(no subject)

[beckyh2112]

I am debating doing an original fiction writing meme to flesh out a world and some characters I've come up with recently.

I want to do something with these folks and their city, I want to figure out what the trouble is going to be. Or troubles, really, since it seems to be coming in from four different directions at once. Perhaps only two, but I think the fact that there are four of them is very key here.

I tend to expand best on worlds when I actually write them. But I need some kick-starts to work out what this place is like. Also need to do more research since I seem to be going for pseudo-Persian/Turkic, which is not something I've ever really looked into. Pre-Ghengis Khan-type of era, for definite. Society has not been stomped into the ground by a bunch of Mongols.

So. Something I would like to do in the future if people are interested.

Also, any suggestions for books to look into for the general time period and area of the world so I can get a feel for what I'm creating?

Comments

[spyridona.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/When-Baghdad-Ruled-Muslim-World/dp/0306814803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263695990&sr=8-1

I'd suggest to focus on the Abbasid Dynasty for the period you're thinking about it. Maybe a focus on the Moors as well.

[suzukiblu.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I have about zero clue about the time period/area/etc, but I stand by my previous support of this meme! Vehemently!

[lunatron.livejournal.com]

Uhm. For a lolarious picture of what one Greek thought of the rest of the world (including parts of Persia), there are always The Histories.

[beckyh2112.livejournal.com]

Ah, Herodotus. That's around the house somewhere. ^__^

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

I have to warn you that the state of common audience (by which I mean 'readable and with easily available useful details') books for Persian/Turkic civilizations is probably even worse then the state of East Asian books. It's one of the fields where I just couldn't find much.

Question though, how pseudo is pseudo? Is this alternate timeline, in which case you have to cleave very closely, or is this completely separate, in which case it could be serving as flavor text? If the later, you get to combine a whole bunch of things from the early Persians (there's always something from the Classic historians), and things from the later works.

[beckyh2112.livejournal.com]

*nods* Yeah, this seems like a problem. Oddly, I've found a lot of East Asian stuff, though I tend to be more willing than most to read complicated stuff.

Completely separate. It's mostly just to get down the idea and flavor of the city and culture, because what I would write right now would be East Asian at best and American at worst.

[littleseastar.livejournal.com]

I recommend reading The Persian Boy by Mary Renault. Partly for the historical factor, mostly because it's a good book. xD It starts just before Alexander the Great decides that ruling the known world is totally something he can do, so that's way, way before the Mongols do their thing.