James’s Comments (group member since May 22, 2013)

James’s comments from the Creating Settings that Make You Want to Move In group.

Taste is one of the basic senses, so ignoring it deprives the writer of a way to immerse readers in the story. And in terms of worldbuilding, what people eat and how they eat it can reveal a lot about a society. Do your heroes gnaw roast haunches of venison and toss the bones to the dogs, or do they eat elaborately-crafted dishes and drink a different wine with each course?

Jack Vance (him again) does this very well. In the "Planet of Adventure" series he practically describes every meal his hero eats. I tend to put at least one scene at the dinner table in everything I write, and I managed to make one entire story ("Parsifal Prix Fixe") which is nothing but an elaborate lunch, lovingly described.

In science fiction, I think William Gibson's the reigning champ of creating a convincing setting with the feeling of real depth. Jack Vance is also excellent, though his alien worlds always have a slightly wry, parodic tone which makes it hard to take them entirely seriously.