the freedom of fiction

Now that I've started talking about this new series, I can't seem to stop. Today I'm debating something that's been going around in my mind for weeks: Should I set my story in some kind of real historical or geographical basis or should I cut all ties with reality and set the story in my own world? I'm not talking about the difference between fiction and non-fiction; one of my characters can summon a wind at will, so obviously I can't be writing non-fiction! But should I do a Temeraire and set my fantasy in a historical reality?

Arguments for using reality:
Some things in my story, for example certain places, are directly based on locations that really exist. James Firth comes from Ireland; Duarte comes from Spain; the enemy is French, etc. If I say that James is Irish, then it's easier to explain that the 'English' mistrust him. And it won't confuse the reader so much if I use the real names of the countries; if I create names for these places, then the reader has to get their head around entirely made-up nationalities, cultures and histories. Even if those countries bear a resemblance to a country the reader's familiar with, rewembering all the names, politics and allegiances can still be tiresome.
And the whole storyline is set in the general context of the Napoleonic War, including the neutral ally (Spain) that becomes an enemy, the brief peace and return to war, etc. I could simply lay out at the beginning that the story takes place in that era, and save myself lots of contextualising.

Arguments against using reality:
Reality comes with constraints. I don't have to obey them, but knowing me, I would feel obliged to do so. I would have to research the war and fit my story into its timeline, research geography and stick with its distances, research historical attitudes and incorporate them. But if I ignore reality and set the story in my own world, then the war can last as long as I please, Spain and India can be neighbours, and it can be acceptable for a merchant's daughter to sail in a ship full of men.
And of course, it's not as though the ability to call a wind at will is realistic. I am writing fantasy, after all. It's not that reality has no place in fantasy or that fantasy has no place in reality, but ultimately, can't fantasy be my excuse for using my imaginary world? The world that I've transposed from the real one?

The winner:
It looks as though my future readers will have to get their heads around entirely made-up nationalities, cultures and histories. I'm leaving reality behind, baby!

the new series

I suppose I should finally break my silence on my new project. Especially since it's not new anymore because I've been working on it for at least six months now, albeit with a fairly vague definition of 'working on it'.

I'm now up to the point where I've mapped out the main plot points of the first book and sketched out a very general outline for the following three. The fifth book is only one line long at the moment and may never get any longer. I'm not entirely happy with the preceding plots, either, but I'll work on them. Most of the important characters have been nailed down, although they won't all keep their current names.

Anyway. I discovered these two characters shortly before I went overseas. Goodness knows what made me think of them. It was probably a mix of things; my obsession with sea-going characters (Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, Horatio Hornblower) and my growing excitment about my own upcoming adventure.

Whatever sparked their creation, those characters saved my sanity and my happiness as I travelled. I lived mostly in my head for those three months and those two adventurers went everywhere with me. We rode in palanquins in Edo Tokyo, took a monkey into Notre Dame in Paris, got kidnapped by pirates along Italy's Amalfi coast, were intimidated by a wealthy prince in Florence and got homesick for our little village in Wales.

I wrote a few brief scenes while I was travelling (the only writing I did that whole time) and when I got back I began to sift through all the adventures for the bones of the plot. I had always known it would be more than one story - or rather, that the one, over-arching story would consist of several chronological stories - so I needed to assemble that. And that's where I'm up to.