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Why make up a city in fiction instead of using a real city?

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mharrington85
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04 Jul 2023, 2:26 pm

Why is it that some fiction writers will make up a location for the setting instead of setting it in a real city? Is it that if it is set in a real city, then they must make it as accurate as possible?



Fnord
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04 Jul 2023, 6:39 pm

mharrington85 wrote:
Why is it that some fiction writers will make up a location for the setting instead of setting it in a real city? Is it that if it is set in a real city, then they must make it as accurate as possible?
That is one reason.  Another is avoid backlash -- whether legal or social -- from unfavorable depictions of the city, its businesses, or its citizens.  The producers of 'Robocop' got around this by setting their stories in the future.

Besides, when you have a made-up locale, you can assign any characteristics to it that you want.  Could you imagine 'Lord of the Rings' being set in 1920s Manhattan?


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16 Jul 2023, 8:21 am

mharrington85 wrote:
Why is it that some fiction writers will make up a location for the setting instead of setting it in a real city? Is it that if it is set in a real city, then they must make it as accurate as possible?


This is the first reason that came to my mind, yes, but like Fnord said, using a real city might anger the people living in it if the description is unfavorable. Another thing might be that they simply like coming up with names for new places and creating new places entirely.