Introducing a fake region?

[Incinermyn]

This has kind of been something that's been on my mind since I first started my upcoming fanfic Feral Twilight. The fanfic takes place in a region I've made up called Ronac and is centered around how the former champion of that region gets involved with a new crime syndicate trying to get ahold of a legendary beast said to be the embodiment of lust, rage, and fear in order to use it to create shadow Pokemon that actually are superior to normal ones. My problem though is this: I can't figure out exactly when to introduce my fake region and, to a lesser extent, the supposed myth of an omnious chasm that splits the region's mainland in half. So, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what's been done for introducing the fake regions. I've got a few ideas of what I'd like to do, but I'm unsure of them...

1.) I have an intro in the very beginning of the prologue about Ronac's location, general layout, etc. But, the problem I have with this is that it might not make sense with the rest of the prologue since I'm trying to build a little bit of mystery with the event it chronicles.

2.) Since my fic is in first person and he's supposedly knows a lot about the general stuff of the region, I have him introduce the region a little ways into the fic. But, it seems a little weird to me to have this new land introduced so late.

3.) What I originally thought about doing was having my narrator introduce the region as he goes through the adventure. But, I kind of found this to be really boring in the handwritten draft I did a while ago.

I'm just stumped, and my writings pretty much halted because I can't figure out how to introduce Ronac...

 

[TurtleKing]

Well, I can't really help you. Most people don't agree with making up with fake region, as we are not familiar with them. However, if you wish to make a fake region, you should use great description. What I would do is put the name of cities in the first post with a description of what the city/town looks like. You can add routes and other special places as well. It would also be helpful to have an illustration to help the reader even further. Hope I helped.

~TK

 

[Astinus]

There are two fanfics that I've read that use fake regions. There's Dragonfree's "Quest for the Legends"; and there's DarkPersian479's "Lurking In the Shadows". Perhaps reading those could help you see how other people have handled introducing fake regions.

And Gummy. xD

I'm also of no help personally, since my fics take place in canon regions. But like I said, perhaps reading those fics could help.

 

[bobandbill]

Whenever there is a new town that comes up, note the 'highlights' of the town, the general feel of it, any special features, etc, as the person explores the place, or revisits a place he knows of. If he hasn't been to a place in years which he knows well, maybe have the character note to himself the changes (if any...) that have taken place since that time.

Does sound like a pickle, really. Don't let it get in the way of the prologue if it's all set-up on the plot and all (which it is), your best bet would be to give a bit after that (first or so chapter, as an intor or something - may not be easy to pull off but seems the best way IMO), and give some more information as you go. To begin with, give a basic feel for what the region is like - e.g. Like Orre - rough, mostly desert, not well-off, or like Sinnoh - full of mountains and lakes, etc. Then put in the smaller detial such as what the towns are like when you get to them

 

[Gummy]

There are two fanfics that I've read that use fake regions. There's Dragonfree's "Quest for the Legends"; and there's DarkPersian479's "Lurking In the Shadows". Perhaps reading those could help you see how other people have handled introducing fake regions.

I'm also of no help personally, since my fics take place in canon regions. But like I said, perhaps reading those fics could help.

*cough*Youforgotsomeone*cough*

None of the fics I've written have taken place in the canon region, mainly because I don't like the restrictions on those regions. I think a good way to introduce a region if you're trying to keep things mysterious is have a deserted town (assuming there is one, of course XD) in the first scene and a old newspaper being carried by the wind. On this newspaper can be a description of the region, or an overview of evens that recently took place. Just a suggestion of course, and there are probably people out there with better ones.

 

[ze_gobou]

I have already used fake regions myself, but well, it wasn't that good.
Here are, however, a few ideas that sound good to me, though I've never tried.
- Instead of just making the character describe the region, make him read or hear a description. it can be, as Gummy said, a newspaper, but there are a lot of other ways, for example, a map (the character doesn't know the region, it is normal that he should buy a map), any book, or a person telling about the region (there are many situations in which this could happen, and well, I got this idea watching a French film). Or the character can remember what he knows about the region, as he is about to enter it.
- If the character already knows the region and has lived in it for a long time, using first person, you cannot make him describe it saying "okay, this is my homeland, there is a town by here, another town in the south, near the sea, and in between there are mountains..." and so on. In that case, let the reader discover it as the story goes on. I myself enjoy reading this kind of stories. You can also draw a map (even if many people consider it a weakness to draw instead of writing).
- As for the landscapes, the character HAS TO describe them.
-
OKay, I really thought I had more ideas, but it seems to be all. Good luck anyway, and well... enjoy writing, because if you don't, it's no use taking a pen ^^

 

[JX Valentine]

Another way of tackling the subject is by asking who your character's audience is. If your character is speaking to someone who wouldn't know him or where he's from, you could always attempt to start off with a line like, "I've lived in (insert region here) for (insert time here). It's not bad. (Insert brief description of character's hometown here.)"

Basically, it's like you're literally introducing yourself to someone you don't know. They don't know where you're from, so you could tell them by giving them a brief description of what it was like growing up there or living there or whatnot. You don't even need to get into the cities and major areas just yet. Try bringing those into the picture when your character enters those places, especially if he's lived most of his life in only a certain town.

 

[txteclipse]

I take it the story is in first person considering that you might have your main character describe it himself? If it were me, I would probably have a point where the character describes the region directly to the reader, I.E. "It's a fairly small country, bordered by ocean on either side and divided right down the middle by a gigantic chasm. etc. etc." That kind of has a film noir/detective story feel to it though (a la "it was a dark and stormy night"), so you would probably want to keep that in mind if you went that direction. Which, as I read back now, is exactly what Jax said. So there you go.

The only other options I can think of are to have the character describe the region to someone else in the story, or do something subtle like have him read a vacation pamphlet for the region while he is waiting in a pokemon mart or something.

 

[bobandbill]

Oh, just read of it being done well (so I thought anyways) in introducing the region. Look at 'Anitia and Apple' story (tis by a newish author) - early in Chapter two it's introduced, and nicely with good description - gave me a good view on what it was like.

The main character 'thought' about it to the reader about what it looked like in this case. And it didn't have to be done eariler as the prologue and first chapter was merely story and plot set-up - info on the region was brought in when the story started moving on the journey itself.

 

[Incinermyn]

So many suggestions... Really, I think I'll kind of do the stuff Jax and bobandbill brought up; where Jay talks about how long he's lived and what his hometown (and other places) are like, though, it may not be until early in chapter two or so that I get into more specifics about the region's geography...