World-Building: Tougher than Legoes

So, I'm one of those people who likes playing Dungeons and Dragons just for the sake of designing a character, and who starts a new story just so I can invent a new world. But as I've learned through my efforts over the years, designing a whole new fantasy world is hard. You have to think of everything, from geography to history to lore, not to mention coming up with names for all the cities, rivers, mountain ranges, and forests, and don't forget the world itself.

I used to think I was doing pretty good at it. Then I showed my newest story to my brother, who tore my world apart—literally. Forget correcting my spelling or my storytelling (which is what I wanted him to do). He poked holes in everything, even the little nit-picky details, like, where did the main character learn to use a bow if she lives in a mining town in the mountains? I was devastated—that world was my baby, I'd worked hard on it for a long time, and it was the best I'd ever done. But I realized my brother was right. I did have holes that needed filling.

So, I'm here now to give a few basic guidelines, questions to answer, etc., for any other fantasy authors out there like me who are trying to design a new world and just can't tell how much is enough.

1. What is your world's origin? Who started civilization there? These questions will help cover any basic lore your world needs—legendary heroes, the birth of a kingdom, etc. This also covers magic, if you choose to include it—what is its origin? What is its reputation? And so on.

2. Use what you know. This is a basic rule of thumb for any writing, but especially in world-building. If you don't know what it's like to live in an arctic tundra, you probably shouldn't set your story there, unless you plan to do hours and hours of research. That doesn't mean you can't have an arctic tundra as part of the geography. It just may not be the best idea to have it be your character's origin.

3. Your characters are in part defined by the environment they grew up in. You can't just decide your character is going to be a bard and a sailor, and grow up orphaned in a port town, and for some reason can use a sword as well. (I tried to do that with one of my D&D characters. It took a lot of explaining before my DM was satisfied with my backstory.) You have to explain your character in terms of their background, which in turn means you have to figure out where and how they grew up, the geographic and societal climate, etc.

4. Speaking of society: What types of people/races populate your world? Is it high fantasy, with elves and dwarves and wizards? Where does each one fall in the societal hierarchy? What is the current political climate? This may not seem like a big deal, but when your character is at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak, you have to explain why. What is it about that character or said character's parents, ancestors, etc., that makes them so low?

Lastly, pay attention to the little details. You may not realize it, but naming the river near your character's hometown (even if it's an unofficial name) brings the world to life. It will take a lot of thought, especially if you're like me and won't settle for just any old name, but it will be worth it.

Unfortunately, there's no way to make the world-building process go any faster. But if you want your new fantasy world to come to life, to seem real to whoever's reading, you have to spend just as much time explaining the world as you do building each character and planning out the plot events. If you have a good, solid framework in the world your story takes place in, the plot should come naturally.

So, go out there and start stacking your Legos of world-building. It's harder than it looks, but it is so much fun.

PS: Don't forget to check out my Inkshares contest entry! If I get enough people to pre-order my book (and pre-orders are as low as $10), it will get published!

Looking for a Topic

Stop. Look around. What do you see? Dirty sneakers by the door, muddy from your morning run? A closet full of boxes full of useless papers you just can't throw away? An old jacket you don't wear anymore? Chipped paint on the wall? Everything you see has a story attached to it. Even the bruise on your knee that you can't remember where it came from.

Starting a new project is never easy, but the hardest part is picking what to write about. Should you write about your older brother's ex-girlfriend and their tragic break-up story? That weird dream you had two months ago that you only remember in fragments? Or the presidential race? I'm not here to tell you which topic or subject matter will sell a poem, short story, or book. Rather, I'm here to show you that inspiration can come from anywhere. Remember that pair of dirty sneakers? Well, here's a short—a very short—story of how they came to be muddy (whether it's true or not is for me to know and you to only guess ☺):

Drip. Drip. Drip. I can't see anything. I only hear the echo of a cloudless and sky-less rain. I have no idea what I'm stepping in. It could be anything. For all I know, this could be the esophagus of a giant space worm. My breath fogs in the dimness of the only light I have—a dying yellow glow stick. Crunch. A shudder runs down my spine from the crown of my head to my toes. Squish. Eew...

