When I am finished with nursing school, I may just look into this. It may be my opportunity to visit the regions I am writing on, even if the time frame is completely different than today. Seeing the old architecture will be beneficial. Right now I'm leaning heavily on my life spent in Germany. But my story takes place in a fictional town in France and The Basque Lands. Similar? Maybe France a bit, but Basque Lands? I have no idea.
My latest world concept features three major cultures. I have Nordic hunter-gatherers, a villainous Romanesque empire on the verge of collapse, and a peaceful Egyptian/sub-Saharan African-flavored kingdom. Unfortunately, while I know a few things about the Nordic, Egyptian, and sub-Saharan African cultures, my knowledge of the Roman civilization is extremely basic to say the most. The world is fantastical, so I probably don't need each of my constructed cultures to match their real-world inspirations in every way, but I worry that in order to retain the empire's Roman flavor I'll have to do a mountain of research on the Romans, which could distract me from my writing project. It doesn't help that I have a very fickle muse vulnerable to losing inspiration after getting really excited over a given project for a brief moment in time.
The story I'm writing centres around a young girl travelling to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland to fulfill her destiny, and I've never been overseas in my life. Since the story centres around good vs. evil, ancient legends and prophecies, it doesn't make sense for it to take place in the vibrant Canadian city I live in. I needed a place with a history, a place filled with mystery and legend. The story has been swimming in my head for years, but I've only started writing it because I've spend many, many valuable hours researching and while I have much more to do, it has been valuable to me to get to the start of my story. Luckily, I have spent some time on the foggy, wet east coast of Canada so I do have a sense of coastal living and rich tradition, which helps.
hey If your not from that country. Then best do some research. I'm from the UK, and as you know. we have castles and real monarchs. If youve never seen a cast;le in person or never lived under a monacrch. then a person who has, is gong to understand it better, and will be able to explain things better. Imagine me writing a book about the wild west? I believe an american would have more at his disposal than I would. considering, the history of the (wild west) that shaped America to what it resembles today. Billy the kid? new mexico? imagine a person from NM who will have more of an idea and a layout of the land? makes sense really to do some research. first hand experience from some one who lives there for be more beneficial I believe.
