Comments on: Thinking it through

By: Alex Fayle

Alex Fayle — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:35:47 +0000

I’m not a big worldbuilder – actually I find the process a drain on the actual story, so instead I focus on making sure the details in the story make sense and create a whole picture after the first draft. In the first draft I just let my muse go and be free to create whatever is necessary to tell the story I want.

And then in the second draft I remember the whole “If you show a gun in the first scene, you gotta fire it at some point” thing making sure everything is there for a reason.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:51:39 +0000

Your post really got me thinking about that and I feel like I’m seeing a whole new depth of the story with the little connections, myths, and details! Thanks!

By: N Wilson

N Wilson — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 04:30:12 +0000

A la Gandalf at “THE party”?

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:05:07 +0000

Chicoy – Myths aren’t the only thing that you can toss in and then realize it contradicts everything; anything can have that effect (which was, of course, my point). But as long as you notice what’s going on in time, you can take them out again or change them so they work.

Irina – Save the missing ones for later, maybe? Or write them up as their own, unrelated stories?

Cara – The theatrical performance will depend to some extent on what point theater is at in your culture – whether it’s mostly part of a religious celebration, as it was for the ancient Greeks, or whether it’s worked its way to being purely for entertainment, or whether it’s something else entirely. But the idea of having magic for special effects is neat.

By: Cara

Cara — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:00:41 +0000

Ha, I had the reverse problem to Irina. I started the story first, and then when I started adding myths, i found out that the myths were much more interesting and coherent than the story. I eventually threw out the story entirely and used the world to host a D&D game. It was an excellent game. There was suspense, and moral ambiguity, and it actually integrated with the mythology. That’s the story I should have written to begin with.

Of course right now I’m trying to work out what a theatrical performance would be like in a city of wizards. Are they using puppets, or singing? What do they think is funny, and why? Are there political or religious elements? And what are the cultural myths being used? The primacy of romance? Of bloodlines? Of honor?
And of course, what about it would my character be interested in, and what does it do to advance the plot?

(My favorite myth of course is always going to be “Rikiki and the Wizard.”)

By: Irina

Irina — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:09:12 +0000

When I started to write actual stories in the fantasy world I’d been developing for years as only a worldbuilding game, it became much more pragmatic and I lost a myth or two because they just plain didn’t fit. The world is probably the better for it, but I do miss them.

By: Chicoy

Chicoy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:29:09 +0000

Good article. One place I find I especially have to think through implications is background myths. When I read Watership Down the first time, I was hugely impressed with the whole idea of legendary figures existing in the (semi) made-up world and wanted to do the same thing.

Background myths can play absolute havoc with worldbuilding if you’re not careful, though. There’s a huge danger of tossing off a mythic tale because it sounds cool, then discovering that it contradicts everything else about your world. Yikes!