Thank you!

I ended up doing this. However, where can I set the place of the story? I cannot set it in USSR because this country no longer exists. I cannot set it in Europe as I haven't lived there and don't know the first thing about it except for general stereotypes and my own cultural memory. So I have to set it up in America, even without mentioning where it is set.

But again I have difficulties with creating a valid back story, as I haven’t been exposed to American schooling in my early childhood as well as I haven’t been exposed to American cultural stereotypes, its propaganda, and anti-propaganda, its cultural tidbits, perceptions, and values. I lived in this country for a while and learned quite a bit. Still, without this exposition, it is hard to have a profound understanding of "my fellow Americans", their motives and their internal world and often when I write about them I feel like an imposter. In fact, it is hard to come up with the start-up circumstances to a story, as my cultural experience would limit me to just a certain predefined set.

That’s why it is so interesting for me to participate in “finish the story” contests where the startup circumstances are given as well as the outline of the characters. I can proceed by using the “budding” method; by just follow the logic of the characters and the narrative, and attempting to imitate the style. )