Setting a Story In The (not too long ago) Past

HP and the Philosopher's Stone was published in 1997. So, it was a contemporary novel for its time, not one she wrote to be set a couple of decades in the past.

You can certainly set a novel in any time period you want. Presumably you have some reason for choosing 1991. But I think that's probably too recent to be considered a "period" piece, unless you're writing about some event associated with that year, such as Operation Desert Storm.

Oh god I feel old

Yeah, it might not be considered "period", but you'll probably want to double-check your facts if you're going to set it in any specific time frame other than "generic now"... especially one many of your readers likely remember. And particularly if it has anything to do with technology.

As for how to avoid the tangents, work them into the story. Instead of a person giving a speech about how gas is cheaper than it will be in 2014 and therefore this is a wonderful time to be alive (which it really wasn't/isn't; no period in time is wonderful for everyone, save in the rosy mists of nostalgia), just show them getting a fill-up at the gas station... and balance it out a bit by having them get a paycheck. (They say nostalgia is the ability to remember yesterday's prices while forgetting yesterday's wages... use this by showing some of the downsides of the time period instead of just the good stuff you might remember.)

My MG is set in 2003. There are reasons. The first draft was written about five years before that as a contemporary. Today, my main character would have a cell phone. The plot revolves around a medical issue and the treatment for that issue has changed drastically. The changes in technology would derail the story if I moved it forward in time.

I believe this is still considered a contemporary novel, even though the expected readers weren't born yet.

One key to keeping out the nostalgia is to keep to the voice of the story. Mine is first person from the POV of an 11 year old.

Actually, nostalgia can work if you have the right audience, story, and voice for it. It's all inhow you do it and whether it fits.

Sometimes I wonder if the '90s should be considered period, considering how much nostalgia is kicked back and forth over them now. Obviously, the '90s are more contemporary than the '60s or '50s, but it's been nearly 15 years since they ended (woohoo Y2K!), and they were a completely different century, so I would assume you could get away with calling your story a period piece so long as it is completely immersed in that time. Is there a set time that must pass before a decade can be considered period? I don't know.

The Big Lebowski was filmed in 1998, and is a near-perfect period piece for 1991.

I turned 55 this year. Does that make me a period piece?

I think it might be a hard sell for a setting in the 1990's to be considered a period piece. I remember the 1990's all too well.

A period piece is simply a work that sticks as faithfully as possible to a particular era/period of time, so there's certainly nothing keeping it from being technically a period piece.

I already feel like I'm watching a period piece when I see episodes of the T.V. shows I used to love as a kid like Clarissa Explains It All.

We're about to have TEENAGERS who were born AFTER 9/11. Technology is so different now - even things like flash drives didn't exist in the 90s. I have younger coworkers who have never held (possibly never even seen in person) a floppy disk. Walkman and Discman? "What's that? Oh, you mean an iPod?" I say go for it!

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Doesn't count as Historical Fiction. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. My wip starts in 1995 with the climax in 2001. And no, I won't have my characters using cell phones in the first scene.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Hmmm not sure if it's considered a time piece. Either way, just write it! Have fun with it!

I think that the 1990s were sufficiently long ago and sufficiently different from now that they make a perfectly viable setting. It might be a hard sell in the "history" section of the bookstore, but as long as the details are correct I'd read it.

As to how to avoid rants ... discipline!