Greetings mythics!
I’ve been asked to be on a fantasy panel with other fellow fantasy writers for the upcoming Herts Book Festival (18th and 19th May) and the theme is World Building. I’ve always loved this aspect of writing and in fantasy, along with Sci-fi and Horror, world building is crucial. It’s obvious to say the if you are writing a contemporary novel then it’s pretty much a given that your readers will know about the environment the book is set in. Even if it’s set in a different country, the laws of physics, of nature, of the environment are the same so the writer doesn’t have to spend time explaining these aspects. They follow the known facts about the real world we live in (we could go down the rabbit hole of what is ‘real’ and what isn’t, but we’ll save that for another day!). What is world building? Let’s look at what good old Wikipedia says: “World building is the process of constructing an imaginary world or setting, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing the world with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, culture and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers.” As I’ve already stated, I think its crucial for science fiction and fantasy writers. Why? A well constructed world needs to created by the writer and explained to the reader so they may understand the their laws of physics, their laws of nature, their environment. There may be a fair amount of cross over features from our ‘real’ world, such as the laws of gravity, the weather systems, or religions, but in order to be considered fantasy there does have to be a degree of difference. In fantasy, the obvious difference being magic. Planning the fundamentals. According to Tina Morgan from The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy Volume One, the basics are Time, Physical, Inhabitants, Society and Magic. These broad categorises encapsulate pretty much all that is needed for a coherent and believable fantasy world. Time, and I would add Place here too, is knowing what era the world is set in. For example is your world prehistoric, futuristic, or another specific time in history? Every fantasy world is based and inspired from a ‘real’ time and place in history. My own world of Edra is based on a pseudo-medieval setting drawing from the history, customs, superstitions, folktales and lore from the British Isles. But there are, obviously, plenty of other cultures from around the world and eras to drawn on. What are the physical aspects? Are they earth-like or alternative? If they are earth-like then the world has to follow the normal laws of physics and the author needs to take time to get elements like the science, climate, and environment correct otherwise the reader can disengage if something doesn’t ring true. If the world is an alternative or parallel world then obviously some or all of these elements will be altered to suit the stories the author wants to tell. They still need to follow coherent laws of the alternative science, climate, and environment but also the author needs to explain these alternative physical aspects otherwise, once again, the reader will lose interest and become frustrated with an ‘anything can happen’ world. The inhabitants of a fantasy world will probably be very different to our real world. This is one of the major differences from other genres of literature. The imagination of the author can really shine here as they can invent new races and creatures alongside humans and earth-based animals. As well as the usual elves, dwarves, fairies, gnomes, orcs, and goblins, I try to include the lesser-known races such as boggarts, brownies, cluricauns, pookas, and ink-pot monkeys. I’ve even created my own flying iron-monkeys! It’s the same with monsters and creatures. There are hundreds of documented mythical creatures from around the real world to draw on and inhabit your world. Some are always popular such as the dragon, griffin, minotaur, gorgon, and unicorn but it’s always refreshing to see more unknown creatures such as the wendigo, will O’ the wisp, chenoo, thunderbird, hippogryph, and wolpertinger. To help with my world building I created an illustrated deck of mythical creatures, called Story Spark Cards, detailing the characteristics of 52 mythical creatures to inspire me to keep my stories fresh and exciting. The society and daily life will have a major influence on how the characters will behave and on their opinions and beliefs. Questions to answer for the author are what type of government, level of technology, education, justice system, businesses, money, medicine, arts and entertainment and magic does the world have? All these aspects will need to have a certain level, even if it’s basic, of thought and consideration in order for the characters to function in their environments. Again, if these are left to chance and keep changing or are disjointed, the author risks losing the reader because of frustrations of a society that unnaturally evolves. The society the characters are born into and grow up in will obviously influence and shape their personalities, beliefs and opinions. What lifestyle do they inhabit? Did they grow up in poverty or wealth? Are they educated or not? Where they exposed to a political upbringing? These, and more questions, need answering to help create well-rounded and believable characters. Probably the element that separates fantasy from other genres is magic. I strongly believe that in order for the magic to be believable for the reader, all the other elements (Time, Physical, Inhabitants, Society) need to be grounded in a solid and coherent manor. If the reader is fully immersed in the fantasy world, the magic in the story will be just as real as the other elements. It helps ground the magic for them and they will accept that magic exists. That said, the magic still needs to have rules and be coherent in itself, otherwise the reader will reject it and probably stop reading. The author has to decide who uses magic, how they use it, what magic system is used and what is its power. As I believe this is one of the most important elements of a fantasy story, spending time creating a coherent magic system is vital. If you are delving into fantasy world building for the first time, I recommend doing plenty research for elements where your knowledge is limited, use ‘How to Write’ reference books, and above all, have fun! After all, writing is where your imagination can play. But what about you? What’s your approach to world building? What reference book are a ‘must have’ Let me know in the comments! May magic be with you, always. Loquacious McCarbre Storyteller Extraordinaire References: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldbuilding The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy Volume One edited by Darin Park and Tom Dullemond World Building essay by Tina Morgan from The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy Volume One edited by Darin Park and Tom Dullemond The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans Encyclopaedia of Things that Never Were edited by Michael Page and Robert Ingpen Story Spark Cards created by Ken Boyter and Rich Nairn: www.edratales.com
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Loquacious McCarbre is a writer and performer, co-creator and host of the fantasy YouTube channel The Bottled Imp. He created the Edra Tales fantasy world to showcase his literature, spoken word audiobooks, visuals, and creative projects. Past
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