I Only Wanted a Town. I Built a Country.
The Many Problems of Making Luka Erebi #2
Alternative Earth is my go-to for contemporary.
I never found myself enjoying writing about a real place with fictional characters. There will be times when I compromise and write in a state that I live in, but the town/city won’t be real.
It gives me more freedom to do whatever I want without a native going, “Hey! Seattle isn’t like that!”
More power to you if you write in real places.
To complement (or torture) Luka’s bug problem, I wanted it to be in a place where insects thrives.
This year, I got to go to Malaysia and Singapore, and although the heat was unbearable, I loved the scenery. I spent only 2 days in Singapore, and it was enough to make me want to come back.
I like the idea of Singapore; this small island country that had more wealth than Malaysia. Their public transport was great, expanding through the entire island.
So I based the Nation Islands of Insecta around Singapore.
I actually only intended on making a fictional town called Locust Town, but then I went a bit wild and made a whole history of Insecta.
A little history lesson about Insecta.
It was created in the middle of the Northern Atlantic Ocean by numerous volcanoes erupting and was uninhabited for a century, until a people from the S.S. Monarch got stranded due to a heavy storm. Since they couldn’t contact anyone and help wasn’t coming any time soon, they chose to make these islands their home.
After its discovery 50 years later by the world government, Britain and Spain sought the islands for themselves. They both occupied the islands, vying for territory.
50 years of occupation was met with scorn and anger by the natives, who eventually rose up against their occupiers and drove them both out. Thus created the independent nation of Insecta.
I’m still working on fleshing out the cities and districts of Insecta, but it’ll be quite exciting once I get a map of it.
Locust Town is where the main story will take place.
It’s the town Luka grew up in. It’s the town that she met Wren. And it’s the town where all of her troubles started.
On the history side, it’s one of the first towns created in Insecta with a majority of its land taken by Acacia Park—a lush forest park that’s both a tourist attraction and a local favorite.
Just don’t wander in at night. It’s probably not a good idea.
Anyway, maybe there will be some problems with the government officials (or some wealthy folks) wanting to cut down a portion of the park for their own needs. Who knows. I haven’t gotten there yet.
Locust Town is also home to Lotus Academy, a well-known school for its science and medical branch. A lot of foreigners come to attend Lotus Academy.
The story’s not locked in to Locust Town, but it’s a good hub world. I have no plans of going outside of Insecta.
There are some other places I haven’t mentioned. You might’ve seen it in the picture at the top.