World Building 101, part One: Introduction
Ironically, the most powerful impediment from writing this is in deciding where to begin.
I’ve written several novels and stories which emerge out of almost as many seeds, and over the years one of the most satisfying responses I’ve had is in regard to the worlds themselves. Now, I’m not going to take that as an insult to the characters or my really terrible Star Wars references (careful readers may have noticed I include one in every book) , but accept the compliments in the nature with which they were intended. I love these worlds, they represent the sort of place I’d love to visit (or perhaps even live), and I hope that my readers feel the same. Even the scary worlds are a thrill to imagine visiting, if only for a moment or two.
And yes, every world is a place of beauty, filled with wonders and breathtaking moments of magic or science or perhaps just a twist of the mundane. I definitely cannot brush aside writers of non-fiction for not inventing worlds of their own, and, if anything, it may be even more of a challenge to find beauty in worlds ravaged by violence and fear, so I definitely have to tip my hat to people who find gems in the ashes, so to speak.
My first big and fictional world was from the Lord of the Rings. I pored over those pages, marveling at how it felt more like a historical drama than something born of whimsy and imagination. And of course, Star Wars, and countless other novels and movies that opened portal after portal into one strange and wonderful new world after another. The process began to fascinate me – where did these ideas come from? How did the creators imagine up these impossible lands which seemed so real I could practically touch them?
I have stumbled across the whole argument of whether it’s harder to write non-fiction or fiction, and I would like to state for the record that I find them BOTH to be equally challenging. But since my writing experiences tend towards the non-fiction, well, that’s where I’m going to place my focus here.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share my thoughts on a variety of topics related to the concept and challenges of World Building – the notion of creating a space from which a story may emerge – the terraforming of fiction, as it were. From geography to anthropology, from mythology to modernity, from diversity to fashion to flora and fauna – what makes a make-believe world into a believable world. I’ve invited a few fellow creator friends of mine to chime in as well, and hopefully this can create a conversation. Also, complete with the chance for you to ask questions and peer a bit behind the scenes at what makes what is probably my favorite part of writing fiction my favorite part of writing fiction.
We’re going to look at the purpose of world development from a very big lens, and I’ll share with you some of the insights I and others have had along our own personal creative journeys. I hope it will be informative, but I also suspect it will be a lot of fun. Especially if you’re one of those people who likes watching all the behind the scenes videos from your favorite movies - - - which I will confess, I am absolutely that guy. I’m a storyteller nerd, I cannot help myself. My wife and son tolerate my nerdiness and if I write all of this down, it spares them the endless torment. So please. Do it for them, won’t you?
Oh, and I’m going to give out recommendations and perhaps even a little homework if you want to play along. But no tests and no final exams, and I’m not going to be taking attendance, so you can wipe that look off your face, okay?