The Must Have Elements of World Building
In popular culture, the bar has been set for
fantasy writers. We know what readers want because we are just as much an avid
reader as we are an author. And with the amazing screen adaptations from some
of our favorites, we see what kind of stuff works and doesn’t. When we read
fantasy, we do so because we want to enter another world. But we need to
believe it. It doesn’t have to be a completely foreign land like Middle Earth
or Narnia, but it doesn’t have to be the hidden magical side of England either.
It just has to be there and be done well, and there are some elements you must
master to pull it off. You have to be able to answer questions from your
readers like: “Where did your character
come from? What is their homeland called? What is it near? Who is the god that
they prayed to on page nine? Are there others?”, because it develops the
basic level of depth that must be achieved to make your world come to life and
be believable. And I have found that to build a world properly, it usually
involves a map, some history, and a story.
The First Element: The Map
The first thing I do when I pick up a novel is
what most of us do; we flip it over and read the blurb on the back. Then we
turn it back over and open it to see what’s happening inside, and in fantasy we
usually come across a map. In world building this is pivotal, because a map
creates an immediate connection for the reader. In the human mind, any world
has to have a map. And thanks to the author, your new novel now has a tangible
base in reality. That place is now forming in your mind, and although you don’t
know anything about it, it exists.
The framework is set and you haven’t even read a page or met a character. But
when you do, it’s as though you already have a heads up and are ready for the
story to begin. The map also shows that this new world has a history, because
geographical and political boundaries don’t just pop up out of nowhere. They
take time, and lots of it. So just by including a map, you’ve added an
immeasurable amount of authenticity to your world. But beware! Maps can be
terrible and really bring down the overall quality of your work, so take your
time with them. (Check out my blog on map making @ john-swan.com).
The Second Element: History
So let’s say you hate maps or aren’t ready to
include one. That’s fine, because you can get away without one, but be prepared
to dish out some snippets of history. We live in a linear existence, and with
comes a past, present, and future. And just like life, no epic fantasy world is
pastless. Every story has a story behind it, and if you don’t include any
history your reader will get bored. We have to feel that there is something
more back there, even if we don’t know what it is. For example, I wouldn’t need
to know anything more about Gandalf the Grey than “he was one of five wizards that came from Valinor.” (That’s not a
direct quote, but bare with me.) Right there, in ten words, a history was
developed and a depth achieved. The reader immediately starts asking themselves
questions like, ‘Where is Valinor? And I
wonder what powers the other five had? Maybe I’ll find out later.’ That is
what you want, and I think the more of that in your works the better. By having
that historical base and knowing it in your head, you already achieve it when
writing and you don’t have to try. When your characters are introduced, you
seamlessly fold them into a world that is established. It shows to the reader,
and it makes you come off as better writer with much more clout.
The Third Element: The Story
And that leads me to my final element for world
building. You need to have a story. I didn’t and was stuck for a long time. I
had developed this amazing place, with histories dating back thousands of years
and beatiful tales that I could fill volumes with. But there was no
cohesiveness to it. Cool short stories of gods and goddesses were neat and all,
but I needed the story. I needed my
hero, or villain, to draw people into my universe and give it a purpose. For
example, imagine if J.K. Rowling had only published Hogwarts, A History but never anything else. Yeah, sweet, a cool
book talking about the history of this magical school in England. It probably
would have attracted some readers, but without the story of Harry and Voldemort
it didn’t have any context. We, the reader, don’t care about Hogwarts without
Harry because its halls are empty without our love for the story that was told
inside its walls. So develop your world, but always be on the look out for that
one tale that will draw us in and take us on that journey. Only then will
readers truly see your world and give it the justice that it deserves.
In Your Dreams
The Aldaya Series
Book One
John Swan
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Date of Publication: Sept. 14, 2014
ISBN:978-0-9906555-0-3
ASIN:B00NI96DC4
Number of pages: Estimated 276
Cover Artist: Natalie Spasic
Book Description:
On an ancient planet within our galaxy, a dark and fearsome terror has awoken from its long slumber. Its task is to work quietly from the unseen, spreading dissent through the vulnerable territories of the free races; weakening them for its master. By a chance meeting, it comes across a young girl in the swampy and mist choked lands of Endmoor.
Her name is Mim, and the pairing of her platinum hair and violet eyes has not been seen since the Great War 1,000 years earlier; and has attracted unwanted attention. Knowing it hunts her, Mim flees and starts on a journey that takes her far across the Great Isle of Aldaya; the only landmass that now sits above the waves.
Unbeknownst to her, she is the key to unraveling the darkness that is falling over the Great Isle; an emptiness that threatens to swallow not only Aldaya, but the Sphere as well, and all its futures to come.
Excerpt:
Her words caught
in her throat and she was unable to breathe. The woman at the table was the
strangest looking person she had ever seen. Her body was thin and gangly, and
her pale skin stuck out jaggedly in places as if it were trying to cover too
many bones. Even sitting down Mim could tell she was tall, and her thin robes
were midnight black and hemmed in places with dark maroon embroidery.
