Setting: Real World or Made-Up?

There's a whole genre of Urban Fantasy (and variations), in which a setting otherwise similar to the real world has fantasy elements (supernatural creatures, magic, etc.)

But, world-building is also fun and popular.

What, roughly, happens in your novel? A brief description of characters and events would provide at least some basis for considering whether it would work in a semi-real world setting, or whether it needs its own world. (Or maybe a different historical period of the real world? I'm just groping around in the dark here.)

I always make up worlds. Partly because I don't want to get things wrong, but also because I like creating cultures, political dynamics, magic systems, and the like.

Of course, I tend to draw inspiration from real-world history. Victorian London, ancient China, the Wild West, ect. I'll bend it to be original, but I don't just pull things out of the air (anymore.)

I do both. I don't worry about getting anything "wrong." Sometimes I set my story in a state/city/country but set in the future. But mostly, I set my story in a real state/country and then make up the town I'm in. Because I'm not running around Wikipedia for 4 hours searching for the perfect town to set my story in. And I hate creating fantasy worlds. Kudos to people who can do it. I had fun, but it was a much bigger headache then it was worth and I never want to create a world from scratch again.

I write mystery and thriller novels, so real world for me.

If there's no real reason to set it in a made-up world, it's probably easier to stick to the real one - or an alt-real one.

Worldbuilding isn't your easy way out. As you yourself said, you have to invent pretty much everything yourself, from scratch. History, cultures, politics, flora and fauna, geography, magic rules (if there's magic), religions... You not only have to create what the reader sees, but you have to work beyond the frame of the canvas to be sure everything at least makes sense on its own terms. Granted, you can handwave some things away with "it's another world," but if you're flying around in airships with cannons one minute and someone turns up in a jet fighter with an atomic bomb for the climax, you're gonna have some serious explaining to do. It's only worth the time and effort if you really want to explore your made-up world. Otherwise, reality's easier to research. (And you don't have to go overboard on your real-world research, either. As a reader, I don't know, nor do I care, about the average annual rainfall in the Amazon basin in the 1970's. If I'm reading a technothriller or a rom-com road trip, I don't need to know about it - I'm more concerned about mainframe security protocols or the distance between New York City and Las Vegas. Like creating a made-up world, focus on what the reader sees in the frame, and just poke beyond the edges enough to make sure everything feels solid.)

I create my own worlds more often than not, but my worlds always have some bearing on the plot. For instance, one world in a WIP has been deeply damaged by an ongoing conflict between faeries and humans; the MC's a part-faerie who gets drawn into that conflict. Maybe I could've put it on an Earth that just happened to have faeries, but it wouldn't be the same story, and the MC wouldn't be the same person.

I think you have to ask yourself what kind of story you want to tell. If you want to center your tale around a real-world event, personage or setting, then this would be the way to go.

--A real world fantasy story means doing some serious research to make sure that you avoid anachronisms and present peoples' attitudes, mannerisms and conventions as accurately as you can (based on our current knowledge). Even if you're choosing a legendary setting (like King Arthur's court or something), you should research it as well as possible.

It may limit you in some ways re storytelling and characterization. For instance, it may make it harder for you to have a female character who leads an army or something like that (though history has some exceptional women who stepped outside of normal roles for their time and place).

--If you enjoy fiddling around with political situations, cultures, religions, ecosystems, races, histories and social conventions from scratch, then a made up world is probably more your thing. If you want a story where there's lots of very overt magic, this also may be the way to go. You'll still need to do some research into the sorts of things that might be plausible, given your level of social organization. For instance, if you have powerful magi who can knock down fortified structures with spells, then castles and city walls may not be the norm in your society.

One advantage of made up settings is you have more flexibility as per the role of women or other historically disregarded groups in society.

Worry about your characters and story.

It's far too easy and distracting to wander off into the realms of world-building. That can become boring for a reader. And thinking a fantasy world needs a 'lot of planning for everything to fit together the right way' is a route to disaster if by that you mean initially establishing the geological make-up, races, politics and socioeconomics...

Get the story right first.

I enjoy making up new worlds. I have to admit to agreeing with Bufty about worldbuilding. When writing in other worlds I pretty much decide on an aspect when it becomes important to the story. Everything else is background detail. That's because pages of world-building explanation bore me as a reader.

But sometimes I write in the real world too, or at least in odd corners of it. When I do that I again tend to only use the bits of it necessary to the story.

Story is more important. As long as your world isn't blatantly impossible or factually incorrect you're good - whether it's other world or this one.

... make things up myself.
No interest in the real world.
Having to be a participant in it is bad enough.
At least I can exclude reality from my writing !

It's your choice to make, OP. I usually set my stories in the real world and then let the fantasy elements take over, have my characters start out 'normal' and then something happens and it takes them on an adventure or a series of them.

I do have fun building worlds as I go along, though, but I always root my MC's in the here and now. It provides an interesting contrast for me and hopefully, for the reader.

Nothing against world building i.e. starting from an alien planet and basing it there, but that isn't something I want to do, not yet, anyway. I will try it in the future, though, just to see if I can do it.

I write second world fantasy

I plan almost nothing. I have a rough idea of tone/atmosphere before I write. Everything else turns up while I write.

Ofc this may not work for you, but it is possible.

I'm writing my next urban fantasy. It's set in the UK but in a fictional town.

Each has their own benefits and pitfalls, depending on the story and how you want to express it. In either case, you should expect some effort (with a simple range going from minimal to in-depth) depending on how much an influence the setting will have.

Secondary worlds can be an interesting element to the story, with made up elements that make it unique and memorable. You can also find yourself dragged into a world building loop that doesn't let go as you try to determine the minutiae. Most times the economic model of button making in kingdom A versus the production of nickel in kingdom B really has SFA linkage to your story.

Real world can draw the reader in just as easily, and has relatable elements that can add to the story. That said, if you are not intimately familiar with the locale (living there, lived there), you need to do some amount of research to make sure it fits. Nothing like having a character leave a park to jump into a subway and find out that the system doesn't exist, should have been an elevated train or some such shenanigan.

katci13 said:

I do both. I don't worry about getting anything "wrong." Sometimes I set my story in a state/city/country but set in the future. But mostly, I set my story in a real state/country and then make up the town I'm in. Because I'm not running around Wikipedia for 4 hours searching for the perfect town to set my story in. And I hate creating fantasy worlds. Kudos to people who can do it. I had fun, but it was a much bigger headache then it was worth and I never want to create a world from scratch again.

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I like this approach. Stuart Woods created Delano, GA and, of course, everyone is familiar with Castle Rock, ME. Fictitious towns can be a great deal of resemblance to a real town, whereas the fictional town name emphasizes the fact that some the elements of the town may not resemble real life. I am going to use a made-up Georgia town in the book I am working on.

Even if you do decide to use a real town name, if your book is a work of fiction, you have the right to use creative license. Thus, if you reference a street or address that does not really exist, the reader is expected to accept that, just as he/she accepts the other fictitious elements in your book.

benthomas97 said:

Thank you for all the input. I'm thinking about setting it in the real world now, but I will probably make up an imaginary town where it takes place.

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That's been a good compromise for a lot of writers. (I made up Donnetown, NC, home of Blackgall Creamery.)

Best of luck with the novel, Ben! I look forward to learning more about it down the road.