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| Taung Kalat |
As I mentioned in my last entry, I’ve currently suspended drafting and word-count updates to focus on worldbuilding. In a moment of pleasant serendipity, my twitter-pal and Writers Guild host, Beth Hautala recently posted about worldbuilding. (Yes, that’s a lot of links, but I wanted to do her justice. She’s a friendly, generous, and extremely supportive person.) In her entry, Beth linked to a fantastic series of posts on worldbuilding by Jodi Meadows. These posts are chock full of really excellent advice on the topic, so I thought I’d quote a few choice bits here.
From definitions, logic, consistency, research:
1. “I see this one a lot, from secondworld fantasies to dystopian: there’s one event or technology or discovery that makes the world different from our own, and everything revolves around that. It — whatever it is — is constantly on characters’ minds. Everyone thinks about it, makes rules around it or about it, and that one thing is the world.But that’s not how worlds work.”
2. “In SFF, we tend to make up some crazy rules for our worlds. Sometimes those things need to be explained. Sometimes they don’t. Whatever we do, though, we must make the world utterly convincing. Even more convincing than real life, because the moment the world starts showing cracks and weird inconsistencies is the moment the reader gets jerked out and starts asking questions like, ‘Why’s it like that? How did it get like that? What’s the benefit for anyone?’”
From exploration and description:
1. “Explore the consequences of your worldbuilding choices. Explore the benefits. Challenge yourself to consider the choices you made, and take them to their fullest.”
2. “You need to be conscious of the way you describe things in narrative, too. In a world made entirely of water, you wouldn’t have your character describe another character’s hair as the color of desert sand. Instead, look for something in your world that’s comparable to that color, but familiar enough that readers instantly know what color you’re talking about.”
From introducing the world and sum-up:
1. “Rather than dropping a chunk of worldbuilding in the reader’s head via exposition, introduce things as they become relevant. If you have a tree that actually does grow money, you don’t need to mention that unless it’s relevant to your character. Maybe they wish they had a money tree because they’re broke, or they walk by a money tree orchard where the workers are picking dollar bills like apples. Perhaps your character stops to rest in the shade of the money tree. Suddenly the money tree is relevant.”
2. “There are lots of ways to establish huge worldbuilding aspects right away. Be creative. Make sure they fit in naturally with where your character is, who they are, and what they’re doing.”
(image adapted from an original by Brian Snelson/exfordy)
