Welcome to another day in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Find the entire list here. My theme this year is world-building.
Mostly I’m asking questions that I believe need to be considered whether you
creating a medieval fantasy world, a science fiction story or even a
contemporary novel. The ideas I present aren’t in a particular order as I had
to fit them into the alphabetical order needed. And don’t forget to visit the
other blog I’m part of during the A to Z Challenge over at the IWSG. Now onto
your world.
If you have a town or a city in your novel, there will be buildings. What will the architecture be like? Castles or stone or wood? Hovels? Wooden dwellings? Clay bricks? Two story buildings? Formal salons? Will there be walls will guard towers? Do the windows have glass? Is there art in your world? Paintings? Sculptures? Tapestries? Will they play into the story by depicting history or as symbols of wealth?
Any world lives or dies on its food supplies. What is agriculture like in your world? Horse or oxen pulling plows? Or are your people hunters and gatherers? Do your characters live in a city or castle where they don't know or care where their food comes from? In a medieval society the majority of the population might have to be farmers to provide enough food for everyone.
Do you include any artwork or references to art in your stories? Do you do any research on the type of architecture in your novels? Is agriculture mentioned or does food just appear?
I try to build up a picture board (actually more of a folder on the computer) of images that reflect my world. Also a great way to waste time on the internet finding cool buildings and artwork.
ReplyDeletemood
Moody Writing
All of those need to be considered. I didn't do much with art in my books, but the other two I did. (What's the architecture? They live in a desert - it's adobe!)
ReplyDeleteArchitecture thankfully mine was just like today's for most of it, so easy.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of "Worldbuilding". I am not a fiction writer (usually!) yet I can see how this impacts not only characters, but writer's lives as well... as in where they find themselves and where they write and creating their own surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI live in an agricultural area. I never thought I would live in a place like this and I have grown to appreciate so much about farming and crops and even the richness of the season. Weedpatch Camp - made famous from the Grapes of Wrath - is near my home.
I look forward to reading you again!
Julie Jordan Scott
A to Z Challenge Participant/2011,12,13,14.....
The Bold Writer from A to Z
I find I write a lot of general world building pieces just to set the scene for myself, then I go back during revision and make certain aspects more specific and important to the story.
ReplyDeleteMadeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
Minion, Capt. Alex's Ninja Minion Army
The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge
I've heard of a lot of authors creating boards on Pinterest with photos of things as they visualize them for their book. I haven't tried it yet, but that seems like a really good idea.
ReplyDeleteI am not a writer but if I was I would have Castles in mine.
ReplyDeleteSince my novel is contemporary, I don't really have those sorts of issues. I have been telling myself for a LONG TIME that I need to use Google Earth to look at the "general area" where I envision my fictional town. I want to get the details right with regard to what the houses and businesses look like. Thanks for this reminder...
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, Susan. I found myself doing a mental checklist as I read this - have I thought of that? And that? And that? I'm looking forward to the rest of your posts!
ReplyDeleteI've never tried writing a medieval story. What fun to wander in those imaginary rooms of a castle. Thanks for the ideas!
ReplyDeleteGood post, Susan. Thought-provoking. I do a lot of research, even for my novels, which are very much set in today's world and are not in any way historical, but still ... I find myself researching, especially when buildings (architecture) are concerned for accuracy purposes.
ReplyDeleteSilvia @
SilviaWrites
A challenge all about world building? That is neat! And I'm curious to see what you came up with for "O" "Q" "U" "V" "X" "Y" and "Z". haha I'll definitely be sticking around. Great choices for "A"! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog, Susan. Good luck with your world building!
ReplyDeletewww.marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com
All great questions, Sue. And so important to world building! Great start to your AtoZ challenge!
ReplyDeleteThese are essential to stories, even if you don't point them out explicitly, they should be in your head while you write. Thanks for the super A post.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly why I will never make it as a writer. I am one of those people who has to have an accurate history and will include way too much info about the agriculture, art, and architecture and get away from the actual story I am trying to tell. Maybe I should have been a historian.
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I enjoy world building, but in my case it's scifi. Lots of good questions in that post, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI've done research for both the scifi and the alternate history novels I'm working on. I like having my facts in order.
Architecture is something important to consider, no matter what genre. Luckily, I write 20th century historical, so most of my characters can buy their food at the grocer's instead of growing it from scratch.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I'm so glad you're doing this theme this year- I really need it!
ReplyDeleteI've never tried world building and am honestly intimidated by it so your theme is very interesting and helpful for me to read. Looking forward to more. :)
ReplyDeleteI use music all the time. Depending on its relevance to the story, sometimes art, architecture, etc.
ReplyDeleteHmm... very interesting questions. My architecture is a mix of castles, hovels, two-story and one-story buildings. Houses with thatched roofs. Lots of art and a mix of farming and hunting/gathering. Good post, happy A-Z Launch day!
ReplyDeleteI suppose you could say that agriculture is actually a theme in Shadow Spinner. Or part of it.
ReplyDeleteNow you've got me thinking about setting/world building...
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the volume of research that goes into the world building for historical fiction!
That's a great list of things to remember to incorporate into your fictional world.
ReplyDeleteGreat things to consider. Some authors might describe the architecture, but agriculture and art are sometimes forgotten and just as important.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by the Untethered Realms blog! :) Untethered Realms
I did do a lot of research on architecture. My current novel is set in a southwest Virginia coal town in the 1930s. The research included buildings, the tipple (the mine structure), the commissary, school church, and the four room homes where the miners lived with their families. Four rooms. I can't live without four bedrooms. Yikes. Great post. Can't wait to read more. I'm back at http://tonjasmusings.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteExcellent questions. In my next book I've created a world between the living and the astral plane.
ReplyDeleteGood post!
Hugs and chocolate!
Shelly
Hmmm ... no agriculture. Wormholes? Yes. But no agriculture.
ReplyDeleteI love world building themes :) I find that agriculture tends to trip me up. I need to learn more.
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z!
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Tales of Colors
MopDog - The crazy thing about Hungarian
I created a world with no trees. That was a challenge because we use so much wood and paper in normal society. I kept having to delete sections.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I never really considered art. I'm not sure that it'll ever be a big part of any of my longer works, but it could help round out some characters or provide subplots. I did write a flash piece about a pair of sculptors with magic paint though. It was very fun to write. Thanks for nudging my world-building mind in a new direction.
ReplyDeleteI like how you are emphasising the details of a novel. I have an actual architect as a hero in the first novel I finished. Plenty of building details there!
ReplyDeleteTruly excellent tips for creating a world. I sometimes just get overwhelmed with my world building and forget the finer details.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good reminder for me as I need to do a bit of architectural research for my current draft.
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I love doing all this stuff. It's fun and interesting asking these sorts of question of yourself as you build a new world in a novel. Plus a great excuse to burn a few hours doing something that is needed but also very fun and interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteThose are certainly useful world-building questions, I've saved this post to my favourites for future reference. Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with :)
ReplyDeleteI laughed at the wormhole comment. That was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best posts, because these are some of the most important elements in the types of stories I enjoy writing. This is wonderful, thanks!
ReplyDeleteRandom Musings from the KristenHead — A is for 'Almost Human' (and Action and Androids)