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Getting back to my first lady cats.. slowly but it is happening

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I want to write a fantasy story set in a world that is inspired by ancient china and touches upon the culture. I have some knowledge of the culture based from my heritage but I dont think it will be enough. I will have to do a lot of research, of course, but I was wondering if you had any tips or pointers that I should pay attention to while researching a different countrie's culture and customs?

Using an Existing Country as Inspiration; Research Tips

Here are some things to keep in mind when researching an inspiration country for a Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel:

1. No Country is a Monolith

Remember that every country encompasses a diverse array of geography and biomes, flora and fauna, climate and weather events, cultural and religious groups, cultural and political regions, customs and traditions, lifestyles and industries, architectural styles and fashion, food and drink, weapons and military, economy and political relationships. When incorporating elements from your inspiration country, don’t just zero in on the best known, stereotypical elements. Look for unusual, lesser known elements, too, but also include a diverse array of elements to reflect how diverse an entire country can be.

2. Inspiration vs Taking

All too often, writers choose an inspiration country and simply take the elements they like, without changing them at all, and incorporate them right into their stories. This is problematic for a lot of reasons, not the least of which because it’s frequently done by white writers taking elements from countries with a history of European colonization and oppression, and also because taking something and being inspired by something are two different things. If I’m a clothing designer and I’m inspired by Coco Chanel, I shouldn’t be re-creating her looks exactly, right down to giving my collections the same names as hers. Instead, I should be incorporating the feel of these looks into my own looks, but putting my own spin on them and adding my own personal elements. The same is true of using a real place as inspiration for a fictional one, especially in Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Your fictional place should be a mix of inspired elements and complimentary elements that you created from scratch.

3. Similar but Different

To elaborate further on putting your own twist on a thing… let’s say your inspiration country is India, and you’re choosing inspiration elements from across India’s very broad cultural, political, historical, and geographical existence. But you want your reader to say, “This setting reminds me of India.” Not, “This setting is India.” So, if you incorporate actual Indian elements into your story, with their name, appearance, and exact significance unchanged, not only are you taking, not borrowing, you’re also going to confuse your reader. Is this place somewhere in India? Is it an alternate version of India? Or is it a new, fantastical place from some other time that doesn’t exist on Earth? The latter is what you’re going for, and you won’t get there if you incorporate henna, saris, rajahs, and khandas into your story without altering them and making them your own. Don’t take henna and put it into your story. Be inspired by henna and create something like it of your very own. Maybe it’s a plant-based dye called leehna, and instead of being reddish-brown in color, it’s a deep purple or bright blue. Change the cultural significance of this dye, or when and how it’s used. Your readers are smart… they’ll recognize it as being something like henna, but it doesn’t have to actually be henna in order for it to serve the same function in your story.

4. Something of Yourself, Too

If you’re writing about a fictional place, not every element should be inspired by your inspiration country. Think up your own elements, too. Try to create elements that with both compliment and contrast with the elements that inspired you from the inspiration country. You want this fictional country to be a nice mix of inspired elements with your own twist, and totally new elements of your own creation.

5. Research Tips

(a) Once you’ve selected your inspiration country, start by finding a comprehensive historical timeline of the country and familiarize yourself with its historical eras, royal dynasties, political and religious shifts, important wars, cultural and political clashes, colonialism, and any other important history. By getting this general overview of your inspiration country, you’ll be better prepared to pick and chose inspirational elements.

(b) Google can be a tremendous resource when researching anything, but don’t limit yourself to encyclopedia entries and educational articles. Other things to try:

– YouTube may have educational videos and documentaries, both general and geared toward specific details, about and related to your inspiration country.

– YouTube may also have tours of different areas, regions, and historical sites

– Streaming sites and cable may also have interesting shows and documentaries that touch on your inspiration country

– Podcasts are another option for learning about your inspiration country. Do a search for [inspiration country] + podcast, or “podcasts about [inspiration country]

– Music from your inspiration country, both historical and contemporary, can be found on YouTube, Pandora, and other sites that offer music

– Google Maps and Google Earth may offer street level tours of your inspiration country

– Google Image Search can yield amazing results if you’re looking for visual inspiration from your inspiration country, or images of a particular element

– Writing forums may have members from your inspiration country. Try asking if there are any, and if so, see if there are elements from their country that they would love to see re-imagined in fantasy, or elements that they’re tired of seeing.

– Museums with world collections can be an amazing place to find inspiration from your source country. You can look for items in all different collections, from artifacts to fashion and everything in between.

– Books, both coffee table books and travel books, can be a great way to learn information about your inspiration country.

- Try keeping your research in three places: a notebook, for information you find out and about or in books, a desktop file folder for digital information and pictures you want to save, and a browser folder for web sites and other links you want to save. Use the same name for all three so that it’s easy to remember and fine. Keeping all your information together, and knowing where it all is, will help keep you organized during the research process.

Good luck!