Discussion · 𑐴𑐶𑐟𑐶

Charlie Stross @cstross@wandering.shop · 3 weeks ago

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#WritersCoffeeClub 26: Do real-life events inspire your writing? Share an example.

As Ken Macleod remarked, "history is the secret weapon of the science fiction writer".

Not every time, not for every story element, but it's an *amazing* toy box that you can borrow from whenever you're stuck for an idea! Because fiction illustrates the human condition and humans get up to some really weird shit, for values of "you can't make that up" weird.

Coach Pāṇini ® @paninid@mastodon.world · 3 weeks ago

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@cstross
These #history deep-dives by #IsaacAsimov are great reads and illustrate your point about using our actual world for #worldbuilding in #SciFi.

HISTORIES BY ISAAC ASIMOV
Ancient
THE GREEKS
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
THE EGYPTIANS
THE NEAR EAST
THE LAND OF CANAAN

Medieval
THE DARK AGES
THE SHAPING OF ENGLAND
CONSTANTINOPLE
THE SHAPING OF FRANCE

Modern
THE SHAPING OF NORTH AMERICA
THE BIRTH OF THE UNITED STATES — HISTORIES BY ISAAC ASIMOV Ancient THE GREEKS THE ROMAN REPUBLIC THE ROMAN EMPIRE THE EGYPTIANS THE NEAR EAST THE LAND OF CANAAN Medieval THE DARK AGES THE SHAPING OF ENGLAND CONSTANTINOPLE THE SHAPING OF FRANCE Modern THE SHAPING OF NORTH AMERICA THE BIRTH OF THE UNITED STATES

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Winchell Chung ⚛🚀 @nyrath@spacey.space · 3 weeks ago

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@cstross

I've read that David Drake used ancient historical situations to create the backdrop of various Hammer's Slammers short stories. Drake said he assumed these were obvious to any educated reader.

Drake discovered that the population of educated readers was drastically smaller than he thought.

So in the preface to his collection Paying the Piper, Drake explicitly set out how the background was copied from Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 3rd century bc.

FredKiesche 🇺🇦 @FredKiesche@dice.camp · 3 weeks ago

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@nyrath @cstross Paying the Piper. He also did this in many of the alt. Leary books including the two (ahem) “I” am in. 😂

A 𑐴𑐶𑐟𑐶 (hiti) is an ancient Newah urban water feature: a stepped, sunken courtyard with waterspouts and a central pool. These are fed through a remarkable network of pipes, reservoirs, and irrigation systems drawing water from mountain springs dozens of kilometres away. Every day, hundreds of people from the neighbourhood come to draw water, bathe, and exchange news. They are a unique and precious feature of Newa urban architecture through which neighbourhoods are created.

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