Storyworld First: Creating a Unique Fantasy World for Your Novel

910 Pages·2014·1.65 MB·English

by  Williamson

Contents
Title Page
Dedication
About This Book
1. Creating the World
2. Creating a Map
3. Creating Civilizations
4. Creating Creatures
5. Creating Magic
6. Creating History
7. Creating Governments
8. Creating Religions
9. Creating Technology
10. Creating Languages
11. Vernacular Language
12. Worlds within Our World
13. Storyworld Builder's Diseasae
14. How to Keep Track of It All
15. Integrating Storyworld
16. My Storyworld
17. Bonus Chapter! Writing War
Extras
History of Er'Rets
Answers to Slang Quiz
Naming Fantasy Places
Naming Sci Fi Places
Curses & Insult List
Examples of Doggerel
Writing Craft Terms
Spec Fiction Subgenres
Books I Recommend
How to Help the Author
About the Author
Other Books by Jill Williamson
Come Hang Out
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Bibliography
S F
TORYWORLD IRST

Creating a Unique Fantasy World for
Your Novel

Jill Williamson
To the weird ones:
You are not alone.
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Oz, Wonderland, Narnia, the 100 Acre Wood, Neverland, Hogwarts, the United
Federation of Planets, Westeros, Middle Earth, Alagaesia, Terabithia, Gotham
City, Jurassic Park, Fablehaven, and a galaxy far, far away.
These fictional places have become real in the minds and hearts of readers.
These are storyworlds that someone invented—someone who was once like you,
learning to tell stories, learning to write, and dreaming about publishing a novel.
You have the ability to create such a world for readers. Isn’t that incredible?
If you’re a beginner who’s overwhelmed by the idea of creating an entire
world or who’s uncertain where to start, this book will help you.
But if you’re looking for a book to magically give you the ability to create
worlds without doing a lot of work, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Writing a book can be loads of fun, but it’s not easy. And coming up with a
unique storyworld to go along with your book can complicate the process even
more.
Worlds are not created overnight. They take time, patience, practice, and
persistence to build. Still, this is my favorite kind of work. If you want help with
that—if you want to create a story that stands out from others—this book will
provide tools to help.
There’s no one way or right way to build a storyworld. I’m a builder by
nature. (You can read my story in chapter 16.) So, I’m going to take you through
my process in hopes that it will inspire you.
I’m a checklist girl. I make a list of the areas that need special attention, then
do them one at a time. But I’m also creative, and I often choose to ignore certain
things on my own lists.
Story is key. It trumps everything else.
I have an author friend who starts her brainstorming by making a collage.
She’ll tear through magazines and print images from the internet, and sometimes
draw or paint to create a collage of the world she’s going to create. And when
she’s done, it sits by her computer while she writes, a constant inspiration.
I tell you this to impress upon you the vast differences in storyworld creation
styles, but also to stress to you that this book is not meant to be a “To Do” list.
Writing good speculative fiction is about immersing your reader in the world
you’ve created. No writer does that in the exact same way.
Few stories go in depth on every aspect of a storyworld, and trying to do
everything in every book can drive you crazy and bog down your story. In this
book I’ve given you the tools I use to create worlds, but you must decide how
best to use them. Find your own process as a writer. Embrace your creativity and
trust your instincts.
This book is all about creating a mythical storyworld, but you could apply
these same principles in creating a contemporary place like Bedford Falls, New
York.
It doesn’t matter if you’re starting from scratch or looking to add realism to a
story you’ve already written. The topics in this book can be applied to all stages
of the creative process.
So, hold on to your fezzes! It’s going to be a wild ride.
Chapter Thirteen
S B ’ D
TORYWORLD UILDER S ISEASE

When I wrote my first fantasy novel, I got really into the whole worldbuilding
thing. I drew the map, named the cities, created family trees for the ruling lord in
each city, wrote out a history for my land and a description of each city, re-drew
my map, researched the animals and plant life that went with each type of
climate and matched them with my cities, used Photoshop to design a banner for
each of my noble families, drew floor plans of castles, got lost for a while
researching types of swords, bought wood to make my own waster swords, tried
talking my husband into practicing swordplay with me and my waster swords,
then—since I’d been a fashion design major—I thought it might be fun to draw
the clothing for some of my main characters.
It was during one such fashion coloring moment that my husband said, “I
thought you were going to write a book.”
I looked around at the mounds of papers, the piles of markers, the ink stains
on my hands from so much drawing. I looked at the stack of encyclopedias on
the floor at the foot of my bed and the binder in which I had started to organize
all of these things.
I realized that I might have gone too far.
I looked up at my husband, Prismacolor marker paused above my pad of art
paper. I thought about his words for a moment, what they really meant, and I
said, “Oh. Yeah.”
An early drawing of Lord Nathak

So, after nearly three months of playing with my storyworld, my husband
knocked some sense into me. I set aside my piles of planning and started to
write. Good thing my husband had said something. If he hadn’t, I might still be
playing around with that storyworld today!
What happened to me is a common tale. This is what’s affectionately known
to science fiction and fantasy writers as Storyworld Builder’s Disease. It happens
to the best of us. Because it’s fun to make up a new world. It can suck you in.
And you can get lost there for a very long time.
Some people like it there. You never have to actually do any writing in that
place. It’s all the fun with none of the work. Well, maybe some work.
Don’t get me wrong. Taking the time to brainstorm your storyworld is
important and good. It makes it easier for you to write your book, and it makes
your storyworld feel more authentic to your reader.
But it’s not good to stay there forever. So if you’re stuck in such a place right
now, ask yourself, “Do I want to write a book or what?” Because if you do, then
you’ve got to stop playing and do the hard work of writing that book.
So take the time you need to build your storyworld to a certain point, but give
yourself a deadline and make a list of necessary worldbuilding areas you need to
know for your plot. When you finish those things, stop. And write! You can
always go back and do more worldbuilding. But if you get lost forever with a
terminal case of Storyworld Builder’s Disease, we’ll never get to read your
staggering work of genius.
And that would be sad.