Randy Ellefson's Blog, page 17

Body and Language and Culture

The body may not seem cultural, but it is. Long ago, larger women were considered desirable due to a belief that they were more likely to survive pregnancy and childbirth. Today, many women face great cultural pressure to be thin. The rising obesity in the United States is seen by some countries as a decadent sign of wealth while other countries suffer malnutrition. Judgement is heaped upon the overweight and such nitpicking exists that healthy young women are shown doctored photos that make similar women appear even thinner, as a false standard of beauty that many consider harmful; this is cultural pressure and a value judgement.

Ageism is real and felt at all ages, while often targeting the old. A society which values youthful productivity might consider the elderly a problem that should be locked away in retirement communities and denied rights, like a driver’s license and simple human dignity, because that society values youth and productivity. Another society might teach great respect and reverence for their elders because they value wisdom and experience. There’s more to ageism than the body, of course, as mental capacity and maturity are related.

Someone’s general appearance is also cultural. Social norms change with our location and even time of day. In business, we make ourselves more presentable while being more casual at home and on the weekends. But perhaps we have a culture where formality reigns so that even a trip to the drug store means not having a proverbial hair out of place. Or perhaps a culture acknowledges that people can be very productive at work despite casual attire. There’s also the question of a bare minimum of make-up for women (or men), groomed hair/beards, and clothes that aren’t wrinkled, for example.

Body Language

Facial expressions are considered universal across cultures, so that’s one element world builders don’t have to worry about, at least among humans. To make our lives easier, we can take the same approach to other humanoid species. We might decide that an ogre is smiling for a different reason, like the pleasure of imagining bashing your head in, but it’s still pleasure. Changing a smile to mean what a frown does, for example, will not only confuse characters but our audience. There are other ways to have characters misunderstand something, such as seeing the smile as benevolent when it’s not.

Posture, walking, standing, sitting, and even how we hold our head or carry ourselves can be specific to an individual but also part of culture. A dignified culture might espouse standing tall, with chin up. An oppressive culture might see that as arrogant and have dominated people so much that being hunched, with head hanging low, has become a cultural expectation. Sitting with back straight is a sign of a strict culture, whereas slouching might be accepted in a lackadaisical one. Walking might be brisk in a fast paced one, but slow shuffling or casual meandering might reflect oppression or peaceful relaxations. As with most cultural issues, we want to determine what’s common so that we know when someone is deviating from it and how that deviation is perceived.

The concept of personal space is one that can vary among cultures and across fictional species. Being close can express dominance, aggression, or signal intimacy. It can make people uncomfortable for all three reasons. Too much distance can seem impersonal, standoffish, and dismissive. To decide how close is considered normal or unoffensive, think of the cultural vision. A more reserved society will want greater distance while a boisterous one might find that distancing an affront, as if we’re better than them.

Eye contact can range from too constant to too fleeting. Some cultures see looking down or away as appropriate deference, particularly when facing someone of higher station, whereas others see this as contemptible weakness. It can also suggest aggressiveness, whether that’s simple meeting of gazes, a glare, or even refusing to look at someone at all. I’ve had some people stare at me so relentlessly that, aside from reminding me of a cat, they gave me the creeps. In a culture where status is highly valued and strictly enforced, deference is likely, but in a society where status is gained through conduct (whether social skill or achievement), a show of visual strength through maintained eye contact might dominate. We can tweak the length of expected gazing, but audiences don’t want to be told that four seconds is fine, and anything less is not; instead, just state that a character looked away sooner than expected.

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How Much Culture to Invent

Now that we’ve considered our guiding principles behind culture, it is time to invent the manifestations that reveal it. Our focus will be on elements we’re likely to use, though some of us will need items others don’t. This chapter can’t be comprehensive because there’s simply too much. However, the techniques behind the cultural manifestations presented here, and their rationales and considerations, can be applied to any item not included. Music and art are two areas we won’t cover because they don’t apply to the written word except as we describe them, and other mediums are likely to have dedicated composers or artists defining them.

Be aware that borrowing anything from Earth might result in accusations of cultural appropriation, a recent term implying that cultural elements can be devalued and insulted by use as something shallow when someone from outside that culture uses them in ways not considered respectful. Do world builders need to worry about this? Maybe. Whether they’ve thought about it or not, audiences likely don’t expect storytellers to invent entire cultures because the work is vast and therefore, borrowing ideas from Earth can often feel like an homage. They can even feel pleased for it to be included. It helps to tie this manifestation back to our cultural vision so that it seems part of it, which we want to do anyway.

Remember the Rule of Three from Creating Life (The Art of World Building, #1) – make at least three significant (italics) changes to an Earth analogue. If we don’t, people may recognize it; I always think James Cameron swiped Native American culture wholesale in the Avatar (italics) movie; it’s pronounced distracting, and regrettable. Other works often steal Asian cultures with little conscience. Moderation is often best.

How Much Culture to Invent

As with many items, we could spend the rest of our lives building culture, so we need to limit our work. Asking why we are inventing culture can help. The answer is threefold. We are inventing aspects that will:

Portray a more engaging, realistic world
Make our story appear to take place somewhere other than familiar (i.e., Earth).
Cause culture clashes, in the form of tension due to expectation and misunderstanding. There is a further question of degree. How much tension do we need?

