Tags:
  1. ashtonelias

    ashtonelias New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2018
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0

    My story is set in the 1980s... but should it be?

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by ashtonelias, Apr 26, 2018.

    Hi all,

    I have a story I’ve been working on plotting out for several months now. I’ve only actually written one page of it (after the story idea came to me on a drive, I went home and sat down at an old manual typewriter I’d recently bought and fixed/refurbished and wrote a page just to crystallize it as something I was going to pursue). Since then, I’ve been working on plotting it out and creating my cast of characters.

    I don’t know why I decided to set it in the 1980s, exactly. Maybe part of it is that it felt “wrong” to write a story involving smartphones and modern tech on a 100-year-old typewriter. But then again, I kind of like the idea of not having to deal with texting and apps and GPS; I’m writing a mystery novel, and part of me feels like there’s more mystery to a world where we were less connected and where the world just feels larger because you have to go to libraries to find information rather than Google – where mysteries can’t easily be solved through hacking or following social media trails.

    On the other hand, I don’t really have a strong justification for why the story has to be in the 1980s. The story would work set in modern day. I have, while plotting, added in some references and tied in some historic events in the city where the story is based, but the story doesn’t *require* these historic events; they could easily be worked around if they weren’t there.

    I guess my question is, without the story being specific to the time (such as Stranger Things or The Americans, which clearly need to be in the 80s to work), should I continue with plotting and writing a story set in the 1980s?

    Will editors and publishers frown on that? Would it be better if I switched the setting to present day?

    Note: If this is successfully published, I do intend to continue from here with as a series, if that has any bearing on this.

    Thanks for your input!
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2018
  2. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2012
    Messages:
    8,102
    Likes Received:
    4,605
    Everything should be set in the 80s
     
  3. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,138
    Likes Received:
    19,762
    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Yeah, great point. I say go with it. I was just talking about this with my wife the other day, about how there used to be a time when people needed to possess knowledge, and those who did had a leg up over others. Now everyone has an answer for everything at their fingertips. As a relatively intelligent person, this irritates me to no end.
     
  4. Sundowner

    Sundowner Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2015
    Messages:
    104
    Likes Received:
    85
    Location:
    World Marshal Inc.
    I totally get what you mean, but, you know the internet didn't become a huge thing until, like, what, 2005 at the least? Even up to the year 2000 the internet was still just kind of a thing everyone knew of but didn't pay much attention to, people weren't yet streaming their very consciousness over it every waking moment. If you wrote your story in like 2007 you'd still have plenty of room to write a plot that didn't mention the internet if the characters were a little behind the times. 2007 is where I'd cut it off, that's when the influx really got going.

    An alternative is to just, not even mention the year, if you want. There are a lot of stories that are totally self-contained, taking place in our modern world, but making no mention of the year, real events, or even what country they're in. The whole world is just "some town in the middle of... somewhere." I actually really appreciate that kind of world design, I like to read to get away from the world, not go back into it.
     
    Oscar Leigh, John-Wayne and jannert like this.
  5. flawed personality

    flawed personality Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2018
    Messages:
    6,235
    Likes Received:
    13,886
    Being somewhat of a troglodyte myself, a story set in the 80s wouldn't bother me either. If you wanna set it in the 1880s, even better! ;)
     
    Oscar Leigh and jannert like this.
  6. graveleye

    graveleye Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2017
    Messages:
    259
    Likes Received:
    397
    Location:
    Georgia
    Mine is set in the late 80s too. I know exactly why too, it's because that was in my 20s and had a lot of adventures and experiences to draw from that time.
    I'm also wondering if the time period will be a drag to publishers, but I guess we'll find out soon enough because I'm not changing it.

    One of my scenes, my MC is talking to someone who is on a "car-phone", as we used to call them, and he is lamenting the poor reception and wondering why anyone in the world would want one.
     
  7. flawed personality

    flawed personality Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2018
    Messages:
    6,235
    Likes Received:
    13,886
    That's me these days, complaining about technology! I'm supposed to be young (in my 30s), but I feel much older.
     
    Oscar Leigh and jannert like this.
  8. Shenanigator

    Shenanigator Has the Vocabulary of a Well-Educated Sailor. Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2017
    Messages:
    4,886
    Likes Received:
    8,763
    It's especially irritating to those of us who used to be well-paid for possessing specialized knowledge. I take heart in the fact that there are just as many bad or incorrect answers out there as correct ones, so someone's gotta be paid to fix the resulting fuck-ups.
     
