Worldbuilding 101 for Writers: Write Without Breaking Your World’s Rules!

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

Imagine that you’re reading a novel, a detective story or a contemporary romance, and the main character is a fairly soft-spoken guy with no unusual or extraordinary talents or abilities. He’s funny or witty or likable in some way, but not in possession of super-powers or magical abilities or extensive technical skills. But when you reach the climax of the story, suddenly your main character sprouts wings and can shoot lasers from his eyeballs. 

How would you react to that turn of events as a reader? Would you wonder where it came from? Would you glance back through previous chapters to see if the author had set it up in some way? Or would you just roll your eyes and chuck the book across the room because you’re so disappointed? 

Worldbuilding 101 for Writers: Writing Magic Systems Using Science

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

Magic and technology are important elements of speculative fiction, technology for science fiction and magic and/or fantastical creatures for fantasy. But what if you don’t want to use a magic system in your story? 

That’s perfectly fine. Not every fantasy book has to have magic in it, just like not every fantasy needs to include unicorns, elves, or epic road trips across New Zealand … er … Middle Earth. 

This is even more true for readers within the Christian market. Most of the time, the Christian market doesn’t need a magic system to enjoy a fantasy story.

Worldbuilding 101 for Writers: Writing Technology and Magic Systems

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

If you open a novel and your protagonist is on a spaceship out in some distant galaxy, what genre are you reading? It’s fairly safe to assume it’s science fiction, right? What about if your protagonist is embroiled in a magical dual with a vicious dragon? Safe bet to say it’s fantasy. 

Generally, if your story involves more elements of science or elements of technology, it will be science fiction. Likewise, if your story is based around magic or the unseen/unknown usage of a power greater than the characters, it will be fantasy. That’s sounds really straightforward, but as with every element of fiction writing, it’s a lot easier to tell than it is to show. So how does the difference between technology and magic affect your worldbuilding? 

Worldbuilding 101 for Writers: Writing Government and Economics

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

As a young person, I was instructed that there three topics you never bring up at social events: Politics, Money, and Religion. All three of them tend to cause division and strife, or at the very least vocal disagreement. 

But what about when you are designing an entire fantasy culture? How much of a role do those three topics play in worldbuilding? 

Worldbuilding 101 for Writers: Writing Faith and Religion

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

If you woke up this morning and spent time reading your Bible, why did you do it? If you know someone who faces eastward to pray, do you know why they do it? Do you know an Amish person who doesn’t wear clothing with zippers or snaps? Or maybe you know a Jewish person who doesn’t eat pork. 

Why do people do these things? 

So far in this Worldbuilding 101 series, we’ve talked about Existing History, People and Social Circles, Language and Communication, Climate and Geography, and Agriculture. All of these are really important elements to building a believable world your readers can engage with. But this month’s topic is potentially the most important worldbuilding element for establishing the motivation behind why your cultures have developed the way they have. This month we are talking about Faith and Religion.

Worldbuilding 101 for Writers: Writing Language and Communication

by A.C. Williams @ACW_author

Have you ever just sat in a cafe or restaurant in another country to simply listen? That’s one of my favorite pastimes on international trips. I love to grab a cup of coffee and find a seat in a pub or a coffeeshop and watch people and listen to how they speak and what they say and how they say it. Because, let’s face it, what we say and how we say it communicates a great deal about who we are as a culture (for better or for worse).

You don’t even have to be in a different country. You could do this in your own city. Regional cultures are a thing. Even the districts within a city can be unique in their own way (someday I’ll share about the passionate divide between East and West in my comparatively small city).

Vocabulary, pronunciation, attitude, and body language can express an extraordinary amount of information about a person and what culture shaped them. That’s why language and communication are such valuable tools for developing the storyworld in your novel.

So far in this Worldbuilding 101 series, we’ve talked about Existing History and People and Social Circles. Both of those concepts are essential building blocks of creating a storyworld. (links to previous posts can be found at the end of today's post)