All
books, regardless of genre, require a certain amount of world building to give
them depth and richness. The setting in your story should be more than just a
backdrop for the action that takes place. Treat your world as another member of
the cast of characters. Granted, it doesn’t walk or talk, but it does have a
definitely personality. If that wasn’t
true, then it wouldn’t matter if you set your story in Memphis, Mars, or on the
moon.
Even
in a straight contemporary or historical, with no other worldly elements, it is the author’s responsibility to create a
sense of atmosphere that is true to the chosen time period or city. The Regency
era is not the same as the Victorian; Seattle is not New York; and a space port
definitely isn’t the same as a fantasy world filled with knights and castles.
People
from different economic groups talk and act differently. Members of the
military think differently than civilians. A new colony in space will face
different challenges than one that is well established. A family in a small
farming town will react differently to a crisis than someone who lives in a
“vertical village,” as someone once described the large apartment building
where she lived.
To
complicate things even more, world building in a series presents its own set of
problems. For any given book in the series, you have three kinds of readers:
those who have never read any of the previous books, those who have read all of
them, and those who reread all of them before the new one comes out. The tricky
part is providing enough detail about the world to satisfy all three types of
readers.
I
tend to be on the “seat of the pants” end of the spectrum when it comes to
writing. Often, it isn’t until someone asks me how I handle something like
keeping my world building fresh that I actually step back and analyze how I do
handle a particular element in my writing. A few years ago, I was part of a
panel discussing the more general topic of how to create/write a series, when
someone asked me how I world build in successive books in a series without
boring my established readers to death.
After
some thought, I realized there are several ways to address the issue of world
building, whether for a stand alone book or one that is part of an ongoing
series:
1. Look at the
world you are creating through the point of view of someone who lives in the
heart of it and has the most to lose.
For
example, in my Paladin series, what made the heroes different was their ability
to come back from death, but only so many times. I opened the book in the point
of view of the oldest Paladin struggling back to life, learning to breathe
again and hoping he’ll make it all the way back again. Watching over him is the
heroine who loves him. She is also the doctor who will have to end his life if
he doesn’t make it. Note that they are both insiders in the world in which they
live. This drew the reader right to the center of the action from the opening
paragraphs.
2. Another
option is to have someone who is familiar with the world explaining it to an
outsider, one who knows little or nothing about how their secret world
functions.
We
often see this in paranormal romances. The hero is part of a group that lives
under the radar of the human population. He can be a vampire, a shifter, a
demon, or an angel. The heroine somehow stumbles across his truth; he saves her
from an attack or maybe she saves him. Either way, he is reluctantly forced to
reveal the truth of his world to her. I especially like to use this method when
something about that world needs to change, but everyone who is already part of
it can’t see there are options other than how they’ve always ways done things.
Sometimes it takes a newcomer to put important changes into motion.
3. Another
method that works well is to have someone who has a completely different take
on the world explain things.
His
view isn’t wrong, simply different. For
example if you’ve created an alien world that the humans are starting to
colonize, let the readers see the impact that is having on the planet through
the eyes of a member of the native species. Are humans with their technology
welcome or does their arrival herald the destruction of the established
culture? Do the natives fight back or accept the loss of their heritage?
4. And
finally, you can also explain the world to your readers through the eyes of the
villain or antagonist.
He/she is certainly going to see things
differently than the hero and heroine. He could be a part of their same world.
Perhaps he’s a vampire who doesn’t want to accept the new strictures about
killing humans. He could be a werewolf who is secretly plotting to overthrow
the current alpha, because the pack needs to adapt to a changing situation. Or
back to that new human colony: maybe the humans have worked out an agreement to
peacefully coexist with the native population, but that means leaving a large
part of the planet undeveloped and unexplored. The antagonist sees that as
unfair restriction on his ability to mine the rich deposits of a mineral that
is badly needed on his home planet. He’s not exactly a villain, but he
definitely has a different outlook on how his world should function.
I
hope this gives you a new set of tools to use when you’re creating the setting
for your book and/or series. My advice: pick the person with the most at stake
and let him reveal his world to your readers.
Alexis Morgan
Bio:
lexis
has always loved reading and now spends her days imagining worlds filled with
strong alpha heroes and gutsy heroines. She is the author of over thirty books,
novellas, and short stories. Her books include contemporary romances, American
West Historicals, Paranormal Romances, and most recently, fantasy romance.
Alexis has been nominated for numerous industry awards, including the RITA©
from the Romance Writers of America, the top award in the romance genre.
Social Media
Links:
Twitter:
@Alexis_Morgan
Posts
3 comments:
This one is a definite keeper for me. I made a copy and saved it.
I do like the suggestion of treating your world as another character.
And I have to tell you, I'm so glad your worlds stay consistent across your stories. The biggest thing I hate and one of the first reasons I'll quit reading a series is because suddenly, the world changes to suit the story, not because the world is changing. Does that make sense?
I agree--I need consistency if I'm to buy into a world. That doesn't mean the world can't evolve, but there has to be consequences for any changes. If someone breaks the rules for magic, for example, there should be a price paid in energy or strength or pain. If there's no cost, then everyone would be breaking the rules.
Great tips. I actually wrote a few contemporaries using a certain location as the focal point because I had lived there. Now I write Scottish historicals using research. Thanks for the tips!
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