  9. Shenanigator

    Shenanigator Has the Vocabulary of a Well-Educated Sailor. Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2017
    Messages:
    4,886
    Likes Received:
    8,763
    80's nostalgia is big right now, so publishers are probably being inundated with 80's stories. Just like 1950's movies and TV shows were big in the 70's, and 40's movies and TV shows were big in the 80's. As long as the time period sells and the stories are good, I don't think they'll care.

    That being said, my current WIP is set in 1980, and my next one is set in 1989. The characters come to me way before a plot, so it wasn't intentional. Neither of them would work in another time period because of the specifics of the MCs. Current WIP MC defected from Russia, and the MC for the next one is one of the few female rock stars in the music business at the time.

    If it fits the story and characters, go with it. If it doesn't ring true, switch.
     
  10. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2012
    Messages:
    8,102
    Likes Received:
    4,605
    80's nostalgia has been going on for quite a while now, and in fact, if it was just any old decade's nostalgia, we should already be seeing 90's nostalgia, which we're not, so I don't think it's fair to compare the 80s to the 50s or 40s. 80s is something special.
     
    jannert and graveleye like this.
  11. Shenanigator

    Shenanigator Has the Vocabulary of a Well-Educated Sailor. Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2017
    Messages:
    4,886
    Likes Received:
    8,763
    I wasn't comparing the decades themselves. I was stating the patterns of nostalgia with regard to media buying and selling, which is a thing.

    ETA: Also, you do realize that a lot of the stuff people think of as so typically 80's was 40's redux, right? Especially in fashion and home decor. Those huge shoulder pads women were wearing? And peplum skirts? Bangle bracelets? big earrings? Straight out of the 40's with minor tweaks to make them more "modern" for the time. And much of home decor in the 80's was art deco redux.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2018
    Oscar Leigh likes this.
  12. Dragon Turtle

    Dragon Turtle Deadlier Jerry

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2018
    Messages:
    453
    Likes Received:
    878
    I think 90s nostalgia is going to take off in another ten years or so, as Millennials start becoming executives of entertainment companies. There's a lot of us, and daaamn do we love the 90s.
     
    Oscar Leigh, xanadu and Shenanigator like this.
  13. Shenanigator

    Shenanigator Has the Vocabulary of a Well-Educated Sailor. Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2017
    Messages:
    4,886
    Likes Received:
    8,763
    It depends on what you mean by "internet." If you're talking about social media, yes, that's true. And some of this is regional, but as a thing, webzines, blogging and other forms of online media started happening way before that. I was the editor of a webzine in 1999 and wrote for several starting around 1996. ETA: We had to hand submit to the Alta vista search engine, that's how long ago it was, then Yahoo.
     
    The Dapper Hooligan likes this.
  14. flawed personality

    flawed personality Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2018
    Messages:
    6,235
    Likes Received:
    13,886
    I'm a Millennial, but I can't say I have much love for the 90s. I like S Club 7 music though...:whistle:
     
    Oscar Leigh and saxonslav like this.
  15. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2017
    Messages:
    5,864
    Likes Received:
    10,738
    Location:
    The great white north.
    I remember the 80's. Take away the nostalgia glow and it's like every other decade: full of war, disease, discrimination and scandal. Only the 80's fashion sense means, on average, far more embarrassing photos of yourself you'd rather no one else see, up to that point. To be honest, of all the decades I've lived in, the 80's (and early 90's) is the decade I'd be least interested in revisiting just as a way to exercise my nostalgia boners. But that doesn't mean the 80's isn't a good time to write about. We were still in the cold war back then, we were lining up for the 100 days war in Iraq, AIDS hysteria was everywhere. There was a lot there that could flavour or propel a story. It even fixes the horror movie plot hole of why they didn't just call the cops or AAA. Because they didn't have any cell phones. Or if they did, it was invariably owned by some blonde haired spray tan wearing a sweater draped elegantly across his polo'd shoulders. At which point he's pull it out, find it didn't work, and everyone would give him a look that was all, "what, you thought technology was going to save you, city boy?" and he would usually be one of the first ones to die because of how useless he was.
     
  16. Dragon Turtle

    Dragon Turtle Deadlier Jerry

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2018
    Messages:
    453
    Likes Received:
    878
    I'm very amused because the way you describe this, it makes it sound not like a horror movie plot, but like an experience you personally lived through.
     
  17. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2017
    Messages:
    639
    Likes Received:
    904
    If you want the 80's, I say go for it. I think that it would be cool.
    I'm not an expert on this by any means, but I don't think they would have a problem with it as long as you're portraying the 80's realistically. If you weren't alive in the 80's, or were very young, I'd say that you'll need to do a lot of researching. But that can come from anywhere, people you know who remember the 80's well, TV shows, movies, other books, the internet.
     
