Writing a Period Piece

Not that kind. I'm currently writing a story set in 2004 (has it been seven years already? Wow.), with another planned that takes place in 1994-95. Any ideas for references I could slip in, or tips on how I can avoid a having a Purely Aesthetic Era?

It is a little like writing a SF, or fantasy piece, except the world has already existed years prior. You just need to consider what has been the dominating mindset of these days, and be careful not to slip in Lady Gaga (she was just starting out her musical career then in '04) or Twitter/Facebook. Also, try to keep track of what sayings were in vogue then. Dope, bomb, fly, right — I heard these back in the '90s. Nobody was spewing out 'EPIC' like their lives depended on it, except about Epic (Mega)Games.

edited 8th Mar '11 8:33:34 AM by QQQQQ

Thanks for the tip. And that reminds me about something else I wanna avoid. I'm a bit worried about falling into Nothing but Hits as far as cultural references go.

Sweet, a time period I know all about.

I believe in 2004, My Space was all the rage, so slip that in. Research what movies came out in that year, what TV shows were playing, and either watch them or read summaries. Don't forget to let the political climate influence the story, especially in 2004, just after 9/11 and while Bush was becoming controversial. I would scour the Useful Notes pages for the '00s and try to work in as much mentioned there as possible.

As for music, don't be afraid of using Nothing but Hits; they're remembered now for a reason. Especially with recent times, there's a pretty good conscious memory of what was on the radio at the time. Search for top 100 lists of songs of that year/time period, because they generally have some slightly more obscure songs. There are some You Tube playlists that have songs from the early '00s as well, so you can look at those.

Tai, I hate to tell you, but the thread you just bumped is two years old.

edited 26th Jul '13 10:21:26 PM by Ryuhza