Some kind of...retro-futurism?

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Witch_turtle

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I'm a fantasy writer, but the worlds my stories take place in rarely match up with any kind of recognizable place or era. I'm in the brainstorming stages of a new novel, and particularly stumped on how to define (and even describe) the type of world I'm imagining. Since setting and worldbuilding can be so tied to genre, I feel it's important to figure something out.

So, what would you call a story that takes place in a traditional fantasy world (the type of world any given fairytale might take place in) but which has mechanical/mechanized technology--specifically, vehicles, and maybe some form of robots/atomatons? I feel like some kind of retro-futuristic label or "something-punk" would be my best bet, but none of the current terms seem to accomodate the long-ago fantasy/fairytale setting I want.

Any thoughts?

On the other hand, I suppose there's no reason I couldn't twist my ideas to suit some subgenre that already exists. Or maybe I should invent my own? :tongue
 

ironmikezero

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Yeah, invent your own!

After all, aren't some of the best writers the most creative?

...for some reason Elf-Punk strongly appeals to me...
 

Witch_turtle

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Ooh, thanks GingerGunlock! Great idea. That actually seems like it would work pretty well, maybe minus the dark/cynical aspect--but it's a starting point, for sure. Especially now that you've linked me to TVTrope. I'm going to be there forever checking out different concepts for inspiration :)

Ironmikezero, Elfpunk does sound pretty neat...or maybe Fairypunk? Hehe.
 

J.S. Clark

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I say, you're never going to have reason for the narrator to describe the setting so succinctly as anything-punk, so the only reason not to just let the reader name it is for marketing.

But it would be fun to coin your own label =)
 

Witch_turtle

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Yeah, you're right J.S. Clark. I was partly thinking way ahead to how I *would* market this kind of story, but mostly I feel like the ability to put a name/subgenre to my world would help me define and write it in a more concrete, internally-consistent way.

My last WIP, currently with betas, has gotten some comments about the setting/timeframe feeling detached and undefined. That's because I had an idea of the world in my head that I didn't know how to get across and so I just...didn't. I'd like to do a better job with this next project :)
 

Telergic

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Dunno if you need a sub-sub-genre name, but there are works along these lines, for sure. Consider The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford, which takes place in something like the current day, but the Shadow elf-world/human-world crossover zone for some reason has a 30s-ish setting -- gangsters and tommy guns, jazz clubs, art moderne decor, and so on. Or more recently, Max Gladstone's two books have a modern legal and business structure -- corporations, contract law, etc. -- layered on top of a sort of theurgic steampunk fantasy setting. I think Ford's book was labeled "A Contemporary Fantasy", but I don't think Gladstone had any such subtitle.
 

NeuroGlide

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So, what would you call a story that takes place in a traditional fantasy world (the type of world any given fairytale might take place in) but which has mechanical/mechanized technology--specifically, vehicles, and maybe some form of robots/atomatons? I feel like some kind of retro-futuristic label or "something-punk" would be my best bet, but none of the current terms seem to accomodate the long-ago fantasy/fairytale setting I want.

Sounds like the Eberron setting for D&D. You might want to read just to avoid too much duplication (some will be unavoidable). You'll also want to check out the Steam-punk genre , there will be some crossover there too.
 
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