Worldbuilding
December 10th 2008 20:53
I write dark fantasy; and in fantasy there is usually quite a bit of extensive worldbuilding that is done in preparation for the book/series you're writing. This can at times be tedious-it can also be incredibly fun. The following things are some things to seriously look into when building your world:
Geography mapping it out is a very, very good idea; you need to know where people are going. If you're doing journey fantasy, you need to know where the people are journeying too. If your story takes place in a city, you're going to need the little details of the city, even if your character doesn't bring them up in terms of narration.
Cultures what kind of cultures do you have? What races are there other than humans? Are there races other than humans? Varying amounts of detail prove necessary depending on just how much time is spent in your world and where in the world the time is spent. Different people go to different lengths.
Keep in mind that a lot of these details are for you and you only; they don't need to all be put into a book.
History you want to know the history of your world for multiple reasons. The first of which is it will play a huge part in the overall culture. The wars, poverty, plagues, and everything else the culture has gone through will play major roles in the way people act even centuries later. You don't need to do an extremely detailed history, but you want some sort of a timeline of the past several centuries, even if it only lists the big things.
Again, a lot of these details are just for your use; you can write about the world in more depth if you know more about it. The quality of your writing will often show the quality of your knowledge of the world in which you do the writing.
Religion religion may not play an important part in your book, or in the lives of your characters. However, it is important to establish a few basic details about religion in the culture they live in-like how much/little effect it has over the majority of people. You can also get plenty of new novel ideas from the religion itself (and the history) to write in the same world.
Class/Gender Rules developing a class system and figuring out how the genders are treated-how equal they are, in other words-can be incredibly important. It can also be fun. And it's another part of world building that can always spring forth new ideas for new novels in the same world. This is something that needs to be followed. You can't start bending the rules.
There are several other things, but those are a few of the most important ones. For a lot of great writing information, especially on the front of worldbuilding, check out this site:
Really Long Link
Geography mapping it out is a very, very good idea; you need to know where people are going. If you're doing journey fantasy, you need to know where the people are journeying too. If your story takes place in a city, you're going to need the little details of the city, even if your character doesn't bring them up in terms of narration.
Cultures what kind of cultures do you have? What races are there other than humans? Are there races other than humans? Varying amounts of detail prove necessary depending on just how much time is spent in your world and where in the world the time is spent. Different people go to different lengths.
Keep in mind that a lot of these details are for you and you only; they don't need to all be put into a book.
History you want to know the history of your world for multiple reasons. The first of which is it will play a huge part in the overall culture. The wars, poverty, plagues, and everything else the culture has gone through will play major roles in the way people act even centuries later. You don't need to do an extremely detailed history, but you want some sort of a timeline of the past several centuries, even if it only lists the big things.
Again, a lot of these details are just for your use; you can write about the world in more depth if you know more about it. The quality of your writing will often show the quality of your knowledge of the world in which you do the writing.
Religion religion may not play an important part in your book, or in the lives of your characters. However, it is important to establish a few basic details about religion in the culture they live in-like how much/little effect it has over the majority of people. You can also get plenty of new novel ideas from the religion itself (and the history) to write in the same world.
Class/Gender Rules developing a class system and figuring out how the genders are treated-how equal they are, in other words-can be incredibly important. It can also be fun. And it's another part of world building that can always spring forth new ideas for new novels in the same world. This is something that needs to be followed. You can't start bending the rules.
There are several other things, but those are a few of the most important ones. For a lot of great writing information, especially on the front of worldbuilding, check out this site:
Really Long Link
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