Okay, so I just wanted to use that title. I’ll actually only be covering the When and Where.

 But first I feel like covering a certain type of “why.”

Why write? Why post your writing?

Because you enjoy it. Because you want to see if other people do too. Writing shouldn’t be about how amazing you are or how many views/subscribers your stories get. It should be about what you feel like writing. Write because you enjoy it. Personally, writing acts as a way for me to escape from my boring life and create a far more interesting world. When I write fanfiction, I want to entertain others by writing about their biases. I don’t like writing to be a featured story, or to have more subscribers, or more views, or even comments. I do it because I enjoy it. “Do what you like, love what you do.”

Anyway, back to the when and where.

You’re setting is essentially the framework for your story. It is the precedent for all the imagery and culture you should be fusing into your story. It’s also entirely up to you to decide what your setting is. Setting isn’t just the place but also the time. Whether it’s sometime five thousand years into the future or 1876, your time period is just as important as your place.

As an example, I have two original stories in the works. They are both set in places I have created entirely on my own in a more obscure time period of my choosing. At the same time, I also have other stories that are set in present day in places such as New York or London. My setting is how I develop mood and imagery in my story, so it’s pretty darn important.

A country is almost always defined by their culture. It should be the same with any world/universe/whatever you create. The cultures your characters come from and are influenced by obviously help shape your characters. It gives your story a certain type of richness and can add a lot of colour where things may seem dull and gray.

You don’t always have to create your own culture, either. I am absolutely in love with gypsy culture. I don’t know why, but something about gypsies fascinate me to no end and I love including their traditions into my stories. Am I a gypsy myself? Obviously not.

Children, Google is a marvelous tool. If it can practically do your homework for you, then it can help you find out more about cultures, not to mention geography. Don’t let insufficient knowledge of a place or time scare you away from using it. If you’re unsure about the setting you want to use, research it. Know where the place is on a map, too. That’s kind of important (this is why I’m sad geography isn’t really taught in schools anymore).