One week is already done and I’m behind…but I’m ahead in my editing of The Nowhere Gate so am I really losing? I don’t think so! Last weekend I edited 5 chapters and two more over the last two days bringing me over the 50% mark. Completely rewriting one because I didn’t like the way the character was acting at all! So this NaNoWriMo check in is I’m just shy of 5,000 words!
For those of you stuck on world building here is some tips to help out!
Don’t get overwhelmed by world-building.
Start from a single point or image. From there determine what is important to the story based on genre. Consider:
- Culture
- Religion
- Government
- Climate
- Advancement (industrial, technological, medical, magical)
Choose a single idea or concept and build from it. For example in one of my books, 1001 Islands, I started from a single scene. From that I decided I needed a world consisting of 1001 islands, which is full of pirate like activities in the middle and witches. From there I built in 3 major islands, each have their own culture, government, and climate.
Time
Another item to consider is time. How long has this world existed? Inventing a history for your world is as important as creating the present. This is where you build in quirks. A king that died from choking on a feather and a stone that people kiss to get the gift of gab. These have happened in our history, why not make something similar happen in your fictional world? In short, Earth’s history is weird, consider the same when building a world.
Senses
Use all of your senses when talking about time and events. What does the city smell like? What are the sounds? Think back to a book you’ve read recently and see if you can remember what a place smelled or sounded like.
Sketch a map.
I am a very visual person and when I am starting I decide what the world is going to look like. I usually do a terrible drawing or use paint on the computer to give myself a springboard. This helps with judging distances, placing cities, and deciding climate. Especially when you have multiple worlds.
The small things.
After you have a general building block things start to get complicated. What is the social standing of people, clothing like, normal food, and buildings made of? Consider the infrastructure of basic society; like economy, military or security, political, and philosophy. That just to touch on a few. Once you have the framework these sorts of questions are easier. Drill down into the details – even if they never make their way into the book. This will create a three dimensional society.
Don’t overshare.
Once you build all of this the first thing you want to do is share EVERYTHING. Don’t do this. What is awesome to create as the writer isn’t always awesome to read as a reader. Stick to what is important to the plot and characters and build the world around that.
Hope this was helpful! Any other questions feel free to comment.
Creating Worlds with Words 