Where are you? A Map to World Building

I am an admitted pantser.

Meaning when I write, I plan almost nothing out. When I write, it’s by the seat of my pants.

I did say ‘almost nothing.’

There is something I do work on.

When I write, I build worlds. It’s my favorite thing to do.

I love the questions about the world my characters are going into. Is the world magical, non-magical, or modern with magic? Are we riding horses, or horse sized pit bulls? Where do my characters live? Regular houses, castles, or undergrounds caverns?

Then I deal with the minutia. How does emergency transit work? What about other emergency services? What powers the secret base of operations? How do we transport large items?

Are there classes? Caste systems? Can certain cultures interact peacefully with others, or are their taboos? What are the fighting styles of these cultures, how did they evolve? What are the religious practices of these cultures. Are they real or false?

The questions are infinite.

There’s a good chance that none of this will make it into the book.

Why bother with any of it?

There may be gaps that need to be filled. Tiny bits here and there. Throwaway lines. Small scenes giving the reader a glimpse at the larger world beneath the action.

It’s the juice. The sauce for  the goose. The horseradish for the prime rib. It’s the extra stuff you don’t necessarily need to enjoy the main course, but it’s enhances the flavor…

Wait a minute.

Lots of metaphor and no interruption.

Excuse me.

Hey!

Busy.

Are you playing Minecraft while I’m writing?

I do have a life outside of you, ya know.

Ugh.

Get me a Coke.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. World Building goes hand in hand with building your character from the ground up. A good detailed background for your character can dovetail nicely into your world you’ve built for them.

Here are a couple of handy little pictures I’ve come across with topics on World Building. I’ll probably be talking about this with Jared Quan in a future Twitch stream.