Sheath Shattered: Using Record Keeping to Build your World
Abstract
In my research, I explore using historical examples of non-artistic record keeping as inspiration for worldbuilding in epistolary fiction. For example, in Lewis and Clark’s expedition, they discovered new plants and animals and mapped routes to the Pacific Ocean. Their detailed recording of maps and routes, which laid out which areas were great for agriculture and settlement, had a strong impact on American life in expanding west and became the leading force of Manifest Destiny. History is often used as inspiration, while epistolary fiction is apt at creating intimacy between the letter-writer and the reader through the transparency and intimacy of emotion in the idea of writing in the moment. The genre even holds historical ties as the letter novel was considered a popular genre in the 18th century, with many readers enjoying reading the everyday life of fictional characters. In recent times, the writing style isn’t as commonly employed as there are many rules to upkeeping the realism of the style. However, with the introduction of technology, the genre has expanded to various forms such as research reports, newspaper articles, and even emails and texts. This has allowed the style to be less restrictive, while still playing on the strengths of realism. The genre was also associated with the feminine voice as it was considered favored to use as moral instruction to women at that time. Considering the main character of my artifact is female, further research into the topic offers further subversions from epistolary fiction’s original intent. To emulate the strong worldbuilding offered by historical recordkeeping, I created Sheath Shattered, a creative artifact in the epistolary fiction genre, which takes a more explorational stance as it introduces a fantasy setting.
Citation
Cadungog, Madeleine Grace (2023). Sheath Shattered: Using Record Keeping to Build your World. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /200307.