Many writers study writing. I studied history, archaeology, politics and religion in my Bachelor of Arts, to inform my world-building. I don’t just want to…
World Building: Power & Conflict
Posted on 0 commentWhen I develop ideas for a new fantasy series, I think first of the overall conflict, the positions the point of view characters occupy in their world, what forms of power they wield, and what role they can play in the story’s epic conflict. In discussing power and conflict in world building, I’ll walk you through my thought process of identifying multiple forms of power and influence various characters, traditions, international bodies and more your world may contain and help you start thinking how these may impact on your story’s conflict.
World Building Geography
Posted on 0 commentIf you want to craft a rich world for readers to immerse themselves in, geography is your friend. By selecting specific geographical features, you can authentically shape everything from land and architecture, to transport and trade, and farming to food and fashion -and many of your characters potential jobs. This blog is a list of geographical features, ideas and prompts to help you use geography to shape the physical culture of your world, including its impact on religious beliefs.
World Building Life
Posted on 0 commentWhat’s life like in your SFF world? What sort of housing, jobs, accommodation, work and family life do people have? What are your civilisations’ attitudes to birth, death, marriage, gender and sexual diversity? And how may aspects of life vary depending on the social, political and economic status of your characters? In this post, I’ll provide prompts to help you unpack and answer these questions for your cast, focusing on world building life.
World Building: Food & Fashion
Posted on 0 commentTo write civilizations comparable to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, I’d need to draw on my double major in archaeology and history to break down every major and minor component of world building. This series of posts will attempt precisely that, and explore how different factors within a world affect and shape each other. This week I’ve paired Food with Fashion, because both are closely linked to plants and animals, all of which is influenced by geography, climate and trade.
