For the past several years I’ve treated myself to the
weekend writing workshop at Dallas-area FenCon’s science fiction/fantasyconvention. We’ve had some amazing workshop instructors: Mike Resnick
(note to Mr. Resnick: after a few revisions, that crazy dragon story of mine
you read actually sold – twice!), Karl Schroeder, Lou Anders of Pyre, Patrick
and Teresa Hayden Nielsen of Tor, Carrie Vaughn and more. But this year was the
first with a local North Texas writer as our instructor. The honor
goes to Jaye Wells, author of the Prospero's World paranormal series, the Sabina Kane series, novellas, short
stories, and writing as Kate Eden, the Murdoch Vampire series. Writing that many stories requires a lot of worlds, and
Wells shared her “down and dirty” tips on building the worlds of our stories
with workshop participants.
World building, she told us, isn’t a requirement
limited to science fiction or fantasy stories. All genres require it, although
not all will admit it. So what exactly is “world building”? It’s “about
creating a sandbox for your characters, including such things as the world’s
physical characteristics, culture, history, religions – “everything that
affects your character.”
More than “a set design, with an actor standing in
front of it, it has to be in the round. . . If it interests you, fascinates
you, your world cannot help but be interesting.”
World building has macro and micro levels. At the
macro level, Wells makes big decisions, “setting up the rules for the world.
The rules you set up have to drive your story. Otherwise, why set it there?” At
the micro level, she decides on “the specific details (that) make your story
feel real, that people can picture.”
With macro and micro dimensions in mind, here are her
Five P’s of World Building:
-- People (gender, age, race, background, profession?)
-- Places (city/town/village/planet? Geography?)
-- Problems (What’s the problem facing this person or
people in this place?)
-- Practices (cultural items, civic life, education,
etc.)
-- Peculiarities (“the unique details that give your
world color and texture”)
All five P’s are required for the sixth P: Plot! (the
actual details of your story).
To spark her imagination, Wells is fond of collaging
(see http://pinterest.com/jayewells/).
Still stuck? Try this list of links and resources for filling in the
details and, as she said, “nurturing your god complex”:
-- Fantasy World Building Questions by Patricia C.
Wrede, www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuildingquestions/
-- World Building in Urban Fantasy, http://bookyurt.com/scouting/world-building-in-urban-fantasy-rt-convention-2011/
-- Magic systems, www.writing-world.com/sf/magic.shtml
-- Building a magical system, www.superheronation.com/2011/08/11/building-a-magical-system-a-questionnaire/
-- Character names, www.lowchensaustralia.com/names.htm
(originally for pet names, but don’t be alarmed!)
No comments:
Post a Comment