Today's post was written by guest blogger and speculative fiction novelist,
Liz Penn (bio below). Thank you, Liz!
Previous posts about alien creation can be found
here and
here.
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Now that you've created your multi-legged, three-eyed, sapphire alien, it's time to place him in a world. But how? A good speculative fiction story should and does include realistic characters, a well-written world, and an intriguing plot—in that order.
Enough with the surprised gasps. It is my opinion that world should actually come at the same time or even slightly before your plot. If your characters interact and work toward goals in a less than believable world, your readers will not buy-in to the plot. Much like your body, all the pieces of a story need to work seamlessly together.
Each and every author will likely world-build in a different way. Some write out detailed interactions, back history, and legends, none of which actually make it into the story, but perhaps help them to drop minor references and clues toward that vast framework. Others might simply have bits of their world come to them as they write with the characters. Whatever your way of world-building, there are certain steps you can take to make the job easier and to add that speck of realism.
Use layers as if you were creating a cake. In the real world, there are layers. Religion, culture, language, surroundings, family life, relationships, even the very ecosystem we live in, affect how we think and react.
The same holds true in a story. To make a strong, viable world, you need to create those layers, even if (like a multiple-layered cake) they may not be fully visible.
Do not beat your reader over the head with your wonderful story. Invoke or imply the concept of more than just what you're placing in words. For example, many science fiction stories mention near the beginning something about "two suns", or a "purple sky", or whatever. It's a brief description, so quick our eye might miss it, but our minds recognize that quiet signal.
This is not set on Earth. That's a layer. Later on, if you mention something about their "Overseer", you've now added a hint of another level. Political, and likely, dictatorship, or perhaps a group of elitists, but certainly not a democratic republic.
Mild references can etch the surface of those layers, allowing the reader to get an idea in their head of a world that exists, without info-dumping.
However, going back to our cake analogy, you cannot simply leap into the story and hope the layers work out on their own. You don't toss a hodge-podge of ingredients into a mixing bowl, throw them in a pan, and then expect everything to magically form into a tasty cake.
The same holds true for world-building. Before you can
use those layers, you need to
create them. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to set aside some time at the end of your official writing time and work on this new world. Jot down notes. Read books dealing with the culture you're trying to emulate. Study pictures of similar environments. Sketch out possible creatures or buildings.
The easiest way I've found to world-build is to take my character and start questioning. Most speculative fiction writers ask
what if when they get ready to work out a plot. When it comes to world-building, ask yourself
why and
how.
Why does your character wear this? Why does he speak like this? Why does he have three eyes, or four legs, or wings? How did his people end up this way? How did this legend begin?
If you don't have an answer already in mind, make one. That is where the fun in world-building comes from. For example, I was once scrounging through a thesaurus and stumbled across a word. Lacuna. The word is Latin for
hole. It almost sounds like a place-name, doesn't it?
I took that word, said, "What if that was a planet", and then questioned, "Why would they name a planet simply—
hole?"
Here's the basic thought process that created the world that is now a feature in my novels.
Maybe they orbit a black hole. Why? Because their sun went cold. How did they manage to orbit without being harmed? Perhaps they have advanced technology, and thus created an artificial hole. How did the radiation emitted, the loss of heat and sunlight, affect their culture? How would they adjust to the change and not lose their minds? Eugenics coupled with genetic engineering.
I'm going to stop there, but do you see how applying both
why and
how can lead you on a creative pattern? Ask yourself those questions over and over again.
World-building also spawns plot. When you ask yourself those questions, and begin creating characters and situations, it is easy to grasp ideas from the world you're creating.
After creating a world focused on eugenics and genetics to survive, and projecting how that would affect their culture, I threw in the
what if question as well. Their almost fanatical treatment of genetics led me to think, "What if someone found a way to alter these Lacuna's genetic code? How would those who were altered be treated? How would they deal with the conflict in culture versus their own alteration?"
Another example would be my creation of the Guild and the loquiri factions in one of my fantasies. The Guild hates loquiri and strives to kill or kidnap as many as possible. The loquiri, though relatively peaceful, will fight back if they're threatened.
What if someone was born as a loquiri, but was grabbed by the Guild at a young age? Why would that matter? How would it change how he feels and acts?
The two factions are the "world", the culture that he lives in. But the world itself caused a plot line to develop.
World-building is essential to speculative fiction. It adds realism and helps readers become strongly invested in the storyline. And world-building can often spawn more plots and subplots. When creating a speculative fiction story, don't forget this all-important step.
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Liz Penn has been a serious writer of
science fiction and fantasy for 9 years. She has completed 4 novels (with more in progress), 7 short stories, and 50 poems (several of which have been published).
