I presented a workshop on world building recently. It was not a success.
A few things went wrong from the start. First, and probably the biggest failing, is that while the workshop was supposed to be geared toward all genres, the participants had nothing in common. It’s hard to come up with examples that work for everyone when some are experienced writers, some are not. Some write romance. Most write—or wanted to write—fantasy. I suspect that for at least one participant, the interest in fantasy was more for YA along the lines of Rebecca Yarros. Still fantasy, but subgenres began to play in. We had short story writers and one playwright.
The age gap was another factor. While I’m enjoying Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, I can’t say I’m up on the subgenre and I’m confident I don’t fit the demographic. (I love the writing, though.)
I don’t participate in online groups where fandom and fanfiction are the topics du jour. I don’t have anything against them. They just aren’t for me. That puts me out of touch.
And while I think of Terry Goodkind, George RR Martin, and Stephen R Donaldson as classic fantasy examples, those names were met with blank stares.
Let’s just say the workshop needs major revising. I don’t think I’ll present it again. Having said that, if you’re interested in world building, I do have some tips, and I’m happy to share them.
Because world building is not just for fantasy writers. If you’re writing a series, you need a home for it and some sort of continuity to keep your books connected.
Here goes:
1. Google spreadsheets are your friend. They’re your editor’s friend too.
It’s easy to set one up. Give each sheet within the workbook a unique name for the information you want to track. Characters, Public Places, Settings, Research, and Local Businesses are the ones that I use for romance. My fantasy spreadsheet looks more like this:
Why do you want to keep track of every single detail, you ask? Because what you state as a hard fact in book 1 holds true for book 10.
Spreadsheets are also a great place to organize research notes, and research is your friend too, because readers will point out mistakes.
And the spreadsheets are shareable with anyone who has a gmail address.
Brainstorm with your own books.
Ever wonder how something that was stated in chapter one or book one miraculously reappears or becomes relevant in other chapters, or other books in a series? Are writers really that clever? Or are they well organized?
I’m now very careful with details—because I’m not that clever—which is why I use spreadsheets. “Is this (piece of information) important? Could I use this later?”
3. Character, Plot, and Setting are all parts of your world.
a. Character
i. Character (growth) is linked to the emotions and/or “tone” of your story.
ii. Plot is the writer’s choice of events and their arrangement in the story timeline. A plot point is an event, which is also a beat.
iii. Events are illustrated through scenes (or a series of scenes) and scenes are action. Scenes drive a plot forward and control pacing.
iv. For scenes to be able to drive a plot in a meaningful way, there must be conflict. Conflict creates an emotional response in both the character and the reader.
v. Conflict results when internal (character) problems/obstacles combine with external (plot) problems/obstacles to keep the characters from achieving their goals.
Without conflict, we have no story.
b. Plot
i. I have never seen a story structure that doesn’t align with the 3-act structure or reference it in some way.
ii. Blake Snyder and Christopher Vogler are the most often cited examples of plot and story structure in both fiction and screenwriting (in my experience).
iii. Their story structures are based on Joseph Campbell and The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
iv. Campbell maintains that there are a finite number of story plots.
v. The biggest plot structure differences involve the endings.
c. Setting
i. You build your plot using scenes. Scenes require settings. You build your world using settings. (See how everything is connected?)
ii. There are two primary types of scenes: “Scene” (action) and “Sequel” (introspection). Introspection is also a form of action, but it relies on decision-making and reaction.
iii. A scene’s role is to drive the plot forward.
iv. If done well, setting transports the reader into the story world. (I can see it in my head!)
v. A setting’s atmosphere introduces a sense of unity to the story.
vi. Repeatedly using a setting introduces foreshadowing and/or suspense, contributing to the plot.
vii. Changing a setting’s description changes the tone, e.g. cloud coverage that goes from puffy and white to gray and bleak.
4. Let’s circle back to conflict.
What creates conflict in your world? (Hint: it’s going to come out of some sort of need.)
For example:
a. Religion serves as a social conscience, which we need, but also as moral high ground—which we don’t.
b. Religion has a hierarchy—which is great if you sit at the top.
c. Religion is based on a system of values and beliefs that might not be shared by everyone in your world.
I didn’t bring up politics because we’ve all had enough real-life conflict over that. I think we all get it.
5. Use your senses.
You read that right. We have five senses. Six, if you factor in the tingly spider type.
Our senses are triggered by our environment. And what is our story’s environment? (It’s the setting.) The senses react/respond to stimuli. The response sequence is Stimulus—Internalization—Response.
In his book Setting, Jack Bickham ranks the senses in this order of importance for adding details to settings:
a. Sight
i. Spatial dimension
ii. Source of light
iii. Dominant colours
iv. Visual texture
v. Contrasting colours.
b. Hearing
i. Loudness and tonality
ii. Identity and direction of sound.
c. Smell
i. Smell is considered a primitive sense
ii. Triggers memory and/or a visceral response.
d. Touch
i. Tactile sensations, e.g. rough/smooth, hot/cold, prickly/soft
ii. Fingertips are a common tool used for conveying touch
iii. BUT not the only one.
e. Taste
i. Considered the least important of the senses, but it all depends on who you ask. When I lost my sense of taste to Covid, eating became a complete waste of time.
f. The Sixth Sense
Let’s call it “subconscious awareness”.
“The human brain has what’s called a sensory store, which operates below the threshold of consciousness. This sensory store receives information and holds it for about a second while we decide what to do.” ~ A Very Short Introduction to Memory, Oxford University Press
That single second of time is very important. The sixth sense is how our character interprets the other sense(s)—either consciously or unconsciously—which leads to the character’s response. (And also reader engagement.)
6. Be actively creative in your descriptions.
The main character in my current WIP is a former bull rider, so I added this bit of description after he’s startled awake: “His heart, still hopped up on adrenaline, gave his ribs a few final kicks.”
You’ll notice that none of my tips include magic. I recommend author Brandon Sanderson for those. He’s got some great articles and workshops, and you can also find his lectures on YouTube.
So that’s it. A few world building tips to get you started—whatever you write. If you have anything to add, feel free to drop them in the comments.
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