Minor, offended feelings to make characters dislike each other
Serious breaches that lead to ruined agreements (like treaties), imprisonments, death, or alteration of story or character trajectory

This will help us decide how much culture to invent in any given location, and how much we need cultures to differ, and on what subjects. If bowing while greeting is considered a minor offense, we don’t have a character thrown in jail for not doing it. But if it’s considered major, perhaps we do. It will also depend on how touchy our characters are or if they’re looking for an ulterior motive to imprison someone.

Rather than inventing specific cultural items before outlining a story, we may want to only note that we want a culture clash to happen in a given scene we’re planning and the consequences of it. One advantage is that we can first plan our tale, then create cultural elements of great impact where we need them, then less impactful elements. We should also know how many locations we’ll need. In a Lord of the Rings style narrative, characters travel across many kingdoms, each needing a culture. We might have characters from differing places that might also need cultural tweaks. Add up all the people and places and that’s the number of cultures we might need. If we have three sovereign powers with very different governments and resulting lifestyles, such as a democracy, an absolute monarchy, and an authoritarian one, readily distinguishable cultures are easier to imagine than if we have three absolute monarchies. This can be a reason to vary the government types in our tale.

We can sometimes give the appearance of a culture being synonymous with an entire sovereign power, for example, even when differences exist within it. This may happen if we’re only using one of several regions or cities, for example, and not showing the others. Some might say we’ve created a mono-culture, so just be aware that we can create this impression. If we care to prove we haven’t, then we’ll benefit from a character thinking a rude (or kind) thought about a style of clothing or hair they see someone wearing when that style originates elsewhere. A few ideas like this sprinkled throughout our narrative can at least suggest we know culture varies. Using this approach, we can minimize the amount of culture inventing we’ll do.

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Social Classes

A social class can mean different things depending on the society, but it is a way of defining not only income levels but lifestyle generalizations and expectations. People of each class will think, dress, and act differently than those of other classes in the same society. They will also have different needs and therefore values. Everything from spoken expressions and body language to rituals will depend upon one’s class, and it is typically quite difficult, even impossible, for one to switch between classes, which people are sometimes born into. We can do this with our invented classes.

In the United States and similar countries, there are five, each largely focusing on income. This economic indicator doesn’t need development as we can leverage real world examples. These classes, with examples, are:

Upper Class (Elite): landowners, heads of companies and universities, “old money.”
Upper Middle: professors, engineers, managers and directors, accountants, lawyers.
Lower Middle: clerical and support staff for the classes above.
Working: craft and factory workers, food and health service staff, repair shop staff.
Poor: the homeless or those on public assistance (welfare, food stamps, etc.), or earning just enough to rise above this, with full-time wages but still below the poverty line

Some suggest a sixth class, that of “new money”—when someone from a lower class becomes wealthy due to an invention, winning a lottery, or otherwise vastly improving their financial situation. If class is based on wealth, they have technically changed class, and yet they may act quite differently from those who’ve been in that class far longer. They may even be rejected as equals because their behavior doesn’t morph overnight as their finances did.

In feudal Japan, people were born into one of three main classes, each with internal divisions. The highest was the royal class, which included the emperor and royal family only; the emperor was head of state, with little real power. Next came the noble (military) class, those who ran the country, which included shoguns (political and military leaders), daimyos (feudal warlords), samurais, and ronin (samurai with no daimyo). Roughly 90% of Japan was the lowest class: peasants (farmers and fishermen), merchants, artisans (entertainers, artists), and criminals. In a society dominated by a single group, such as the military or wizards, we might leverage Japan’s model.

When inventing our own class system, we define a hierarchy and who belongs to each. We can see that in the U.S. model, the highest class includes those who are in charge, but in the Japan model, the highest class is partly figureheads while those in charge are at the top of the second class. As is often the case, there may be no getting it “right” in world building but getting it plausible; we’re the one inventing the society.

Generally, the elite class members are rich, powerful, or of royal blood (or an equivalent), or some combination of these. They have the most prestige and power, unless someone like the feudal Japanese emperor is merely a ceremonial head of state, rather than the head of government; as covered in Creating Places (The Art of World Building, #2), you may recall that the latter is the one with the real power. The elite class is very influential, often holding the purse strings within a society. They may only be symbolically in charge but could be those who are running the country, or the industries and institutions that drive it. These are the leaders who define policy, laws, and how life functions for themselves and the lower classes. In a constitutional monarchy, these would be members of parliament. In a military junta, they’ll be warriors at the upper ranks, like generals. If corporations dominate as is often true in SF, then CEOs and other leaders of industry will be here. If wizards are widely accepted instead of feared, this could include the most powerful.

The second highest class will be the most important professions in the society. Those who produce food, such as farmers and fishermen, can be in this class in a fantasy setting, if they are revered instead of taken for granted; in SF, machines have likely taken over, and in some instances on Earth, these professionals are only peasants, the lowest class. In SF, scientists, engineers, and higher officers would be here, including many who build or command ships (regardless of what we call the rank). In fantasy with wooden ships from the Age of Sail, commanders might be here. In a fantasy setting, knights and other important warriors could be included, like the Jedi of Star Wars.