Then Mim took in
her face, and it was paler and more terrifying than the rest of her body.
Her cheekbones
were set a little too pointy and high. The mouth was nothing more than a thin
slit stretched too far across the length of her face. The nose looked as if it
had been removed, shrunk, and poorly placed back on. And her eyes were ghastly
and titled upwards too far, and completely black with veins around the outer
parts. Their color matched the hair that came down from her dark hood, which
had jagged protrusions poking out at a few points near the back.
“Oh! I didn’t
smell a child,” the creature said. As her black eyes met Mim’s purple ringed
with blue, she stopped. “Well, what do we have here? How strange...” She got up
from the table and circled her. At full height, the creature stood at least two
feet taller than Mim.“I can smell the sweet scent of youth a mile away, little
piglet, yet somehow I had no idea you were here.” A cold, pointy, finger ran
across Mim’s cheek and up to her temples. “And what strange eyes you have.”
Mim was rooted to
the ground and dared not move. Whatever stood before her seemed to be a demon
that had jumped off the pages of one of Ilanya’s stories, and as she glanced
towards Miss Barley and Candy for direction, the two were expressionless. They
stared ahead in some sort of trance. What was wrong with them?
A lightning bolt
cracked overhead and the woman let out a high-pitched laugh. When her oversized
mouth opened, Mim could see two rows of sharpened teeth that filled the inside:
one in the front like normal, and another jagged row sitting just behind it.
The two figures that accompanied her said nothing, remaining still and hidden
under their cloaks.
As she looked
down at the blond girl, for the first time in over a thousand years, curiosity
crept into Morra’s mind. The girl had no smell, and try as she might, Morra
Losis couldn’t sense a trace of her except with her vision. But even stranger
were her eyes. Purple eyes like those she had only seen many ages ago, and the
bearers of them had disappeared from the sphere before the Great War in the
north had begun.
But yet here in
front of her one remained, and she wondered to herself whether her queen would
find interest in this young human. Oh, most certainly, she thought. This
revelation was the only thing keeping her from devouring the succulent girl on
the spot. But if she lost her now, she would have to hunt for her like mortals
did, and that was certainly not going to happen. Then the most wonderful idea
came to her mind.
With the
centaurs it had always been the hunt, the Dwarves their precious jewels, and
the Elves their knowledge. But with humans it had always come down to their
desire for freedom and independence. And although she hadn’t been awake for
long, she knew in this age that true freedom could only be attained by one
thing:wealth. She knew exactly what this poor little mongrel desired most just
by looking at her torn outfit and dirty hands. “Well, it seems that one servant
around here knows how to appease a guest of status. And I have always prided myself
on paying the help.”
Morra Losis
snapped her fingers and one of the tall hooded figures glided over, producing a
large coin purse. She dipped her hand in and pulled out a large handful of
endins and sprinkled them into the pot of meat with a smile. The taller
creature then went back to standing by its twin before she drew herself closer
to the girl onceagain. “That is for the meat, dear.” She then reached into a
pocket from the inside of her cloak and pulled out a very small black purse. It
was made of a shimmery fabric and all over it were dark maroon shapes. “And
this is for you.”
As her hand
placed the small pouch in the girl’s free hand, a tremor went through her. She
could barely contain her appetite. She grabbed Mim’s jaw with one hand and effortlessly
lifted her off of the ground, running her forked purple tongue up Mim’s cheek.
The pot dropped to the ground, sending pieces of raw pork and coins spilling
onto the rough floors. Her grip was so tight that she felt the girl’s jaws
beginning to crack. She hadn’t had a meal this intriguing in an age, and her
resistance was crumbling to the need to satisfy her hunger. What can one little
bite hurt? she thought. But as she thought of her master, she quickly let go,
dropping the girl back to the ground and turning back towards the table. As she
bent down and picked up a raw piece of intestine and dangled it in front of her
face, she said, “I just don’t think this will do. I certainly do not eat off of
the floor, and when I feed I have always desired something with a little
more...spunk.” She turned towards the dark greasy haired girl and let out a low
gurgle, briefly revealing her jagged rows of teeth. Lifting her enchantment, the
girl came out of her stupor, and after a moment began shrieking and backing
away.
About the Author:
John Swan has been an independent fiction writer since 2003, with the Aldaya Series being his first published work to date. During that time, he attended Southern Illinois University and graduated with two degrees, both with high honors. He has an Associates in the Sciences and a Bachelors in Meteorology and Climate sciences, with emphasis on research and written dictations.
He spent several years during school helping to open and manage a French Bistro before moving to Honolulu, HI, where he worked for the local Parks and Wildlife service and was finally able to give his writing career the full attention it needed.
His love for writing began at an early age, never passing up chances to submit his works to young writers’ forums through school and his local community. He grew up on a small farm in southern Illinois, but spent his summers in an enchanted little blue cottage on the banks of the Mississippi River. In this valley is where he wandered beneath the trees along the bluffs with his best friends, and where tales of hobbits, mages, boy wizards, enchanted wardrobes and Native American folk lore shaped his writing style and drove him to create an entire universe all his own.
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