What are some things to keep in mind while creating our own history, wars, rulers, myths, legends etc. from scratch?
Follow this equation to start from the scratch
People + Conflict of Interests = Social Processes
There are, at least, three types of History
Written History, the one you find in books, notebooks, internet, the one the media tells you, the one they teach you in school, etc. Is easy to spot because it’s written by the winners, by living people with different perspectives, this means this History is biased. It also leaves behind important points of view, social processes, and people. It’s called Oficial History because is the one they want you to know and believe.
Oral History, before writing system there was Oral History, people gathering around a bondfire, food, or something else. It’s told during a celebration, a rite of passage, in daily life. The main support of Oral History is memory, individual or collective. It changes with time but hold people together stronger than Written History, specially when two or more sides are in conflict, it’s also called Unofficial History, because of its fragility and because it tells a different version of the Official History.
True History, no one has ever seen it, lived it, or heard it. No one. Not even the elves of the Middle Earth. Why? Because each and one of us sees and lives the world in different ways, with different experiences behind us.
Why using a war to solve a conflict? Who’s going to war? What are their resources? Does the leader goes to war too or do they stay? What happens after war?
There’s no such thing as fair war. Athena I’m watching you.
Myths try to explain the origin of something. The beginning of the World, the beginning of Life, why the Sun rises, why the Ocean has waves, why Flowers bloom at certain times of the year. They hold important meaning to the people they belong to. It also has symbolism that can be translated to daily life.
Usually a story related to people and why they became what they became. It’s basically good versus evil with a moral compass. It also holds meaning. It can be written but it has different variations.
Why do people need a ruler? Are they a part of our basic needs or can we survive without them?
Who’s choosing them? A god, people, their parents, a symbol?
For how long do they rule? Can we overthrow them? Do we fear them?
Where do they live? How do they live? How old are they?
Not only your main characters aren’t puppets. Sometimes your main characters are the puppets.
To every event there’s more than one version of it.
By burning books you don’t erase the past.
Collective memory is a strong form of memory.
Buildings, streets, statues, paintings, and every form of art tell a different form of History.
Not every culture develops to be a western culture. Not every culture wants to be a western culture.
Don’t be afraid when creating a new world.
People need each other but there are people no one needs.
Not always the government is the enemy.
The military isn’t subjugated by the government.
Sometimes people have no idea what they are celebrating and why. That’s okay.
People are killed, erased, forgotten because the way they look, the way they think, what they believe, who they love. Violence exists in different forms and is prepetrated by different people and different institutions.
Don’t be afraid of your people rioting. Not everyone is as blind as they look.
There’s always someone who thinks differently. It doesn’t have to be your MC.
Natural disasters happen and they can trigger social processes.
Form and substance don’t always go hand in hand.
History is weird. Randomness occurs.
Forget about Unilineal Evolution.
Events get mixed. People who should be remembered are forgotten and vice versa.
Stories are also part of History.
There are more things I’m sure I’m forgetting right now, but the information above should help you.
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