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I am not versed in who used what when, so I can't tell you exactly what to use. Fortunately, I can tell you how to find out. In most fiction, your write for your readers. So if your audience is G...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T17:49:00Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23677 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:23:45Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23677 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
I am not versed in who used what when, so I can't tell you exactly what to use. Fortunately, I _can_ tell you how to find out. In most fiction, your write for your readers. So if your audience is German or Russian, you use the Metric System. If they are American, you use the US Customary System In historical fiction, Germans or Russians would use the metric system, so they should do so within your novel. You can always include a conversion somewhere within your novel if the detail is important, or even just a vague description of the distance: "A field away," "A castle the size of a pigeon on the horizon," "a stone's throw." However, when you the author are talking to the reader (ie, narration, no character is speaking), you should use the Us Customary Units. It might seem a bit jarring, so if possible, you might want to not use exact measurement units all the time. Rather, use descriptions like I included above, or simply things like, "arm's reach" and "a stride away" for short distances. I hope that answers your question, and good luck in your writing!
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2016-07-04T01:30:29Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 2