These first two classes will likely exist because the most elite will want to distinguish themselves from those just below them and upon whom they rely to run the country, even though those people are subservient to them. We can assume that roughly 10% of the population falls into the top two classes, which leaves us to decide on how to divide the remaining population. We can decide that it’s multiple classes like the U.S. model, which is arguably more likely when industrialization causes additional groups of skilled laborers, who may need support staff (another class). Or we can leave it as one large class containing most of the population, which may be more likely in less technologically developed settings. The next table breaks down social classes in both fantasy and SF. What we see in fantasy is the three lower classes being merged into a single one.

 

Class
Roles
SF
Fantasy


Elite
Figureheads who direct next class
CEOs, presidents
Royalty


Upper Middle
Highly skilled/valuable/powerful professionals, those running country
Captains, engineers, doctors, lawyers
Nobility


Lower Middle
Supporting upper middle class
Admin staff
Serfs


Working
Entertainers, service industry, factory staff
See roles


Low
Unskilled labor, poor, homeless
See roles

Social Class Roles

It might seem like more work to define subclasses within these, but subdividing the groups can make sense. For example, an admiral or general has more prestige than a lieutenant, so while they’re in the same overall class, each might have different expectations thrust upon them. On my Llurien setting, there are at least four distinct, named warrior types, and while they’d all be in the second class, there would be a hierarchy/subclasses among them due to their rank and what roles they serve. Before I decided on a class system, I already knew who was considered more valuable and the resentments this caused in others, and by understanding classes, I knew how to define and use this more effectively.

Once we define our classes and who is in each, we can invent culture for them (this is our cultural scope). We would decide on the morals, values, and beliefs of each group, and a cultural vision based on the hierarchy. It’s safe to say that the elite class expects deference, though even in our modern society, they are often mocked (out of sight) by lower classes. The most rigid and elegant depictions of culture will be here. A trickle-down effect is in play, where lower classes are increasingly flexible and less formal, with their casual lifestyles an object of scorn from those above, who can be seen as elitist snobs. We should decide on these classes before inventing culture for any because the culture of each is partly in response to the culture of the others. Each class wants to distinguish itself, its members believing their way superior for one reason or another (because it supports their values, morals, and beliefs better than another class culture).

To determine a class cultural vision, look at the roles each fills in society and how important its members are, what problems plague them, and what traits allow them to overcome this. While the working class supports many people, individuals may be considered easily replaced as compared to an upper middle class admiral; there are only so many of the latter and yet anyone could probably become the former, like a waiter (no offense to waiters). A working class person is more likely to suffer certain kinds of abuse on the job than an engineer, but even the latter has problems, just of a different nature. A waiter must deal with poor tips, unexpected shift changes, and difficult customers. An engineer must deal with sloppy work by peers, shifting priorities, and clueless or obnoxious clients and managers. The waiter may value generosity, consistency, and kindness. The engineer may value diligence, planning, and patience. We don’t need to work out every scenario, but if we have one that needs clarification, this is one way to achieve it among social classes. Try not to go too far down the rabbit hole on this.

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Cultural Depictions

Culture could be divided into three types of depictions that storytellers and gamers might employ, singly or in combination: what’s only seen, what’s heard, and what’s performed. This organization is mentioned for clarity as we investigate what to invent and what to bypass, which may depend on medium. We’ll look at depictions that are subtle but which can permeate society. More pronounced depictions of culture, like greetings, clothing, and etiquette will be discussed later in this chapter, as most deserve their own section.

Visible

The visible aspects of culture are seen but seldom commented upon by storytellers. This includes architecture, clothing, hair styles, and body language. Much of this can be quickly taken in by a viewer in a visual medium like film, TV, or gaming, where the set and costume designers will be charged with inventing most of it. This is not to say that storytellers can or should ignore it, but in the written medium, we devote most time to actions, dialogue, and thoughts. Some readers even dislike much descriptive writing as the story stalls while we describe something, unless we’ve learned the art of description as action or revealing of a character’s state of mind.

With many visual depictions in the written word, it’s often good to focus on the impression someone or something creates rather than going into details about how this is achieved. One reason is that most of us don’t recognize terms for various clothing, hairstyles, or architecture, to name a few, and conveying these to an equally ignorant audience accomplishes little, while also making it seem like we researched this stuff so we could tell them. Don’t name a hairstyle unless you’re quickly able to describe it and what it’s thought to suggest about anyone using it; that opinion will vary by other cultures.

Audible

The words our characters speak are most of what we need for audible depictions of culture, which often dictates what we say and how, or whether we say anything at all. There are times when we think it’s not our place to comment on something because of how that’s viewed. For example, if you say something rude about your absent spouse, am I expected to change the subject or wait until you do? Am I allowed to comment on it? Can I agree with or disapprove of your behavior? These cultural non-responses are due to perceptions about what a behavior means and the underlying value, such as minding my business or warding off a further venture into a personal subject. When inventing culture, we should consider what is expected to be said and (italics) what is allowed to pass without comment. It reminds me of the adage that sometimes it’s not what we say and do but what we don’t (italics) that is revealing of ourselves.

