Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "settings"
Creating Worlds
Camp NaNo is busy accumulating words this month. Another part of all NaNo events are the various pep talk and tips emails. Often they are thought provoking and the latest by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs is no exception.
World building has always been something sciefi and fantasy writers do. It's a necessary prerequisite to such books as the imaginary world must remain consistent throughout the book or series.
Jacobs brought up a different take on world building. It is an important part of any fiction book. Even a modern day book is based on imaginary characters operating in a place they inhabit. That world must remain consistent throughout the story.
Sounds familiar?
I would even extend this to nonfiction as even these narratives must stay true to their settings throughout the book.
Before a setting is real on the printed page, it must be real to the author. Of course, the writer can visualize the setting, outline the main points of the setting, even sketch the setting. That doesn't make it real.
Jacobs brought up an interesting way to make the setting real. She suggests pretending to sit in the main character's room and describe ten things about this room: smells, sounds, objects. This can be extended to plot development by having one of the objects being a secret. Why is this thing a secret? Where is it hidden?
A person's room says so much about a person. Think about your own room. What pictures are on the wall? What color are the walls? Is it neat or messy? What does your room say about you?
Character is so important in a book. This simple exercise may be a way to make a setting real, but it also makes the character real. And that improves the book, any book, regardless of genre.
World building has always been something sciefi and fantasy writers do. It's a necessary prerequisite to such books as the imaginary world must remain consistent throughout the book or series.
Jacobs brought up a different take on world building. It is an important part of any fiction book. Even a modern day book is based on imaginary characters operating in a place they inhabit. That world must remain consistent throughout the story.
Sounds familiar?
I would even extend this to nonfiction as even these narratives must stay true to their settings throughout the book.
Before a setting is real on the printed page, it must be real to the author. Of course, the writer can visualize the setting, outline the main points of the setting, even sketch the setting. That doesn't make it real.
Jacobs brought up an interesting way to make the setting real. She suggests pretending to sit in the main character's room and describe ten things about this room: smells, sounds, objects. This can be extended to plot development by having one of the objects being a secret. Why is this thing a secret? Where is it hidden?
A person's room says so much about a person. Think about your own room. What pictures are on the wall? What color are the walls? Is it neat or messy? What does your room say about you?
Character is so important in a book. This simple exercise may be a way to make a setting real, but it also makes the character real. And that improves the book, any book, regardless of genre.
