World Building Super Fun Time

I want to do a special post in honor of all the hard work Travis and I put in building the world for my new book, Home Base.

I've really got to hand it to Trav on this one--I couldn't have done it without him.

Well, maybe I could have, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun :)

So, here you are writing about a fictional dimension and you've got to make it as real/believable as you possibly can.

Seems a little overwhelming, doesn't it?

I mean...you've got to come up with different countries and for each of those countries you'll also need to develop a currency, a government, a class system, and a million other things that all seem a little trivial.

Well, let me tell you now:

It might seem trivial, but it's not.

Even if those aspects don't show up much in your story, as the writer, you need to know it all like the back of your hand.

So, where should I start?

--The first thing you need to do is grab a partner. This is NOT a requirement, but it certainly makes things easier. A good partner is someone who cares about your writing and actually listens. Make sure you're not trying to bounce ideas off someone who waits to talk. You won't get anywhere. You need someone who will take in everything you're saying and ask questions.

The more questions they ask, the better.

Travis makes a great world building partner. While he doesn't read often, he loves to help me with my writing and is always chockfull of questions. Find someone like that. And make sure they're actually interested so you're not just talking their ear off.

**Note** If you're in need of a good world building partner, just leave a comment and I'll be happy to help you out :D

--Next, you need to get a basic idea of your country's layout and draw up some maps. This IS a requirement, but having drawing skills is NOT. My map of Thiciia--the country Home Base takes place in--is very rough. Lots of odd squares and rectangles.

There's nothing wrong with that. No one ever said you had to know how to draw maps to write. You just need a basic idea.

--Now, we can start thinking about your country's terrain. Is it mountainous or flat land? How much vegetation is there? What's the soil like? How about the weather? What are the seasons like? Does the landscape change with each season?

Ask yourself things like that. (Hopefully your partner is asking those types of questions)

While you're thinking about terrain, think about what sort of civilization you're working with. Is it a small village or a cityscape? How technologically advanced are they? What sort of medicines do they use?

--How about your country's government? Here's where things start to get interesting. I just looooove thinking about governments. It's a very intriguing part of world building. You get to think about whether or not the people are fond of their government, how much outside media/influence the government allows in, what sort of laws they have, what sorts of freedoms/limitations they put on their citizens. The list goes on.

A good partner will have lots of questions about this part.

Another thing you can look into while thinking about government is currency. Is it a barter system or do they use actual money? In Thiciia, they use chunks of a precious mineral--Renylum--as currency. The bigger your bar, the more money it's worth.

--What about the higher class and common people? Do clothes differ between classes? How about their mode of transportation? In Home Base, only the ruling family is allowed to have automobiles. Everyone else--including the higher class--has to travel by foot.

And, while this doesn't apply for all stories, you should think about slave labor. My MC in Home Base is an escaped slave. When dealing with slaves, you need to think about why your country would need them. In Thiciia, the slaves are used to work in the Renylum mines. Mining for Renylum is very dangerous and not many people would volunteer to do it, so, naturally, the Lowe family--the royal bloodline--shipped in slaves to do it instead.

--What kinds of animals do your citizens keep? Another thing I love is coming up with new types of animals. The one hard thing about this is coming up with things to call them. It's the one thing that keeps me from doing it more often.

Annnnyway, back on topic.

Do your citizens keep these animals as livestock or pets? What do these animals look like? What do they eat? Is this their natural habitat or have they been transplanted?

It's okay if you want to be a little uncreative here and base your creations on real animals. Look at animals in the real world and manipulate them a little bit. And it's perfectly alright if a little of the base animal shows through. Just have fun.

Alright everyone! I hope that helped.

If you've got any question or have a suggestion for a future topic, just leave a comment and I'll do my best to cover it!

Love you guys!