I don't know that total immersion is required, but some study and consideration is, that is for sure. But frankly, I think it should be easier now than it was in the past, since the internet can be such a bit assist in research
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Pretty much all the SF/F I get is either Western or Japanese because I love good anime and manga as well as good fiction. I'd be interested to read more Japanese translated novels, to see how the words really play out on the page, but it seems like it's hard to find them
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That's a great point about local opportunities for immersion--for those of us lucky enough to live within short distances of various culturally distinct communities.
I see this as a separate issue from world building, though I say that tentatively because of these vexing questions of cultural appropriation, etc. But really, (she said defensively) if we are making fictional models of change, why not take building blocks from all the world and time, to effectively make our model the more convincing to live in for a while
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Oh, I so agree. You were a RenFaire worker in the early days--and it was a wonderful way of life as long as you could, well, go on leave in the 20th century. I spent a month one summer living pretty authentically in the Middle Ages, faire during the day, unimproved campground at night. I actually burst into tears one day at the sight of an indoor toilet. And after a month without coffee or chocolate, for at least a while I could get an amazing rush from one bite of a Hershey bar.
immersion is wonderfulmarycatelliMay 7 2009, 01:59:57 UTC
Which is one reason why I recommend reading anything and everything you can get your hands on from the time and place. It gets you into the right mindset.
It can also bring up the most interesting tidbits. I was once reading some St. Augustine, and at one point he analogized his theological point to a betrothal, which lasts one or two years. And the best part of it was that you can take him at his word, because while he has a point in his writing, it's not to discuss betrothals.
A lot of good secondary sources -- those that discuss the data they are using to make their conclusions -- bring up such sideways tidbits. Like when I was reading about the celebrations of wedding in Puritan New England, and the writer mentioned that during a war, a rationing bill that banned all sorts of cakes and pastries specifically exempted wedding cakes.
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It can also bring up the most interesting tidbits. I was once reading some St. Augustine, and at one point he analogized his theological point to a betrothal, which lasts one or two years. And the best part of it was that you can take him at his word, because while he has a point in his writing, it's not to discuss betrothals.
A lot of good secondary sources -- those that discuss the data they are using to make their conclusions -- bring up such sideways tidbits. Like when I was reading about the celebrations of wedding in Puritan New England, and the writer mentioned that during a war, a rationing bill that banned all sorts of cakes and pastries specifically exempted wedding cakes.
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