For example, humility is (at least theoretically) prized in the United States. If someone gives us a compliment, it’s customary to politely acknowledge it before changing the subject, rather than gushing about how true their remarks are and encouraging more of the same. When determining what (or if a) response is expected, think about what moral value is exemplified by doing so, and what offense is avoided. Also think about the belief that is attributed to the action or inaction. If ignoring a compliment is believed (italics) to be rude, then it effectively is so, possibly because a value (italics) of modesty is violated. The quietness of a library or church is also respectful, but does it need to be in every culture? It’s customary to mute a mobile phone when attending a meeting. Loud music in bars makes it customary to yell in someone’s ear to be heard, causing a violation of someone’s personal space that is accepted in that environment due to necessity.

Our voices, and the way we speak, can also be part of culture. Some languages are considered, by non-speakers, to be eloquent and flowing while others are harsh. But it can also be culture to speak softly/loudly, to speak at length or say very little, or speak with a prompting inflection so that even statements sound like a question; this is deferential and may reflect values of humility and respect. The “ums” and “ahs” of speech might be rampant or non-existent; these can be unnoticed or frowned upon, maybe because they’re believed to result from an unsound mind. Perhaps interrupting people is unusual because it’s considered disrespectful, or commonplace as a sign of enthusiasm and sociability while remaining quiet is believed to show unfriendliness. We can spin interpretations.

Songs may be prevalent so that we write lyrics to print in a book. There are other sounds like the tone of alarms, phone rings, and even when applause occurs (in some cultures, there’s no clapping between songs at a rock concert). We should consider the impression and quality of these sounds; for authors, that’s most of what we can give the audience, whereas other media allow the audience to hear it. Other instances of audible depictions of culture will be covered later in this chapter in the form of greetings, curses, colloquialisms, and more.

Performed

No culture is complete without actions people perform. We’ll once again look at more subtle ones here. One of those is eye contact, whether this is maintained, averted, or avoided altogether, and for how long. This is influenced by attitudes about respect, deference, and domination. Use this as a guide to decide what people do. Some view maintained eye contact as challenging, while looking away is meekness. If a culture values personal strength, they likely approve of sustained contact and frown on looking away, while a culture that values knowing your place might feel the reverse. If an action is considered respectful, we don’t need to explain why, but dialogue is a good way to do so if required. Consider this scene:

Kier burst into the throne room, bloodied sword in hand. “My lord,” he began, addressing the king, “the ogres are minutes from breaching the defenses. We must leave at once.”

                The captain of the king’s guard intercepted him. “You dare to carry an unsheathed sword before the king? Show some respect!”

                Kier frowned. “You had better, too, or will you fight them with your pretty face?”

                Amid the muted laughter from those assembled, the king caught the captain’s eye and nodded. As one, the king’s guardsmen ripped swords from sheaths and took up defensive positions.

The expectation to not bare a sword before the king, and the reason for Kier’s doing so, is summed up in two short sentences that are relevant to the action. It also causes brief tension. This is why we need culture.

What side of streets, paths, and halls do people walk or drive on? The left side is preferred in countries where people are predominantly right-handed and physical combat (i.e., swordsmanship) was/is common. A swordsman wants his sword arm facing the potential opponent approaching him. The scabbard is also worn on the left hip and less likely to become entangled in anyone (people are walking on the other side of you). It’s also easier for right-handed people to mount a horse from the left, which would be while standing in traffic if they’re riding on the right of the road, so this is avoided.

But once wagons are in the picture, things may change. Picture a wagon pulled by two horses side-by-side. There was nowhere in early wagons for someone to sit, so someone is riding the left horse because it was easier to mount. As traffic comes toward him, he wants to keep his wagon wheel away from approaching traffic, which is easier to achieve if that traffic is on his left. The result is driving on the right side. If you want to prevent this, decide that even the earliest wagons had somewhere for him to sit. While this is interesting, we’re unlikely to mention the reason for our choice.

Most of the actions we’ll depict are incorporated to hybrid subjects (where what’s done, heard, and seen are combined) like greetings, so we’ll cover those after a word about social classes.

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Culture vs. Custom

Confusion can arise about the difference between culture and customs. Customs are part (italics) of culture, are a way that culture is represented, and are expected behaviors in given situations. When we invent customs, we’re also inventing culture. Since culture is a somewhat esoteric term, we’ll be talking more about creating customs, with culture revealed through them.

The words “custom” and “tradition” are sometimes used interchangeably because the only real difference is the length of time that they’re practiced. A custom becomes a tradition when it is passed down generation after generation. Customs are therefore newer. There’s no rule on this, but if we’re inclined, we can decide a tradition is over a hundred years old and a custom is more recent. Use “tradition” to refer to truly enshrined behaviors, the violation of which would cause a stronger reaction. Custom implies less formality, weight, or expectation – and less offense if violated.

Cultural Vision

World builders could invent various manifestations, like greetings, dining, and attire expectations, that contradict each other instead of springing from a common element. Imagine a culture where very formal greetings occur, with multiple bows, gestures, and elaborate phrases. At dinner, we might expect fine manners. Instead, we’re shown people pushing unwashed hands into food bowls, eating off their hands and licking their fingers, and finally shoving the hand into the food again. While this is extreme, these greetings and dining etiquette examples clash and don’t spring from a unified vision.