    Oscar Leigh and Shenanigator like this.
  18. ThunderAngel

    ThunderAngel Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2018
    Messages:
    675
    Likes Received:
    1,321
    Any story can be interesting, no matter what timeline it takes place in.
     
    Oscar Leigh and Shenanigator like this.
  19. TheRealStegblob

    TheRealStegblob Kill All Mages Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2016
    Messages:
    588
    Likes Received:
    291
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Whoaaaaa buddy. What are you talking about? We're seeing more 90's nostalgia than pretty much anything else. Aside from the fact 90's nostalgia is also a very prevalent meme at the moment, there's a ton of stuff from the 90's that are making big comebacks. The 80's sure had some more defined trends, I think, but the 90's had a lot more pop culture that is being nostalgically remembered.
     
    Oscar Leigh likes this.
  20. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2012
    Messages:
    8,102
    Likes Received:
    4,605
    What are you talking about? I haven't seen this AT ALL.

    If you google "80's comeback" there are tons of articles from 2017 and 2018 about this.
    If you google "90's comeback," there's basically nothing other than fashion.
     
  21. TheRealStegblob

    TheRealStegblob Kill All Mages Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2016
    Messages:
    588
    Likes Received:
    291
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Googling "80's comeback" has a few more results for non-fashion than "90's comeback", but not much. Either search is mostly about fashion.

    But for 90's nostalgia, it's all pop culture. Look at how many 90's shows have been getting rebooted and Nickelodeon is even specially bringing back some of its 90's shows for special TV movies and stuff. The people born in the very late 80's to the very early 90's are now in their late 20's/early 30's, which makes sense because 90's nostalgia has only really started to hit culture really hard in the past couple years. We'll only see more of it as the years go on. 90's nostalgia is pretty strong right now with books/video games/movies/shows/etc.
     
    Oscar Leigh likes this.
  22. flawed personality

    flawed personality Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2018
    Messages:
    6,235
    Likes Received:
    13,886
    The resurrection of the old Nokias.
     
  23. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2012
    Messages:
    6,631
    Likes Received:
    10,135
    Location:
    Yorkshire
    1980s. Everybody knew we were going to die in a nuclear holocaust. And when you are ten years old and very sensible - and ten year olds are the most sensible people in the world - that anxiety at the back of the mind was rather wearing. Then adolescence kicked off and we were bombarded by AIDS informercials telling us to never ever have sex ever. Grown-ups were paedophiles, by the way, that goes without saying. I remember my rage when 'We don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off to Have a Good Time' was in the pop parade. Incensed, a great terror to die a virgin in 1985 or similar. Fortunately Karen was sympathetic or zombie. Nights sat on her kitchen floor watching the hateful 'Moonlight,' and then her parents would go to bed, and it was time for my magic minute and a half. Also, Thatcher/Reagan used to make one ill. Morrissey saved us, but he's mad now.

    It was different on your West Coast @12- with your skateboard and swimming pool. I bet you ripped the sleeves from your t-shirts, eh - wore them around your head? I've met your sort.
     
  24. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    It's interesting, because, while I'm an old bird, born in 1949, I fondly remember the 80s. I was in my 30s for most of it, which was the best decade for me. I was old enough to do anything I wanted, and still young enough to do anything I wanted. Yeah, there was the usual war, pestilence, greed-motivated world politics, etc ...in fact quite a lot of it. I was politically active at the time, and worked hard to bring some of that sort of thing to an end ...with various levels of success. But for me, personally, it was the decade I enjoyed the most. I felt very much at home with the first part of it. I loved going into shops and finding clothing I actually liked, and that fit me, and didn't require a stick figure to pull off. And midway through the 80s' I got married and moved to Scotland. If somebody forced me to go backwards and re-live a decade, that's the one I'd pick.
     
  25. DeusXMachina

    DeusXMachina Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2018
    Messages:
    38
    Likes Received:
    40
    Location:
    Europe
    Yes, especially horrible. The 80s were a dreadful decade in every regard - the clothes, the literature, the art, the music. Gods, the music! Everything plastic, everything retort, and absolute worldwide stagnation politically and socially. No wonder it culminated in revolution on one side and self-destruction with things like Grunge and American Psycho on the other.

    @OP:
    As someone who has lived through them, I have an ambivalent relationship to the 80s as a setting. It's not really proper historical, but it's also not contemporary.
     
    Oscar Leigh likes this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice