, medieval demographics, the Sassanid Empire, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism, transport links and times in Middle-Earth, Renaissance astrological magic, Renaissance hermetic magic, the Book of Roger, the Ummayyad conquest of Hispania, Shakespeare, calligraphy, the dead city of Serjilla, the military history of Iran, the sunnah of wearing kohl, writing fight scenes, and troubadours.
I still haven't come up with a workable society, system of magic, or plot. THIS. THIS is why I write fan fiction. BECAUSE EVERYBODY knows what the setting is already.
I JUST WANT TO WRITE ABOUT STEAMPUNK PHOENIXES WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH THAT???
no subject
Date: 2012-06-25 06:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-25 07:03 pm (UTC)I'm a writer, Jim, dammit, not an anthropologist/architect/folklorist/town planner/medievalist/politician/ruler of a small country!
no subject
Date: 2012-06-25 08:11 pm (UTC)That is totally what you should do! You should get your inner crazy egotist out and just start writing How You Think It Should Be, and then clean it up in editing. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-06-25 08:42 pm (UTC)Ah, hell, I'm just going to write one of those generic european medieval fantasies where everyone eats strew and rides around on horses a lot. Magic swords and wizards who shoot fireballs from their hands may be involved.
I should just goddamn write.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-25 09:27 pm (UTC)