Before we get too far into inventing cultural elements, we should determine a vision that seems appropriate. These are related to values, beliefs, and morals. Some example visions are:

Formal: Refined, cordial, dignified, high-minded, controlled emotions
Exuberant: Hearty, boisterous, unrestrained, familiar, informal, crude, open emotions
Timid: Overly apologetic, not being a bother, polite to a fault, restrained in affections
Brash: Entitled, demanding, bold, proud, self-righteous, self-absorbed
Modest: Sincere, polite, down-to-earth, informal, compassionate, humble, folksy
Calculating: Friendly but distant, cliquey, rumor mongering, disloyal, fickle

If we wanted to be stereotypical, we might assume that royalty exhibit the formal one, while barbarians typify the exuberant. The timid one is based on a few 1980s comedies set in England, while the brash one is how some people describe Americans abroad. Those in small towns sometimes get the modest reputation, and teens sometimes experience the last.

In addition to those previously listed, a seemingly infinite number of cultures exist on Earth that we can leverage. As with every analogue, we should follow the Rule of Three – make at least three significant changes to it to prevent audiences from recognizing it. Otherwise they might recognize Japan, for example, when they see it by another name. There are so many aspects to culture that more than three major changes might be needed. How do we keep everything coherent? By following a cultural vision.

Regardless of our culture’s source, whether an analogue, entirely invented, or somewhere between, we should choose a guiding principle or vision. Taking the first example, of formality, we need only imagine how people act based on these. If Kier is from this culture, he won’t be chugging ale, slapping people’s backs in congratulation, eating with his hands, being unkempt in public, or revealing his affection for a woman in anything but the most subtle of ways. But if Kier has a visitor named Torrin, who hails from the second culture (hearty, boisterous, unrestrained, familiar), we can imagine Torrin doing all of those things. If this is happening in Kier’s homeland, Torrin may be judged as uncouth. If visiting Torrin’s homeland, Kier would likely be seen as boring, stuck up, and arrogant. This is the sort of conflict we can leverage, whether we keep the impact subtle (as in a comedy of manners) or deadly (so much offense is given that execution or a duel is demanded).

Race as Culture

World builders are sometimes criticized for a mistake – making a race or species synonymous with a culture. This means each settlement of dwarves, for example, has the exact same culture as every other dwarven settlement. This is as unbelievable as humans having a mono-culture across a world. Avoiding this is easy; just create different cultures. That’s time consuming and may explain why race as culture dominates the work of world builders, but all we need are variations.

We can leverage the cultural scope inheritance, where beards are prevalent on all males in a sovereign power, but those in one region or settlement braid theirs while others grow it to their waist, and yet another keeps it close cropped. This way, people can tell on sight where a dwarf is likely from. We don’t need to justify differences because few people understand where cultural elements originate. But we could always decide that long beards are the norm and the short ones resulted from a deadly case of lice generations ago. Maybe the braided style came by emulating a war hero who did that. Just make these up. It’s fun.

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Cultural Ideas

There are arguably three types of cultural sources: beliefs, values, and morals, with some overlap. Deciding which of each matters to a group depends on what impression feels right to the world builder. Think about the group’s role in society and its goals and motivations. We needn’t feel locked into our decision. If we don’t think of a manifestation of a specific value, that’s okay. These are guiding ideas that we’re unlikely to explain to an audience anyway, unless a character is monologuing their thoughts, which is a great way to reveal these ideas.

Morals and Values

An individual’s values come from within, can change over time, and are personal principles. By contrast, morals are taught by society, are usually deep seated and slow to change, if at all, and guide us on how to live rightly. Morals sometimes result from a fictional or true story; the fictional ones are often designed to demonstrate a moral. While these differences between morals and values exist, we can treat them the same when using them to invent culture. Here are some traits we can leverage:

Acceptance
Compassion
Cooperation
Courage
Dignity
Equality
Fairness
Generosity
Gratitude
Honesty
Integrity
Kindness
Justice
Perseverance
Politeness
Respect
Responsibility
Self-control
Tolerance
Trustworthiness

 

A more high-minded society will value different traits (like dignity, equality, politeness, and tolerance) than a barbaric one, which might value self-reliance, courage, respect, and integrity. A society with more freedom might value most items on that list while individuals in an oppressive one might value courage, responsibility, politeness, and perseverance, while longing for things denied them, like kindness, dignity, and quality. The oppressive society itself might prize obedience, humility, and sacrifice, expecting citizens to adhere to these. The society’s government may prize values that are different from its inhabitants.

Beliefs

Many beliefs in culture originate from religions; those beliefs and how to invent them are discussed in chapter four in this volume, on creating religions. As we invent our world, we can take any religious idea and make it more cultural. An example would be Christmas; most would agree that the religious nature of this holiday has been taken over by the cultural aspects of it. There are other concepts from Christianity that permeate life in the U.S., including heaven, hell, the devil, and common swears. Religion’s influence on culture runs from holidays to working schedules and beyond. Leverage the beliefs of a dominant religion to create parts of a culture.

For example, if one day a week is for religious observance, or a few hours of every day are for prayer, then many will have work schedules structured around this. Even those who don’t practice the religion will be aware of these times if widespread. We tend to expect fewer people at stores or on the roads on a Sunday due to church goers, just as stores are often closed on Christmas. Our world’s inhabitants will be aware of these times and may plan for them, which is one way to sneak cultural elements into a scene.

