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So, my friend and I are working together to build a whole fantasy world. The only problem is that neither of us have ever created a fantasy world like we are attempting to do. Do you guys have any tips? Any advice is welcome!
@emily @shannon @catwing @daeus @dragon-snapper @salome01w4g @daughteroftheking
INFJ ~ 4w5
aldarley.wordpress.com@epicaddie2 Ooooh I was talking about this a while back… let me go copy and paste my emails… XD
It’s a fairly simple thing, but once you delve into it there’s a lot to work with.
Basically, I came up with four pillars I think every culture is built on.1. History
2. Religion
3. Geography
4. EconomyIn that order. History and Religion belong in the ‘Philosophical’ category and Geography and Economy belong in the ‘Physical’ category, but they all affect each other.
History is the foundation of Religion, and Geography the foundation of Economy (in that it dictates what resources you have available and how you use them), but Economy is probably where it all becomes most apparent, because how you use your resources and conduct trade with others shows very clearly the state of all the rest. It’s kind of like how people’s relationships with other people bring out more surely than anything else what kind of person they are.To give you some idea of how to use this, I like to think about it like the four components of the… human… intellect? which are, from a scientific standpoint,
1. Genetic
2. Environmental
3. Spiritual
4. (and this one is mine, because I don’t think Genetic quite covers it) Psychological.These four things are pretty much what shapes a human’s EiL. [Addie, an EiL is an Experiment in Living— a character’s worldview; the ‘theory’ they have as to how life should best be lived.]
It’s the same with a culture. Cultures have EiLs just like humans. A culture is just a bigger character. They all have their beliefs and values and contradictions just like humans do. It’s simply a larger stage.
One nation is one character.
Three or four nations is a cast.
But keep in mind that History is at the base of it all, which means that there is always going to be more than is readily apparent. You may have ghost cultures, living an exiled existence within other cultures, and cultures within those cultures. Each has a story behind it. Each is a scar of some kind. Each is perfect and complete within itself.
Once again, it’s like a person. They have an overarching belief and worldview that defines their EiL. But that’s not to say they don’t have the ghosts of other EiLs inside them; maybe ones in their past, or ones they’ve just begun to see and move towards, that will feature prominently in their future.
A culture, just like a character, should be duplicitous and contradictory. All rules that apply to good characterization apply to building a dynamic and believable culture.Of course, within each of the four pillars there is an infinite amount of building and wondering and thinking and questioning to do, but that’s an entirely different facet to the discussion. 😛
Does that make some sort of sense?
I’ll also add that the quirks and facts of your worldbuilding don’t mean a thing to anyone unless they’re part of the story, and essential to it. A lot of worldbuilding is just for you, the author. It will help you better understand what you’re working with, and is invaluable just for that. The reader doesn’t need to know every single cool thing about your world. To them, it’s only cool if it affects how they story they love is going to play out for the characters they’re rooting for.
@kate-flournoy Wow, that’s great advice!! Thank you!
INFJ ~ 4w5
aldarley.wordpress.com*grins* *offers her advice even though she wasn’t tagged* @kate-flournoy and I have actually discussed this a lot recently, because my new WIP has a huge world–actually, two worlds, each with very different takes on the four pillars she mentioned.
1. History
2. Religion
3. Geography
4. EconomyIf I could squeeze in a fifth one, though, I’d add government to the list, because whether you realize it now or not, the characters in your world are going to rely on something or someone for order. Government plays strongly into your world’s history, geography, and economy (and sometimes, in specific cases, religion), taking into account the things that unite people in order to achieve peace. Even if your world doesn’t have a standard governmental hierarchy, with a king, queen, knights, and duchesess, there still needs to be a way your characters maintain peace–laws that are put in place, and things of that regard.
Hope that helps. If you have any questions about it, lemme know. Or Kate. The Kate always knows things. 😉
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@That_Writer_Girl_99 good thoughts. I played around a lot with government and where it fits in, but it was so equally part of all four of the pillars I couldn’t bring myself to make it its own separate one. 😛
It’s probably the most perfect manifestation of a country’s EiL within itself, whereas Economy is a further exploration of that outside of the country’s borders.
@epicaddie2 awesome! Glad it helped. 🙂My thoughts exactly @kate-flournoy. That, to me, makes it one of the most interesting aspects of world-building.
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@That_Writer_Girl_99 a girl after my own heart. 😉
What can I say? I learned from the best. 😉 @kate-flournoy
Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.
@that_writer_girl_99 I agree, government does play a big part in the world. It does especially in my current WIP. 😉 Thanks for your advice!
INFJ ~ 4w5
aldarley.wordpress.com@epicaddie2 I’m working through this myself at the moment, but I do have one or two things to say.
First, you want to develop your world well before you start writing. Sure, you should only spend so much time building your story world. You have to start eventually, but spending a whole month world building would not be unreasonable. A good fantasy novel is dependant on a good fantasy world. In a way, your story world almost writes your story for you.
Second, fantasy is aaaalllllllll about the past. All. That’s why it’s so cool. In fantasy, the events of a thousand years ago can play a major role in what happens in your story. Your character’s pasts are also very important. In some ways, fantasy is really more about history than historical fiction.
Finally, I’d add two things to Kate’s list. Human/species types and magic. Are you going to have elves or invent your own fantasy creatures? Either way, what are they going to be like? What type of plants/animals are you going to have in your world? And magic — fantasy certainly doesn’t need magic, but if you’re going to have it, make sure you define it before you start writing. Otherwise you won’t know what your characters are able to do and you won’t be able to develop your plot accordingly.
That’s all I have to say. I’m eager to hear others’ opinions. 🙂
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@daeus Thank you! I’m gonna tag my friend (who’s on here but hardly ever) so she can read all this.
@aysia-serene Here’s lots of world building advice!
INFJ ~ 4w5
aldarley.wordpress.com- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@epicaddie2 *pops in* *opens and closes her mouth* I just realized I know absolutely nothing about this topic 😀 *runs off to read up on world building*
@epicaddie2 Yep. I would also direct you here: https://kingdompen.org/category/articles/worldbuilding/
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@daeus Oooooh lots of cool articles! Thank you!
INFJ ~ 4w5
aldarley.wordpress.com
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