I'm having a bit of trouble. I found an idea and, after some research, have decided that it would be best fit for modern day Japan and eastern Asia. Part of the problem I'm having is that I am needing a few events that never occured. They are key parts of the plot and yet there is no conceivable way that, had they have happened, they wouldn't have been recorded in historical records. Should I just leave the rest to suspension of disbelie?f
Why will they have to suspend the tendency to "disbelieve"? If, as you say, the events "wouldn't have been recorded in historical records", then you can write anything you like. On the other hand, it would be compelling if you can find a way to link such fictional events to some other actual history. For example, how many books and movies have been linked to biblical history? General eras like the reign of Pharaohs in Egypt or the Crusades are often linked to secondary fictional accounts that create compelling plots. The Ten Commandments, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Da Vinci Code, etc. all link directly to artifacts or events in "recorded" history but take off on exciting fictional tangents.
you don't have to go that far... fiction IS 'fiction' after all!... look at all the stuff tom clancy has happening in his contemporary novels that never happened... he even had another [brief] war with japan and nuked a major midwest city!
