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.
Time goes by, but how is it tracked in your world? By minutes? Hours? Are there clocks in your world? Do your characters judge the time by the passing of the sun or the stars? Are there weeks or months in your world? Are the months based on the phases of the moon. Is there a moon?What kind of technology if found on your world? More advanced than ours or is indoor plumbing the epitome of technological wonders? Is interstellar travel possible or are smoke signals used to communicate? Computer communications or are a quill and bottles of ink needed to write notes?
Do people pay taxes to support the nobility or the government? Are tax collectors evil characters?
Did you pay your outrageous evil taxes last week? Can you judge the time without consulting a watch or your cell phone? Do you find most created worlds use time measurements similar to the real world?
Time was a tough one. I stuck to ours for familiarity, but I don't mention the units often.
ReplyDeleteTax collectors are always evil:) I am always needing to know the time-don't know why but always look at clocks. You are right-most use our time in their world unless it is a science-fiction/fantasy then they may use this as a device
ReplyDeleteI need to keep better track of time in my longer works. And pacing. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Susan .. in this blogger's world the time ticks on - but I'd like to do a post on it one day ..
ReplyDeleteTechnology I need to do a major catch up - I'm not living in the ark, but it'd be nice if I could get ahead ..
Then taxes - thankfully I don't have the American frenzy to deal with .. cheers Hilary
Time/pacing is a struggle in my current WIP. Thankfully I have a wonderful editor.
ReplyDeleteTime/ pacing is something I am trying hard to work at.
ReplyDeleteTime is something that often isn't thought of, but it could be interesting to change it around a bit.
ReplyDeleteMy laptop is driving me crazy today. Sony Vaio Care is launching every 2 seconds. No idea what that's all about. So today might not be the best day for me to talk about tech. My next laptop will be a Mac, for sure!
ReplyDeleteMost modern technology is outlawed in my novels, but I didn't want to have to deal with time, so they still have clocks. :)
ReplyDeleteMy list of things to consider for any of my worlds has grown considerably. Thanks again for the great suggestions.
ReplyDeleteAll great points! One thing I did for my fictional world was change the time. My world is so far from Earth that it's technically ten years in the future.
ReplyDeleteNever thought about time in minutes and such, just that it passed. Taxes, yuck though lol
ReplyDeleteI mess around with time in both of my books/series.
ReplyDeleteTime IS a tough one. Even in our own world, there are many different ways to measure time, especially depending on WHEN in our world we're talking. Then, if you bring advanced physics in, the whole thing gets turned upside down!
ReplyDeleteHehe, one of the reasons I chose the 1980s as a setting for my first novel was because I was afraid of incorporating modern technology into a love story. To quote Liz Lemon (as memory serves) "There are so many ways a guy can not call you back these days."
ReplyDeleteHi, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI had to chuckle about the EVIL IRS.... So true. LOL.
Time is a great theme to weave into a novel. SO many way to bend it to your will.. or NOT.
Sorry about your TBR... LOL. everyone is blaming me for their loaded kindles these days.
Hey, I just introduce them ... LOL. Okay... So I tempt you a bit by punching up their blurbs. LOL
A tax collector could be a very intriguing character to write about.
ReplyDeleteIn my bloated fantasy, time is by the moons and while I did stick to what we know I also had/have two moons by which to mark the months and tides. Hmmm, but taxes...that's something I didn't include. Ruh Roh, back to the drawing board.
ReplyDeleteI am doing a series of letters so time is passing in daily chunks. In real life I tell time by hours and also by the light outside.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is a tough one for contemporary novels. Gadgets and jargon change so fast that a novel is dated before the book is out.
ReplyDelete