Against the World, Part 2

What does it mean if the underlying conflict of your story is “Person vs. the World?” For me as a writer, it has meant fertile territory for storytelling.

After all, “the World” includes a whole lot of ground, metaphorically and literally. The land itself, the climate and animals, the culture(s) dwelling there, individuals within the culture(s) — every piece of “the World” presents a potential for danger to the “Person” they are adversary to.

In thinking of Skaythe, I considered some real-world societies. China uses “social credit” to monitor and manipulate their population. Saudi Arabia harasses political critics by social media. Historic East Germany was a big influence for Skaythe. In East Germany, the secret police blackmailed or otherwise intimidated people to spy on each other on a massive scale. Spouses, parents and children, friends and neighbors, employers and employees — all spied on each other. It was relentless, and it created incredible stress and distrust in the population.

Skaythe is similar to that. Society might be outwardly peaceful, but there are guards everywhere. The official religion demands heavy offerings. The renegades have to be careful where they go and who they talk to. Every person they encounter could be a spy who would call the guards on them. Safe resting places are rare indeed.

This adds an element of danger that goes beyond the typical confrontations in fantasy. And that’s just the way I want it!

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