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johnny johnny is offline
writing machine in bad repair
Default Suspension of disbelief (for writers and readers, I guess?)   #1  
Okay, so I have a bit of a worldbuilding question for anyone with an opinion on said question:

If someone writes a story that involves a world completely unrelated to Earth -- as in, not an alternative history or speculative fiction piece that takes place on any version of Earth -- what's the limit to the suspension of disbelief for language, customs, societies, etc.?

In other words, if I were to write a story involving a fantasy planet that takes a lot of aesthetic cues from, say, the Regency era, where do you draw the line on what's believable? Can I use words that would be reasonably used in such a historically-inspired setting, like "pianoforte" or "chemise" -- if there's no Italy or France? At what point does a reader lose their willingness to accept words as impossible or illogical in a non-Earth setting?

I've never liked the sort of fantasy or sci-fi stories that made up ridiculous words for everyday things in order to avoid these questions, but I suppose those writers never got stymied by a quagmire of etymology...

Old Posted 04-17-2017, 10:24 PM Reply With Quote