If you’re wondering how to write a story set in the 90s, the following 10 top tips will help you to create an environment in this era in your novel.
1. Coffee! Lots of it!
Why is it so ‘90s’?
Watch any popular TV show from the 90s, and you’ll find the cast assembled in a coffee shop or diner of some kind, drinking coffee, and sharing witty conversation. That’s because Starbucks, and the idea of a ‘coffee joint,’ really took off in the 90s and was, to some degree, a measure of individual success. That’s because buying a fancy coffee was much more expensive than just making one at home.
How to Include It
But just adding a coffee shop to your story isn’t enough to give it a ‘90s’ flare,’ since places like Starbucks are still popular today. The coffee shop needs to be the 90s equivalent to how the bar or the mall was depicted in the 1980s: a second home. Because of the lack of cell phones, it needs to feel like a place where the characters meet without arranging it first because they just know the others will be there.
2. The Gulf War started the 1990s off with a bang.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
Although the Gulf War only lasted six months (from August 1990 to February 1991), it was especially relevant in 90s culture because it was the biggest US military operation since Vietnam. It was also the first-time women were able to fight in a war, rather than just assist as nurses or technicians. And while the country wasn’t totally on board with the war, there wasn’t that sense of protest like there was during Vietnam.
How to Include It
If you want to use the Gulf War as a dating event for your story, include a comment about women fighting on the front lines. You could include characters who are either going off to the war or have family members going off to war. In either case, they would be really worried about the soldier’s fate, especially since it had been nearly two decades since the last war.
3. Race relations became a prominent talking point.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
The Rodney King riots in LA brought to light the barbaric treatment of African Americans by police officers. The televised and unwarranted beating of Rodney King caused large scale revolt in LA, with businesses burning and wide-scale looting for a full week in late April 1992. Think of it as the ‘George Floyd’ of the 1990s.
How to Include It
To reference the riots, you’ll want to include the meme born from King’s interview: “Can’t we all just get along?” But mostly, you’ll want to include the celebration of ‘Black culture’ in popular media. There was a boom of TV shows will all Black actors (In Living Color, Martin, Living Single, Arsenio Hall), and traditionally ‘Black’ music (Rap and R&B) were becoming more mainstream. ‘Representation’ was just becoming part of the greater cultural conversation. Any Black characters you have will be very interested and concerned by these events and how they affect their own lives, as an individual and a person of color.
4. President Bill Clinton was a prominent figure, not just for his extramarital affairs.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
When Bill Clinton won the presidency in the 1994 election, it was a shock. Clinton would become the first Democratic president since Reagan’s win in 1980. Clinton’s portrayal of himself as a ‘man of the people’ focused more on how he related to the African American population and their culture. Unfortunately, by the end of the decade, he was known more for the Monica Lewinsky scandal than anything he accomplished as president.
How to Include It
If your story is set in the mid-90s, then you could include the ‘Clinton playing saxophone’ meme commonly parodied on TV and in newspapers. You could reference Clinton’s adherence to the ‘Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell’ policy to gay relationships in the military. If you want to date your story more late-90s (1998-onward), then focus on including some of the many, many memes and one-liners born of the Monica Lewinsky trials.
5. Cynical yet optimistic at the same time.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
After the economic booms of the 1980s (in the US, at least), a recession in the early 90s bred an ‘impending sense of doom’ and feeling of anti-establishment. By the mid-90s, though, there was a sense of optimism about how society was moving: women and minorities (including LGBT) were getting more focus and representation while the economy started booming again (seen most clearly through the rise in homeownership across the country).
How to Include It
In the 90s, nearly every group of friends had one friend who was ‘the cynic.’ They spoke in sarcastic quips and had something witty and negative to say about nearly everything. They often wore all black or, at the very least, the increasingly popular Doc Martin boots. On the flip side, there was also the naively optimistic friend who wore the other aesthetic of the 90s: neon colors, quirky accessories (like eyeball earrings and dream catcher necklaces). Including at least one of these characters would add to the 90s feel of your story.
6. Computers were in every home.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
Personal computers became more affordable in the 90s, and by the end of the decade, nearly every home contained one. The user-friendly Windows 95 and interactive CD-Roms made computers like fancy video games that could also help type up work easier than a typewriter. With the introduction of the Internet and America Online in 1996, computers were on their way to becoming the mainstay they are today.
How to Include It
If set in the late 90s, then make sure to mention how long it takes to connect to the Internet and the fact that only dial-up (connecting via the phone line) is possible. For comedic effect, you could have one of the characters accidentally pick up the phone while someone else is on the computer (which kicks them offline). If you are writing about school-age characters, then you can showcase this element by discussing the computer lab in the school that they are being encouraged and taught to use.
7. Grunge and Rap: the rising music stars of the 90s.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
When people think of the 90s, they often think of the music. Grunge bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden were becoming popular and were even more culturally significant after the very publicized suicide of Kurt Cobain in 1994. The gang-related deaths of rappers Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. brought rap and gangs into the mainstream, and rappers like Snoop Dog and Coolio were sung by nearly everyone.
How to Include It
Simply mentioning the grunge aesthetic (plaid shirts tied around the waist; long, unkempt hair) or the East Coast-West Coast rap conflict would show that your story is set in the 90s. An offhanded mention of Cobain’s suicide or Tupac’s and Biggie’s deaths would also help give your story a ‘90s feel’ without sounding like you’re shoehorning it in.
8. ‘Girl Power’ was on the rise.
From the punk girl bands of the early 90s to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Spice Girls in the late 90s, the celebration of all things ‘girl’ was huge in the 90s. No Doubt’s song ‘I’m Just a Girl’ was like an anthem for women, and everywhere you looked, there was talk of women becoming more involved in men-dominated careers, like the military, medicine, and law.
How to Include It
Have your characters attend or discuss going to a punk girl band gig or quote lines from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If your female characters are younger than 25, you could have them casually discuss which Spice Girl they feel most like and/or have them actively dress like a certain character.
9. Cell phones weren’t popular, but pagers were.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
In the 90s, cell phones still needed an external battery pack to operate, which meant they weren’t as popular or readily available as they would become in the early 00s. What became popular first was the pager. No longer regulated to just doctors, nearly everyone had a pager and used number codes to text each other with them. This also meant they were constantly looking for landlines to call back paged numbers.
How to Include It
Research some popular page text codes your characters could use to communicate via pager. You could also show them receiving pages and tracking down a pay phone to call them back. Maybe they’re trying to sell something in the Classifieds section of the newspaper (remember: no Internet back then) or someone close to them (like a boss or close friend) is abusing the ability to get in contact with them 24/7 since the concept is so new.
10. Video games became more mainstream.
Why is it so ‘90s’?
Because of the affordability of personal computers and different video game consoles (Sega and Playstation both released their consoles in the 90s), more people played video games at home than ever before. Characters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Lara Croft were catchy and different and quickly became part of the larger cultural conversation. It was starting to become ‘cool’ to play video games in the 90s.
How to Include It
You could have characters who play the video games or simply mention them. Have someone bring up the ridiculous measurements of Lara Croft (she was known more for her over-exaggerated body features than the video game). If you have younger characters, you could have them meet up to play Super Mario Kart at someone’s house, a common activity for young people in the 90s.