29Apr 2011 by diannagunn

Setting and its Purposes in Early Planning

Novels, Writing
You are probably aware of the three main elements of storytelling: plot, setting, and characterization. While these elements are usually talked about separately in writing blogs, in truly great fiction they are very hard to separate from one another, and each one directly influences the next. This is because characters must fit within their world; the plot must fit within the setting and the characters must be willing to participate. In most fantasy novels the setting is changed too, if not the climate or world itself than at least human society. Today I'm going to talk about setting and how you can either use it to create a story or how you can discover it by looking at the basic elements of your idea. I am lucky because my stories…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Conflict 101

Novels, Workshops, Writing
Today's exercise is very important but shouldn't take too long. There is no recommended reading today, but I'd highly recommend looking through some of Limyaael's Fantasy Rants. Conflict is the thing that drives your story. It is your character trying to overcome obstacles. Conflict can be man/nature, man/other man, man/woman, or man/himself. The best stories have multiple layers of conflict and tension between characters, and between characters and their environment. Today you're going to figure out the conflict behind your plot. Questions Remember that this is largely a brainstorming exercise. Don't be afraid to branch off in different directions and follow your line of thought to its natural conclusion. These questions should help you figure out your plot. 1. Who is your main character? What is their main goal? Your…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Mythology 101

Novels, Workshops, Writing
You're not going to be writing any actual myths today-unless you choose to-but it is important to take a look at the mythology of your world. Today's questions are designed to help you make your world a little more complex, and to give any religious characters you might have some more depth. Mythology is my favourite part of worldbuilding, so don't be surprised if this exercise takes you a bit longer than usual. It's not just that it's my favourite-there are a million different things you can explore with mythology. Questions&Recommended Reading ~What do your Gods do in mythology that lend credibility to their character? If you've already done Religion 101, then you have an idea of what your gods represent. A pretty good one at that. Now consider the…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Law 101

Novels, Prompts, Workshops, Writing
Law exists in every culture, and has existed almost since the dawn of humankind. There are many different kinds of laws. Today we're going to talk about inheritance laws and oppressive laws. Recommended Reading Limyaael's Inheritance Rant talks about the importance of inheritance and the different ways it can operate. Limyaael's Rant on Class/Caste systems talks about class/caste systems and how they operate. Inheritance ~Are families traced via the mother's blood or the father's blood? This will have a profound impact on inheritance. While your inheritance may not directly follow the line to the first born son or daughter, if families are matrilineal it's more likely to go to one of the daughters and if they're patrilineal it will probably go to one of the sons. Llyr is interesting in…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

The Passage of Time

Novels, Prompts, Workshops, Writing
Today we're going to take a look at how your society marks the passage of time. Recomended Reading Today's recomended reading is just this article. The Exercise Precise, small units of time probably don't exist in your world, if it's like most fantasy worlds. There will be years, months, weeks, days, and probably hours. So let's get started: ~How many months in a year? How many months does each season take up? ---In Llyr, for example, there are thirteen months. Spring, summer, and fall are all four months; winter is five months. In George R. R. Martin's world, seasons can take years at a time. How long each season is will have an effect on things like religion. In a world where winter is the longest season (or a kingdom;…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Religion 101

Novels, Prompts, Workshops, Writing
Religion is an important part of our world and our history, and it will probably be a major factor in yours as well. Religion is used both as a tool to liberate and as a tool to oppress all kinds of people throughout history and even today. It's used as an excuse for various wars that are really about land and resources. People have a great need to believe in something greater than themselves, especially people living in rough times. Those who endure the most suffering often have-and really need-the most intense faithfulness. As living conditions for people in general get better we stray away from religion and find different paths, some along various spiritualities and others in science, but most of us have a spiritual root of some kind.…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

A Prompt and a Question

Novels, Prompts, Workshops, Writing
Recommended Reading Today's recommended reading is about religion and education: ~Fantasy Education Rant: Some General Ideas ~Creating Convincing Religious Characters Question(s) of the Day: 1. How do people tell time? Do your people have actual clocks? In a more industrial society, your people will probably use clocks to tell time and have things like hours and minutes. (I usually have clocks with hours but without minutes counted in my world) If the majority of your people are farmers, odds are they'll judge time by the sun. Perhaps even more important is how they judge months and years. Are years short, each one being just a season? Are months judged by the moon? My worlds usually have 'mooncycles', each new month starting on a new moon. How many months make up…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Language 101

Novels, Prompts, Workshops, Writing
Today we're going to talk a bit about language. Unless you're writing a book that takes place here on Earth in either modern or historical times, odds are your characters won't be speaking English. You probably won't want to create an entire language for your kingdom, but an idea of how their language works and a few words might be helpful. As a start, briefly study some languages other than English. Look into grammar rules such as word order and punctuation. As one example take a look at some information on Irish Gaelic, one of the most interesting-and most ancient-human languages. I'll throw out a link for some Japanese Grammar too while we're at it. Making Stuff Up This isn't a language making course, though one (or a dozen) could…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Prompt and Questions

Novels, Prompts, Short Fiction, Workshops, Writing
First, since the prompt is likely to take you away from this blog, let's tackle today's questions. Today's questions will be about religion, which is crucial to understanding the whole culture that your characters live in. Religion is of varying importance to varying cultures throughout the world and throughout history. Your world might be predominantly non-religious, but it might be like ours a couple hundred years ago, almost entirely ruled by religion. 1. Does religion influence education? How so? Religion, especially if there is a state religion, almost always influences how people are educated in any given country. The effects could be as simple as a bias in teaching or as complex as the temple itself providing education. Your church could be in charge of your schools. In the Kingdom…
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07Jan 2011 by diannagunn

Culture 101

Workshops, Writing
Today's exercise is designed to help you give the culture you're working on depth and realism. There are many different levels of culture building, things like language, religion, history, law, and social custom. Today's post is divided into sections: reading recommendations, religion, and law. Reading Recommendations Before you start this exercise, if you have a spare half hour, check out these rants by limyaael: ~Language Rant 1 ~Religion Rant 1 ~Medieval Societies Religion You probably already have a vague idea or two of your kingdom's religion(s), but today we're going to make up a fact sheet and establish some basic information about it. If there are multiple very separate religions, create a fact sheet for each. If there are sects, don't bother; we'll deal with sects on a later day.…
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