See? And if you wanted to, you could take that even further. You'd think a pair of sneakers would be boring, right? But if you do it right, you can turn even the most boring day of your life into something interesting, something so controversial it's almost taboo (like modern politics) into a comedy. Or, if you want to get really adventurous, you could turn a comedy like the old TV show "Tom and Jerry" into a horror story.

The great thing about being a writer is that you get to invent the new reality. You can twist facts or make something up entirely, or you can be so precise and factual that people think it's made-up anyway. But whatever you pick, go with it. Even if it seems ridiculous. You never know—you may end up writing a modern version of Poe's "The Raven." You could call it "The Sparrow."

PS: Speaking of topics and writing and books, I've entered the Geek and Sundry contest on Inkshares for fantasy. Check it out and help me get published!

A Novice's Guide to Great Writing (I Hope)

So, I recently graduated from college and find myself faced with a dilemma: spend hours searching for a job, or write, since I haven't had time to dedicate to my writing for nearly a year thanks to school, homework, final projects, etc. By the way, I'm looking for an editing job, if anybody knows anyone or of anything. I'm trying to split my time between job search and writing, though writing almost always takes first place. 

But anyway, as a recent graduate, I was going through some of my school papers from my last semester, trying to decide just how much of it is actually worth keeping, and rediscovered the jewels of advice I learned in my creative writing class. I'm trying to apply them to my writing, and I thought I'd share some of the ones that have been the most helpful or motivational for me as a writer, for any aspiring writers out there that are looking to improve, in no particular order. I hope it's of some use to you!

1. To "prove" any short work, including poems, cut out the first and/or the last few lines or paragraph (or stanza). If the work still says what you want it to say and still makes sense, leave them out! You could even do it with a sentence or paragraph that seems too long.

This one has been especially helpful to me, since I tend toward wordiness when I write. I've recently tried my hand at writing flash fiction using scenes from stories I've written, and I learned through that process that you really can say something significant and have an entire plot in less that 500 words. Crazy, right? Another, related piece of advice is start the party in the middle and leave before it's over—in other words, start in the middle of the action or conflict, and end the chapter or whatever before things have really been resolved. It keeps the reader engaged and anxious to find out what happens next.

2. Follow the "triangulation" method of writing: dialogue, exterior description, and inner reflection. And don't stay on one for too long—jumping between them keeps the reader's attention.

This one has also been useful in helping me remember that I can't just describe my main character's monologue of self-pity while they're walking down the street. I have to remember to describe the surroundings, too. And you might even try describing things through the lens of self-pity, to make the emotion even more powerful.

3. Failure is a good motivator. Be grateful for it.

To be frank, I've probably learned the most about writing by all the ways I've messed up. When I first started writing and my stories didn't turn out the way I wanted them to, I put them away as failures, basically, and started something new. But now, I look back and see, not a bunch of failed stories, but tons of potential for a masterpiece. Once I figure out what I did wrong in the first place. And going along with that idea, it's better to write crap than not to write at all. You'll never improve if you give up after only a few tries. And then you can see that old adage come to life, the one that says "one person's trash is another person's treasure." Though in this case your own trash becomes your treasure.

4. Give your audience exactly what they want—but don't you dare give it to them the way they want it.

This one is a big one that I'm still trying to figure out. You have to think as a reader to be a writer, but when you do that, you think you want everything tied up in a neat little bow at the end, when really it should be a hasty granny knot with uneven ends and the question: when did that happen? It's hard to surprise someone when they see it coming. You just have to think outside the box, I guess. And push your reader out there too.

And now a few one-liners that are more or less self-explanatory:

Show, don't tell (but don't forget to tell when it's necessary).

Pursue the path you're on, even if it makes you (and the reader) uncomfortable.

Say it like it is. Readers want the meat, not the garnish.

Your job as a writer is to destroy people's lives as thoroughly and as rapidly as possible. (But please, only do it through your keyboard.)

If you're going to write, then write.

Good luck!