As for non-religious beliefs, some are based in superstition. For example, walking under a ladder is considered bad luck, as is breaking a mirror, stepping on a crack, or a black cat crossing our path. If we’ve invented an animal for our world, we can use it in the same way, choosing a physical trait that makes it ominous, such as one type being poisonous when the rest aren’t (such an animal should be somewhat uncommon but not too rare or it never comes up).

Understanding the origins of such ideas can help us invent our own. Some are practical, like passing under a ladder being unsafe. Some may originate from a nursery rhyme. Then there’s the talisman that can keep evil away, whether it’s garlic and crosses for vampires or a rabbit’s foot. Associate an animal with something good like a benevolent deity and a piece of one’s body can become a talisman. Perhaps a plant has a root shaped like a humanoid and therefore any part of the plant, like garlic, is seen in either a good or bad light.

The black cat idea likely came from being associated with witches, so if we have a world with magic and a type of animal is often seen with wizards, who are also considered dangerous, a similar belief can arise; we can make this true in one culture and the belief may spread across others even if wizards elsewhere don’t often have such animals with them.

The idea that bad luck comes in threes is an example of confirmation bias, where we believe something and then look for the pattern, such as two bad things happening, prompting us to look for the third item. There’s debate as to the origin of this one, but the trinity is important in Christianity and we can do the same thing with a different number in our world. If we go with three, we earthlings will associate it with Earth.

Touching wood for good luck also has debatable sources. Some say it dates from when relics that were believed to be pieces of the cross Jesus was crucified on were sold. Some religions also worship nature and believe trees had spirits in them. Churches of wood were once used as sanctuary and knocking on them in a specific pattern was a signal for entrance. Perhaps pirates (who are notoriously superstitious) knocked on their ships before a bad storm. We leverage rationales but it’s important to note that not only do most of us have no idea where these superstitions originated, we don’t care, simply accepting them. Our characters will be the same, but our audience may wonder at the new ideas we invent, but explaining is best done in a single sentence, like this:

As she’d done since childhood, Tianna clapped her hands twice for luck, like the famous knight Kier had done to summon the horse he rode to glory at the famed Battle of Evermore.

The breaking of a mirror is another superstition, which arose after we stopped gazing in water to see our reflections. Technology provides ever greater possibilities for image capturing, and at my local Renaissance Festival, there’s a running joke that photographers are stealing the souls of those whose picture they take. Such literal interpretations are less common in a more educated world like ours, but they can be fun and useful to remember for fantasy settings. Disturbing that which holds the image, such as breaking glass or causing ripples in the water, is seen as sinister portent. Leverage such a belief as desired, forecasting how many years or misfortunes are thus foretold.

Friday the 13th is considered bad for reasons that aren’t agreed upon, but again, examples can give us ideas. Perhaps it’s due to Christ having supposedly died on a Friday, or one of his twelve disciples betraying him (13 were around the table, including him). Some speculate that 13 full moons in a year caused calendar problems and was considered unlucky; if we have any similar pattern in our time keeping system, this is one way to attach meaning to it. Another way to make a number and day unlucky is to have a prominent group of good people treated badly (i.e., executed) on that day in the past. Confirmation bias can make people start seeing bad events on such a day, thereby “proving” the superstition.

As we continue, we’ll see how beliefs like these can lead to culture’s invention. They are a point of origin, just like morals and values.

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Cultural Scope

There are so many customs and culture-related items that we could disappear down a research rabbit hole, so we’ll focus on things likely to be useful as storytellers and gamers. In addition to working out details in advance, world builders can refer to this chapter when creating scenes.

While much of culture can be invented when we need it, the disadvantage is inconsistency if we’re not careful and take notes. We can invent something earlier in a story or series, then forget and contradict it later. Generally, people (like our characters) don’t care about customs until encountering ones different from theirs or when expectations are not met. In the latter case, judgment about the offender results. This is one value to us as storytellers.

If we need a reason for characters to not be accepted warmly, failure to follow customs is a solution. This can be individual characters or whole groups rejecting someone. It can be wise or fun to include a character who is more well-traveled than other characters and understands how to navigate other lands without offense. This requires at least two cultures: the one our characters are from and the one in which the story takes place.

What is Culture?

Culture is an abstract, complex concept. Most of us have a vague understanding of what it means, but when we’re building cultures, we need clarity to know what elements to invent, why, and how. Culture is a social group’s lifestyle. It is symbolic communication and often taken for granted, which is one reason we have troubling grasping the concept. It is a set of expectations. It evolves over time, though slowly, sometimes with bursts of social change. It not only differs across sovereign powers, but within regions and settlements. The culture of football players is different from that of rock musicians. Nonetheless, if they exist in the same society, they’ll share other elements of culture; to coin a term, we might call this “cultural scope,” which will be discussed further in this chapter.

The case can be made that values, beliefs, and morals are the origins of culture. These are ideas. And they manifest as rituals, habits, customs, art, music, and the use of language. When broken down this way, it becomes easier to determine what work must be done, and in what order: the ideas, then the manifestations. This is how we’ll approach inventing culture, rounding out our concepts before deciding what they’ve resulted in.

Even if inventing the ideas first is helpful, we may have a few of the resulting manifestations in mind because we thought of them first, but this is fine. We can work backwards from them and try to determine what ideas they imply. For example, if rigid formality exists in greetings, we can infer that people feel oppressed or suppressed, or that open expression of feelings is frowned upon. This can help us create more manifestations, but it can also suggest some values: that emotion is considered weak, that dignity is prized, or that appearance is important. We’ll look more closely at this.

