"This is not a book about Australia. No, it's about somewhere entirely different which just happens to be, here and there, a bit ... Australian."
"Originally I was going to call Gotham City 'Civic City.' Then I tried 'Capital City,'...Then I flipped through the New York City phone book and spotted the name 'Gotham Jewelers' and said, 'That's it,' Gotham City. We didn't call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it."
"All those who feel that stereotypes aren't an issue when creating fictional groups for game purposes are free to take part in playtests for my new game Sambo: The RPG of Stealing Chickens and Eating Watermelons."
— JellyRoll Baker, in a RPG.net discussion of why one needs to be careful when dealing with this trope.
Prydain is not Wales—not entirely, at least. The inspiration for it comes from that magnificent land and its legends; but, essentially, Prydain is a country existing only in the imagination.
— The Chronicles of Prydain, introduction
Captain Ginyu: Congratulations! You've just won a free, all expenses paid trip to Space Australia!
Burter: Oh, you've gotta be freaking kidding me.
Jeice: Oh, ay, Space Oz. That's me 'ome planet!
Krillin: Wait, hold on. You're from Australia?
Jeice: Space Australia. Or, more specifically, Space Brisbane. Go Space Broncos!
Krillin: So...it's like...Australia...
Jeice: In space. Gotta be careful though, Burter. Space Dingo will eat your Space Baby. Like me sista...poor sheila.
Burter: Oh, you've gotta be freaking kidding me.
Jeice: Oh, ay, Space Oz. That's me 'ome planet!
Krillin: Wait, hold on. You're from Australia?
Jeice: Space Australia. Or, more specifically, Space Brisbane. Go Space Broncos!
Krillin: So...it's like...Australia...
Jeice: In space. Gotta be careful though, Burter. Space Dingo will eat your Space Baby. Like me sista...poor sheila.
I often use real places and historical events much the way working artists use reference photos when arranging their compositions; not because I am trying to draw a portrait of the model, but as a quick way to get proportions and perspectives right for a coming overlay pursuing quite another purpose. Readers who try to process the result as portraiture—either as historical fiction with the serial numbers filed off, or as historical critique—are using inappropriate viewing protocols for this style of composition. Attempts to draw exact one-to-one correspondences between my impressionist fiction and history thus naturally tend to go awry. Granted, spot-the-references can be a fun game, especially if it leads to more reading.
— Lois McMaster Bujold, foreword to Penric's Progress
