What’s in a World? A guest post from Gail Z. Martin

Gail Z. Martin is the author of the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga series, the Chronicles of the Necromancer series, and the Fallen Kings Cycle series. Her latest book in the Ascendant Kingdoms series, Ice Forged , will be out this coming January. Meanwhile, today Bowing to the Future is hosting a post on World Building by Gail as part of her annual Days of the Dead blog.

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Martin</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xe4Iy-5KxYg..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xe4Iy-5KxYg..." width="212" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">World building is arguably the most fun—and most difficult—part of writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Get it right, and your world becomes as memorable as your stories and characters, a place that lives on in the imagination of your readers, as tangible as somewhere they grew up or went on vacation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Get it wrong, and you’re no more memorable than a truck stop on the highway—or worse, you’re memorable for all the wrong reasons.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m guessing there are as many ways to world-build as there are authors, and no single right way as long as readers like the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>So I’ll just share how I do it, and let you take it from there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, world building, plot and character are all inextricably linked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I may begin with an idea about a plotline, or have a clear “vision” for a character whose story I’d like to tell, or a place that would be a great setting for an adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Whichever one I start with, I need to find the right two components to go with it so that it all goes together seamlessly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If I start with a character, then I have to ask myself, “What society and landscape shaped this character?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>We’re all influenced by the place in which we grow up, or make our home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>What influences would have produced a person with my character’s values, interests, world view, prejudices, belief systems, abilities, fears, likes and dislikes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>That’s going to go a long way toward helping me create the right kind of environment for the story, and it’s going to shape the story itself, because certain types of stories are more plausible in some situations than in others.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wvv5KW-r9q8..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wvv5KW-r9q8..." width="213" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If the original inspiration comes from the plot, then I have to figure out what type of setting/environment will make the plot situation likely—even possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I have to think about how my choices of setting could enhance—or dampen—the plot and whether I can envision those settings in a way that make them different from places that readers have been before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>(The truck stop analogy again—we’ve all been to at least one, and they all look alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Nice if you want consistently clean restrooms, but zilch for ambiance.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And if the setting is what I begin with, then it’s going to be unusual, and there’s something about it that draws me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Certain types of stories are more likely in specific types of places—crowded cities full of transients and intrigue, for example, versus a rural setting where no one leaves home and strangers are automatically suspicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>In this case, there’s something about the setting that will inevitably suggest the plot and sketch out the characters.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The fourth component is time/technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>London in 2150 is very different from London in 1250.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>This will determine everything from types of communication, speed of travel, methods of warfare, and other crucial details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Will your characters be spending gold coins or swiping a debit card?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Is information known instantaneously around the world, or at the speed of sailing vessel (or horse)?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AxleQV62zYQ..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AxleQV62zYQ..." width="211" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, the best kind of research mixes both books and experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I’m a museum junkie, and I have been going to living history sites since I was a kid, so I’ve grown up with the sound and smell of a blacksmith’s shop, rudimentary knowledge of cooking on an open hearth, horse-drawn conveyances, and everything from period clothing to old-fashioned medicines, entertainment and art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>If I can’t go a museum, there’s always the History Channel, or the Travel Channel, web sites, travel guide books, and even old-fashioned travelogues given at your local AAA, library or community center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>It’s amazing how the smallest details that seem insignificant can end up adding to the texture of your next book.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It also helps to be a “critical” consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>When you watch a movie or TV show/series or read a book, pull back enough to think about whether or not the world building is working for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Does it immerse you in the story, or jar you out of it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Is it a distraction, or so integral the story wouldn’t be the same without it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>What is memorable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>What is clichéd? Could the characters be anywhere, or are they so much a product of time and place that they could be nowhere (and no-when) else?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Plots can be recycled (think about Hamlet done in Shakespeare’s time and re-done into modern adaptations), but each time, the time/place alters the story—if it doesn’t, something’s missing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most importantly, have fun with it! If you’re not fascinated by your world, your readers won’t be, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Enjoy!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cxQEgQuxrZo..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cxQEgQuxrZo..." width="206" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My annual Days of the Dead blog tour celebrates Halloween, Samhain, Dia De Los Muertos, All Hallow’s Eve—you get the picture!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I’m throwing an online party—with downloadable party favors—and you’re invited!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>You can see where I’ve spread the goodies out across all my partner sites at <a href="http://www.chroniclesofthenecromancer... some downloadable excerpt “treats” to enjoy!</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Please enjoy this excerpt from my short story, “<a href="http://www.4shared.com/office/e5deWqV... theShoals Forever</a>”, excerpted from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762... Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women.</a></i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lo..." style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> And this scene from “<a href="http://www.4shared.com/office/20nwnf1...”, excerpted from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1781... An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane.</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=lo..." style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>