: Re: How do I make it so my story happens in an ambiguous time frame? Nothing extreme, of course. No mentions of futuristic time-traveling gadgets or teleportation or the like. Or, conversely, nothing

@Jamie945

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I don’t think it’s possible. I have a short storybwhere I want to keep it open as to when it happens, but only within a 10–20 year window. That is, does it end in present day, or begin in present day, with two acts separated by 10 years.

So consider helping a pizza-delivery driver who has mechanical or weather-related problems. Today, would someone knock on a door to ask for help, or just use her own phone? In the past, is pizza delivery even a thing? Would women be doing it? Does it make sense if it predates automobiles, or would you have condern for the horse be up-front in the interaction?

So many things about the situation date it to some extent, even without mentioning specific tech. The latter can broaden it: e.g watching a movie at home implys some tech level even if you avoid specific mention of the media used.

Deciding on a specific range will be easier than trying to make it completely open. Even if it's all ruminations, would a ancient Roman care about such issues?

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