: Re: How do I write real-world stories separate from my country of origin? I live in India. And the stories I write don't want to. The thing is, as you all might already know, my country has

@Si5022468

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You may benefit from taking a big breath and looking at the situation from outside.
You are Indian and you grew up in a society with richly pervasive traditions to which you feel bound.
A Japanese person has also grown up in a society with richly pervasive traditions to which they naturally feel bound and which will influence everything they write. An American person has surely grown up in a society with richly pervasive traditions (even if not as ancient as the Indian or Japanese ones) to which they are equally bound and which undoubtedly influence how they write.
As a Portuguese, I have also grown up in a society with rich traditions, but not as pervasive. Recently in my country's history, there was a generation long dictatorship that caused a backlash against national culture and a blind embracing of everything foreign (which is fortunately wearing off). In that sense, it might look as if I have an advantage over you in the sense I don't feel bound to my culture, right? Wrong. Even my growing up in constant contact with foreign culture means I'm bound to my very Portuguese culture.
What it does mean is that I'm more aware of the foreign traditions and their 'clichés'. A diverse fantasy world with wild ideas and crazy conjurings and names? Wild and crazy is so American. A sweet school girl who gathers the courage to confess her feelings to the popular school boy, even though she knows he's outside her league and the other girls will look down at her? That's so Japanese. A countryside village with a still inhabited mansion nearby? That's so British. A slow paced, instrospective film? That's so French.
We are all bound by our traditions. They feel natural to us. They may become clichéd to our eyes (whether they are or not) but they still feel natural. The lesser known traditions of other cultures, on the other hand, feel more spontaneous, more free... It is an illusion: they are not.
My suggestion is for you to sit down and look analytically at the fiction surrounding you.
What do you think is great about the Indian traditions that seep into the writing?
What do you think is old and worthy of getting rid of?
Why? This is an essential question that you must ask constantly. What do you find annoying about them? In which way to they bring or take away the value of a story?
What do you think is great about the 'world traditions' you admire? Do not stick to 'they're free and spontaneous'. That is only the glittering of novelty blinding you. Find something real, that brings value to the story.
Now look critically at those 'world traditions' and find their faults. There is very little in this world that has only advantages or only disadvantages. You will have more of one or the other, naurally, but you'll have both. Do not let the enthusiasm for what is different blind you to their shortcomings.
Now, it is the time to focus on you.

it would seem out of place for an Indian writer of fiction

Focus, my friend. What do you want? Do you want to be an Indian writer of fiction, a foreign writer of fiction or a world writer of fiction? If you choose the first, forget your qualms and simply work with your traditions, remaking them in new ways. If you choose the second, forget everything you know and embrace only what is new and different. If you choose the third, then go back to the questions above. It's time you forge your own path accepting what you feel has worth in every world tradition you look at, including your own.
I shall now give you a fourth path that breaks away before the three paths I mentioned above.
You want to be a writer of fiction. Good. Now I embrace who you are, including all those pervasive traditions you seem to be fed up with. They are part of you. Nevertheless, you are not simply an Indian; you are also a citizen of the world. Embrace that too.
Once more, go back to those questions above and look critically at the fantasy stories you've been exposed to.
Focus on you again.
What do you want to do? Do not let the answer be a vague 'something new and different'. Be specific. Do you want a fantasy world of wars, or politics, or commerce... or maybe all of it. Do you want Nordic dragons, Chinese dragons or a new type of dragon altogether? Do you want people wearing veils and multicolour see-through fabrics, or sturdy and dull clothing?
Make deliberate choices and be aware of what they have within that is Indian and what they have that is American, or Japanese, or whatever. And when you make those choices, make them for a reason.

But the thing is, I don't really want to [remain sundered from [external culture] and exploit our own cultural bounty].
I want to tell stories free from the cultural restrictions of my country- but [...] a fantasy world would seem incongruous with 'unindian' names and 'foreign' mythical creatures coming from an Indian writer.
I want to make it in this country, the one I live in. But the content and type of stories I want to write [...] feel like they won't fit in.
it would seem out of place for an Indian writer of fiction

Your words spell a little paradox. You want to break away and yet you do not want to break away, for fear of being shunned.
I find it particularly curious that you say the 'unindian' characteristics would be incongruous coming from an Indian writer. If that is what is holding you back, write under a nom de plume. But you want to be seen as an Indian writer, don't you? Go the Rowlings way. Using initials, no one could tell immediately she was a woman; make use of a name that is ambiguous and will give you more freedom. Once the reader likes your work, it will not matter that you are Indian.
And yet I'm sure it is an unnecessary ruse. While some may accuse you of renouncing your heritage, many more will praise your courage. And, let's be honest: writing a fantasy world without 'Indianisms' (if the word exists) is not a sign of renouncing one's heritage, especially because one's cultural heritage will always be present.
Forget your fears and write the story you have within you. Build the world without worries of what your Indian readers will think.
Good luck.

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