# The Setting



## Digitalpotato (Mar 3, 2008)

What is your favourite kinds of settings for a story? Historical, Historical Fiction, Fantasy (Ye Olde British Isles or not.)

[oh and time to pull a Paolini and stop the action for some description - "Ye Olde British Isles" isn't referring to the British Isles now, it's referring to a common setting in Fantasy novels, movies, and RPGs of medieval Europe, and commonly it's got some influence from the UK and Ireland, although sometimes I notice France may be used]


or perhaps Sci-Fi or the subgenres such as Steampunk and Cyberpunk. Or other stuff such as Urban Fantasy and Splatterpunk.

Personally, I myself am a sucker for Urban Fantasy. 


Now for cliched settings...I generally dislike seeing generic fantasy worlds in ye olde british isles or how a 40-year-old learned about High School from Bratz and High School Musical. Settings where the story takes place in places inspired by AFrica...I like those. It's a little less done and I think it stands out a little more. It seems more to me like the author takes the time to come up with a setting we don't see often and how to allow it to work in the story. Or if they work a simple "What if". Where Doug is from, for an example, economically the equivalent of Japan and Germany is a country inspired by Eastern African countries like Uganda and Kenya. 

But that's not to say that a good ol Steampunk story set in Victorian England can't be bad - stuff like steampunk won't work if dudes are talking about bringing a steam ball to one country and then walking out into a jungle with savage tribes that still use spears and are fascinated by stuff like the flushing of a toilet. I don't think it can break a story, but I think a good setting can help give the reader an image - I found some sci-fi stories a little harder to imagine, and Steampunk... I think part of it is the artstyle that makes it seem interesting.


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## Anubis16 (Mar 3, 2008)

I agree, I am not a fan of the generic fantasy setting.  I like settings that have a slight twist on an existing era, but nothing too extreme.  The only example I can think of is Fullmetal Alchemist (no, I'm not a crazy anime person).  Its set in a WW1 european-esque world.  There is magic called alchemy, which is explained through science.  The setting isn't groundbreaking, but in some ways I prefer it that way.  Sometimes I run across a series where it seems the only point to it IS the setting (can't think of any examples).  It's like they said, "Hey guys, take a look at this awesome world.  ...Oh yeah, there's a story too..."  I feel that settings that are too overpowering can easily detract from the story itself (but not always).


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## M. LeRenard (Mar 4, 2008)

Yeah... generic medieval Anglo-Saxon Europe has gotten a little old.  Just more of the same Tolkien copying; you've always got your kings and castles, your mysterious magicians, and your mysterious far-eastern lands with the dangerous folk with funny customs who you never truly get to meet.  Unfortunately, that's what a lot of people want in fantasy, so I chose that sort of thing as the setting for my own book (minus the mysterious eastern culture).  To spice it up, though, I added ruins of ugly industrial complexes and laboratories.
But since I love learning about everything possible, I chose a main character who travels long distances, and so will eventually encounter a large number of different cultures.  So I'll probably eventually have places based on the Middle East, Africa, the American Indian tribes, the Maya, Aztec, and other ruined American civilizations, the far east (like China, Japan, Korea, etc.), and whatever else I might feel like learning about and toying around with.  Variety is good, I think.  The one constant in all my major works is the idea of ugly abandoned industrial places.  I don't really know why.  I just love hanging around places like that.
But to answer the question, I don't really have a 'favorite' setting, persay.  It can take place on a single spaceship (2001), or it can take place across 10 different countries on planet Earth (the Journeyer); if it's interesting and well-written, I'll probably love it.


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## Kindar (Mar 5, 2008)

I can't say that I have a favorite setting when I'm writing. I focus on characters so they, and the story itself will dictate where it will take place. a lot of the time I discover the world my characters live in pretty much at the same time they do


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## Poetigress (Mar 5, 2008)

I don't really have a favorite setting either -- I don't mind the generic medieval stuff, personally, and as a reader I guess I'm not really looking for as much originality/uniqueness to the setting as I am in the characters or story concept.  I like an interesting setting, something that feels real, but overall it's just not that high on my list of priorities when choosing reading material.  As far as writing, the setting usually ends up being something that gets dictated (or at least heavily influenced) by the character and the story, so it's not something I really start with when I'm developing an idea.


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## Xipoid (Mar 5, 2008)

I don't know if you would call it a favorite setting, but I generally stray towards certain types of Fantasy/Sci-fi things. The story is what is really important as the setting will become ancillary or simply "background noise" in the right instances (to me).


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## lobosabio (Mar 5, 2008)

I really don't have a favorite setting.  I just write and the setting tends to just happen.


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## Keaalu (Mar 6, 2008)

lobosabio said:
			
		

> I just write and the setting tends to just happen.


Agreed. And I can usually guarantee that even if I started out with something planned, it won't STAY in that setting for long. :|


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## DerDoberman (Mar 6, 2008)

I prefer to write in a mostly present setting, although when reading I'm into just about anything. I never really got into Sci-fi, idk why.


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## TakeWalker (Mar 6, 2008)

Thinking this over a bit, I think that I am, at the very least, most comfortable in 'alternate Earth' settings. You can play sci-fi or fantasy, or just plain old 'what-if'. When I start moving outside that comfort zone, even into Earth-real settings, I start doing research.


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## Vore Writer (Mar 7, 2008)

I wouldn't really consider it a favorite, but the setting I use the most is more based on modern times. Nothing fancy.


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