What could be interesting in my world is the idea of my two characters not fitting in. Maybe in this beach town the characters are all like-minded stereotypes. Potentially everyone could listen to the same type of music, hold similar world-views, have the same friends. The civilians of this beach town are all a part of this culture that my two protagonists don’t ascribe too. My two characters are in the society but not of the society. I always find it interesting when the morals of an individual doesn’t match up with the ethics of the culture they live in.
What are the ethics of my world? I want my place to be physically cold and for the characters who comprise it to be cold. I think the people of my world should display a pack mentality, they will all subscribe to the idea of a collective being more significant than the individual. The 1984 mentality of ‘you don’t matter, the group matters’. I think this is an interesting addition to my world. Potentially my protagonist could find himself continually pitted against this collectivist mentality, he himself could be in far contrast, a lonely, Wolf like creature. Wolf could be a nice metaphor for him.
How can I represent this culture? Through clothing, maybe the protagonist is quite neat, has a short haircut, tucks his shirt into trousers whereas the rest of the society adopts a more bohemian, rugged look. Everyone has tattoos, piercings, listens to punk music. Drinking and Smoking is a formality. By the culture, these indulgences are considered right of passage, to be a part of the world you must consume. This is where conflict can arise in my protagonist.
Which characters don’t belong in the world? People who don’t fit into this precise mould of the culture. I don’t imagine my town as being an idyllic beach town, it is contemporary and run down.