So, like the 'rest' of the young writers in the world, I started some fantasy (you know how young you can come up with the basic elements of some of this? I don't even remember anymore). Anyhow, now that I'm old(er), my stories have developed some more- and I'm realizing that my 'fantasy' story has no magic, no bizarre creatures (just crazy humans and other familiar inhabitants of earth), no animorphism, or even super-developed esoteric language. All that really makes this fantasy, it seems, would be the history and geography I invented, besides the names (which aren't fantastically strange ones, but aren't based off of any names in our world either). The history (and to a lesser extent, the geography) do play some part in the story, insofar as the characters shape and are shaped by it- but should I just look for a period and place where I'd have the right events happening, and just set my story somewhere in our own world and history? (There's also a certain flexibility in my story in regards to technology and other development). No, I don't expect research to work that simply- but would it make more sense given the type of story I have? Or would readers be satisfied with it as fantasy in its current situation? Would there be significant differences in the story's audience? Thanks!
It is sounding a bit more sci-fi to me rather than fantasy the line between the two can be vague. To me, it sounds a bit like alternate history (a subgenre of sci-fi, or sometimes historical fiction). I think you should just keep working at and see what happens. If though you really felt it is going nowhere, in particular, you could just add in fantastical or sci-fi elements to make it clear genre. But after all, genre is just a guideline at the end of the day right what you want and maybe if you keep writing it might go in a particular direction.