At Aetherfest in San Antonio a panel made up of DJ Doctor Q, the sky pirates from New England, the Wandering Legion of Thomas Tew, and others discussed regional differences in Steampunk between the Southern states and the New England states.
Leatherwork is big in colder climates, but not as big in the south or southwest, probably due to the heat and humidity there 
more than any other reason. It appears the costumes worn at cons in the New England area are usually more Victorian in tone than those worn in the south and southwest. In New England they have more access to vintage Victorian clothing and accessories due to the high volume of antiques there.
At Steampunk cons in the south and southwest you will see a lot more Stetsons than top hats as western wear is so much more accessible there than in New England. As many people still ranch and farm in the south we have many western stores. Some regions have more people sporting airship pirate costumes such as New England since again those clothing items are easier to find there since it’s a coastal area seeped in sea faring history.
It seems even in a specific region there are differences between cities, such as in Texas, Houston’s Steampunk costumes appear more industrial and gritty than those you’ll see in Dallas.
The conventions also differ a little per region, the pace of the cons in the south run a bitter slower, more laid back than New England, and New England cons seem a bit more music heavy. Cons in the south are more author and panel heavy, after all, southerners are known for their gift of gab.
There are regional differences outside of the U. S. as well. For instance in Russia they enjoy darker more post-apocalyptic Steampunk and Dieselpunk is more popular there. In Britain, as one would imagine, Steampunk embraces and is infused with Neo-Victorianism.
As a Steampunk writer this made me wonder about the affect the region I live in has on my author voice. I titled a Steampunk novella I just submitted to a publisher Conquistadors on Planet X. The title alone shows the state I reside in does affect my voice, it should be no surprise by the title that I live in Texas. Do you feel the region you live in affects you author voice at all in the settings or types of Steampunk stories you write?
Please comment below and share your own thoughts and experiences on regional differences.
The region I live in dictates what is familiar to me. For instance, I could easily write a story set in the forests of the Appalachian mountains – the look and feel of those hills and valley’s is second nature to me. I recently moved and for the first time when for a walk in a forest of the Mississippi Valley. It was totally different from any forest I had any experience with. It will be a long time before I can write a story set in those woods comfortably.
Where I live doesn’t dictate my writing – my current Steampunk project is a novel set in Mongolia. It’s taking a lot of research and work to get the knowledge I need to accurately write my ideas. So region doesn’t effect all the stories I write.
I think it is easier to write what it familiar, and also most of our ideas come from what is familiar. Which would make the things common where we live come out more in our writing.
I never really thought about it much as I only seriously dove into both steampunk and writing a steampunk story about 9 months ago, but the story concept definitely took on a western/adventure theme early on despite the fact that most of my initial research and knowledge of steampunk was not wild/weird west related. I too am a Texan, born and raised, thought some of my views might make an old cowboy turn red, but my overall idea is to span various parts of the globe with my characters (hopefully in a series).
Without giving too much away, my main character is a young man, displaced from Texas as a young boy who has lived in London for the later part of his youth. So one of my struggles has been to create a character who blends the two worlds in his persona.
As far as voice, I think that this being my first real story and first steampunk story, staying with the familiar (I grew up watching westerns with my grandfather) has helped me feel comfortable with the story and characters with the hope of different destinations and adventures in subsequent books. It has also helped me to focus on the steampunk elements of the story as I still continue to learn about and expand my steampunk universe.
For me, I see this first book and the plan for the series as sort of mirroring my own journey through steampunk and all its many facets. I do agree though that I think my region has contributed a lot to this first story. At first I worried about it not being steampunk enough or not being “proper” steampunk, but I’ve since learned that most people see steampunk as making it your own as evidenced by the many types mentioned here on ‘STEAMED!’.
Thank you so much for the comments, Jessica, and J. R. Woods, I appreciate them so much. Thank you for the insights you shared, they add so much to the discussion of regional differences in Steampunk. J. R. Woods, I can relate so much to the doubts you had at first about your story not being steampunk enough. I went through that exact expereince with my first steampunk book and I came to the same realization you did. Steampunk is at it’s best when the writer is making it their own. That’s so ture. By it’s very nature Steampunk can’t be put in a box, it a cross genre out of the box type of ficiton. Tha’t s what all of us steampunk writers and readers love about it. I agree Steamed is great blog for writers to explore the many different types of Steampunk, which helps writers feel more confident about their own unique Steampunk voice.
I absolutely agree, where you live or grew can influence the world you envision for your characters. I grew up in Colorado, of course I envisioned a Steampunk gunslinger, a succesful madam and inventor, a small boy in spectacles with a penchant for inventing things no one can explain and a dusty town on the prairie with the Rockies in the background. Of course, it could just be that I have watched every episode of Firefly 100 times.