When You Think You're Done, Something Else Comes Up
February 24th 2010 12:25
For the last few weeks, I've been working a fair bit on building the world of Tamraq, the world in which my Jihad series takes place. There is so much to create in this world, so many things to talk about. I've already got a binder that's mostly full of notes, and I'm beginning to think that I might need to get a bigger one.
I thought that I'd done enough worldbuilding to at least write the first couple of books, but after writing Phoenix Falling I realized just how much needed to be done. How much more can be added, how much more should be added. We're quickly approaching March and NaNoEdMo and I've barely got anything done in preparations for a rewrite.
But it's worth it. Even though every time I think I'm done working on a certain part of Tamraq's history something else comes up that needs to be done, I enjoy it. I enjoy every minute that I spend building this world. And I know that when I do rewrite Phoenix Falling, and when I do finish the series, that the books will be just that much better because the world is so real to me.
Consider this: Tolkien spent a decade building the world for LoTR. He built the world first, and LoTR was the story that came from that world. Consider the rich detail you find in those books, the descriptions of the landscape, little traditions, little differences in people. Anyone who has read the books will know what I'm talking about. The language of the Elves, the poetry, the songs are beautiful and well done.
Consider how well you feel you know Tolkien's world. Consider how immersed in Tolkien's world you felt when you were reading his books. His world was real to you, his story was real to you.
You'll never be Tolkien, but consider how much better your books will be if you do the work in advance. When you look at it that way, all the world building, even when it's tedious and frustrating, is entirely worth it. You want your books to be remembered-and if you make your world completely real to you, it will be real to your readers, and they'll remember that world almost as vividly as they remember this one.
I thought that I'd done enough worldbuilding to at least write the first couple of books, but after writing Phoenix Falling I realized just how much needed to be done. How much more can be added, how much more should be added. We're quickly approaching March and NaNoEdMo and I've barely got anything done in preparations for a rewrite.
But it's worth it. Even though every time I think I'm done working on a certain part of Tamraq's history something else comes up that needs to be done, I enjoy it. I enjoy every minute that I spend building this world. And I know that when I do rewrite Phoenix Falling, and when I do finish the series, that the books will be just that much better because the world is so real to me.
Consider this: Tolkien spent a decade building the world for LoTR. He built the world first, and LoTR was the story that came from that world. Consider the rich detail you find in those books, the descriptions of the landscape, little traditions, little differences in people. Anyone who has read the books will know what I'm talking about. The language of the Elves, the poetry, the songs are beautiful and well done.
Consider how well you feel you know Tolkien's world. Consider how immersed in Tolkien's world you felt when you were reading his books. His world was real to you, his story was real to you.
You'll never be Tolkien, but consider how much better your books will be if you do the work in advance. When you look at it that way, all the world building, even when it's tedious and frustrating, is entirely worth it. You want your books to be remembered-and if you make your world completely real to you, it will be real to your readers, and they'll remember that world almost as vividly as they remember this one.
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