Cultural Scope

Every culture exists somewhere: in a sovereign power (or several), a region, a settlement, a social group, or a race or species, to name a few. Every sovereign power has a form of government, which will greatly impact the cultures within it. We must therefore know what this is. Residents of a democracy have leeway to create culture whereas a totalitarian government may be forcing culture upon people; the culture will be very different.

Creating Places (The Art of World Building, #2) detailed our primary government options and, at a high level, what life is typically like for inhabitants of each. We want to consider how much freedom and control people have over their lives. The less freedom, the less variation in culture at the lower levels of region, settlement, and social group. And the more oppressive and rigid a government, the more likely residents live in fear and avoid any violation of expectations, which could result in imprisonment, torture, forced labor, or death. Before embarking on the invention of a culture, decide what the sovereign power’s government is, even if you’re creating culture at the social group level. It’s wise to create culture in the following order:

Sovereign power
Regional
Settlement
Social group

The reason is that ideas and manifestations at the sovereign power level influence the regional level, and so on down to the smallest social group. If this seems like a lot of work, most of what we need to invent is at the top level and, being inherited by lower levels, only needs modification as appropriate if our tale or characters need it. Each person will belong to every level above their social one.

For example, Kier could be in the knight social group while Antar is in the archer one, but both are in the warrior one, the settlement culture, the regional one, all the way up to the sovereign power level. Some elements can be true in multiple cultures, such as nerds acting roughly the same way in Japan as in the United States; in reality, each will have its own nerd culture, but we’d still recognize some similar elements, in theory.

We may want to invent the most universal items early, then more localized variations. But we should always make a note about scope in our files. For example, “Throughout the Empire of Antaria (including sovereign powers and settlements that once belonged to it), wedding bands are worn on so-and-so finger.”

Every species and race is likely to have variations. The elves and humans in Kingdom Illiandor will not have the same dining etiquette, but some similarities will exist, just as the elves of Illiandor will share some dining etiquette with elves in another kingdom. This means that we could scope certain aspects as being typically elven and others as being of Illiandor. For example, let’s say that all elves drink only from the right hand, place a napkin in their lap, and never talk with food in their mouth, regardless of the elf’s origin (never mind that individuals can defy these customs). But all species of Kingdom Illiandor swear an allegiance to the king prior to dining. While more involved, this is believable depth.

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The Chapters

What follows is a brief summary of what’s included in each chapter in Volume Three, Cultures and Beyond.

Chapter 1 – Creating Cultures

This chapter discusses the differences between a culture and a custom, and that morals, values, and beliefs underlie everything. World builders can determine the scope of an invented culture, as some are regional or extend throughout a sovereign power. Cultural depictions can have visible, audible, and behavior aspects that can be defined. These include issues such as body language, hair styles, gestures, clothing, and more. Greetings and farewells should be defined because characters will use them. Similarly, swear words, slang, verbal expressions, and colloquialisms can be created to characterize interactions. The daily life of a culture is depicted in dining, bathing, sleeping, employment, and transportation rituals and behaviors; pastimes, holidays and more create a respite for the everyday activities. Even architecture can be influenced by culture.

Chapter 2 – Creating Organizations

Organizations for good or evil are a staple of both fantasy and SF. This chapter discusses both group types and their world views, plus common traits like goals, enemies, friends, and their source of (and quest for) power. How members join and leave such groups is an important element; some organizations might prevent or inhibit departure. Prerequisites can also bind a member to the group. The history and actions of a group are an important part of its reputation.

Chapter 3 – Creating Armed Forces

Military groups such as the army, navy, air/space force, and knights are a staple of both fantasy and SF. We can leverage existing ideas or craft our own. Doing so means deciding how someone joins and leaves a military group, including requirements, tests, and training. Some species and races might be forbidden or assigned special roles. Throughout history, famous members can inspire pride or loathing. When devising military units and ranks, it helps to understand Earth analogues, so some basics are included in this chapter. The world view, locations, place in society, and symbols are all important elements of memorable armed forces and this chapters covers them all.

Chapter 4 – Creating Religions

While some aspects of the societies we create have history as a minor element, history is crucial with religions, so first we look at where and how the religion formed, including a prophetic figure and the role of a god, should one exist. Creation and end of world myths, and the afterlife, are important elements that potential followers consider, along with the requirements for worship and the penalty for failing to follow the rules. How someone joins and leaves a religion can be trivial or significant and includes the possibility of expulsion. We’ll need holy sites, too, and a decision on holidays, customs, sects, relationships with everyone from species to other religions, and what members of the clergy are like and their role in society. Most importantly, we need the symbols and beliefs of this religion.

Chapter 5 – Creating the Supernatural

Supernatural elements exist in both fantasy and SF and can be used to add surprises. The audience may expect magic, for example, but not our version of it, so there’s room for originality here. We can create energies that give rise to phenomena, beings, or places like magic pathways or alternate worlds and realities that impact our setting and stories. How much impact and prevalence these supernatural elements have, and how to determine this, are an important focus of this chapter.

