One of the standard aphorisms for writers is “write what you know”. Well, especially since I’m writing sf&f, the followup to that is “research what you don’t know, preferably from primary sources.”
Now, one thing that you might have notice in 11,000 Years is that the crew and research teams are from all over this world, which is intentional… because I’m going for realism. If you’ve ever worked with research teams, you’ve seen it.
One element in the universe that 11,000 Years starts in is that, among the researchers are the five Nigerians. It’s obvious, when you consider it, that over the next few hundred years, Africa will stop being a hot mess of postcolonial states, and turn into a power on the world stage.
Most folks don’t know, but the largest single country in Africa is Nigeria. With about half the population of the US, it’s where people in Africa go… and they’ll be important.
Now, I needed to know more about the folks I’m writing – even if they’re secondary characters, I want them real, and I don’t want to break anyone’s suspenders of disbelief.
I got lucky just yesterday – my Eldest had gotten friendly with a gent from Nigeria. He’s been feeding me a lot of info – articles, etc, that you just don’t see if you don’t live there.
And yes, I do need this, because I need to know where these folks come from, for them to be, as I said, real.
Hm. 11,000 years–even the potential importance of Nigeria is questionable. That is longer than all of currently documented human history. You will have to establish the evolution of human society to either explain how that one country grew to dominance over such a long period of time, or–well, I dunno what. But I and others will certainly need plausible believability for such a long period of history.
Dave, you misunderstand. In 11,000 Years, it starts out with a starship in 2169, and there are five Nigerian researchers on the ship.
I’m saying that over the next few hundred years – not 11,000 years from now – Africa will become a major player.