I visited a local Medieval Weekend today and had a lovely time exploring the different exhibits and chatting with those reconstructing the lives of an archer, a scribe, and a herbalist amongst others. It was a fascinating glimpse into the past and made me grateful to be born in the time that I was, for all the world's current problems. I think it fair to say that medieval times were not plain sailing and life expectancy was not great.
So the visit led me to wonder about how you could portray history in your stories? What has made your world/governments/species be what they are? What has changed them (and there will inevitably some changes. A historical event can change everything. In England the year 1066 is significant here - everything changed!).
Does your world have historical re-enactments or does it cover up where it came from (especially if its development in science etc has been significant)? Is there a tourist industry which capitalizes on the past to generate income? How has history affected your characters in terms of their own personal histories and the life of their world/country? What are the historical stories they would be expected to know and what attitudes are they meant to show here? Do they agree with the official version of events?
Is history actively remembered and celebrated or are there attempts to keep it quiet and forget it? What could a character/your fictional world seek to suppress here?
So the visit led me to wonder about how you could portray history in your stories? What has made your world/governments/species be what they are? What has changed them (and there will inevitably some changes. A historical event can change everything. In England the year 1066 is significant here - everything changed!).
Does your world have historical re-enactments or does it cover up where it came from (especially if its development in science etc has been significant)? Is there a tourist industry which capitalizes on the past to generate income? How has history affected your characters in terms of their own personal histories and the life of their world/country? What are the historical stories they would be expected to know and what attitudes are they meant to show here? Do they agree with the official version of events?
Is history actively remembered and celebrated or are there attempts to keep it quiet and forget it? What could a character/your fictional world seek to suppress here?
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