Chapter 6 – Creating a System of Magic

Magic systems can be simple or complex, but they should always be consistent. This chapter discusses the methods and principles of good systems and how to create them. This includes the importance of naming them, deciding if spells are needed and what those are for, whether spells can go wrong and how, and different types of magic we might want to include in our settings. We’ll also look at how much training someone might need, what forms that training takes, and learn how to decide what’s right for our setting. And no discussion of magic is complete without a look at how to invent spells.

Chapter 7 – Creating Items

Whether magical, technological, or more ordinary, memorable items exist in our setting even if we don’t mention them. SF likely expects them, and fantasy often has at least one magic item someone has or covets in a story, but even ordinary items can be given significance through association with important people, places, or events. This chapter discusses how to invent their properties, origins, and form, and how to determine who is likely to use or want them. The creation of an A.I. is included.

Chapter 8 – Creating Languages

Creating a language is one of the most challenging aspects of world building, but it’s also one of the few that we can outsource; how and where to do so is discussed. Even so, some basic terms must be understood so we know what we’re buying and receiving from our expert. If we choose to do it ourselves, we should consider whether it benefits our audience and how, or even whether it’s a burden that we can save both them and ourselves. This chapter will not teach world builders how to invent a language because there are entire books on the subject, and those are referenced here, but it will discuss the pros and cons of constructing a language and what we lose by not having one (or more).

Chapter 9 – Creating Names

Many techniques exist for creating names of people, places, and things, and all of them leverage our creativity to make the results and process more satisfying than using name generators, which are also discussed. Caveats and pitfalls abound, for while a great name elevates our story, bad ones turn off audiences, or keep them from talking about a character with an unpronounceable or unspellable name. We look at the differences between given names, surnames, compound names, and different ways to use parts of our invented world for all of them. The tips in this chapter will make this required activity fun and rewarding.

Chapter 10 – Other Systems

Other systems exist in our setting and warrant development. We’ll examine educational systems and their impact on employment, plus where and how people are getting educated or being disqualified from it. Health systems include medical and mental, and they range from great to terrible, each having significant impacts on lives. Information systems aren’t just for SF, because fantasy settings need to disseminate information, too, and have their own ways of doing so. Understanding monetary systems and how to keep them simple is another focus of this chapter and includes how to determine the value of time, labor, and materials. And no world is complete without laws, crimes, and punishments, so developing a legal system is a critical world building task we breakdown into a manageable one.

Chapter 11 – Conclusion

In the series conclusion, we look at how to organize our files of world building notes so that the info glut doesn’t become overwhelming; this includes some tools others have created, whether free or not, and the pros and cons of using them. We’ll also look at different approaches to world building and how each affects our working methodology and results. Final thoughts include the merits of following our own rules per world and whether partnering with another world builder is a good idea or not.

Templates and Newsletter

Effective world building requires having written down details about the created world. To help you organize and jumpstart your efforts, each volume in this series includes templates in the appendices. This volume includes twelve: cultures, organizations, armed forces, religions, supernatural energies, supernatural lands, magic systems, spells, legal systems, monetary systems, education systems, and games.

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Cultures and Beyond: Introduction

Note: this is the start of Cultures and Beyond (The Art of World Building, #3).

With the creating life and places covered in volumes one and two, we turn our attention to everything else about setting that characterizes our world, inhabitants, and storylines.

In this volume, we’ll discuss:

Cultural vision, scope, origins, and manifestations
Organizations like organized crime or secret sects
Armed forces (the army, navy, and air force)
Religions and how to leverage deities we’ve invented
The supernatural and its impact
Items, whether supernatural, technological, or neither
Languages and the impact they have on setting
Names and techniques to invent them
Educational, legal, commerce, health, and IT systems
Approaches to managing our world building development

Examples included in the text were created specifically for this guide and are not drawn from any setting I’ve created, or stories I’ve written or published.

Chapter 1 from Creating Life (The Art of World Building, #1) (italics) includes discussion of some principles referred to here, the main one being the use of analogues. This means inventing something that is based on an Earth equivalent but making enough changes to it that people are less likely to recognize the influence. This is known as the Rule of Three.

The book has a website at http://www.artofworldbuilding.com, where you can find additional resources, information on other volumes in this series, and other items as they are added.

Where to Start

The series and chapters within each volume can be read in any order but are arranged according to what might come first in a world’s timeline. This volume is an exception; one chapter has little to do with the next. If you have an idea for something covered herein, write down everything you’re thinking of before reading about other things you might consider. This will keep you from forgetting your idea or becoming overwhelmed with feelings of needing to get it “right;” there’s really no such thing. Then you can read on for new ideas to enrich your setting.

So where do you start? Where your heart lies.

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Creating Places Conclusion

While this volume focuses on creating places, world building doesn’t need to start with the planet itself, or anywhere on it. We could start with inventing species, plants, animals, gods and other beings as described in Creating Life (The Art of World Building, #1). More often than not, we’ll crisscross between subjects as we refine our ideas. Everything is optional, but if you’re stuck on deciding what to do first, follow your heart. Start with what matters most to you so that you don’t burn out on creating things you care about less. It’s also vital to remember your goals; create what you need for your story or career but don’t invent anything you can’t or won’t use. The templates will help you stay organized and might even inspire more invention. And if you ever get frustrated or overwhelmed, take a break.

Remember, world building is fun!

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