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Why Create a World?

11.24.2018 by Stephen Shortall // Leave a Comment

World building, you say? God-complex, you suggest? A needless endeavor of an adult with too much time on his/her hands?

It is a difficult task, creating a world with believable and living constructs. It requires building societies with histories and conventions that ring true, that burrow deep within the skin of the reader, reminding one of this world, but never too closely.

Game of Thrones is a true epic, a world-building extravaganza. It is easy to see why it was created. We do not have white walkers in this world, no dragons.

Yet, why not put them here? We can deal with a little fantasy set in this world, a bit of whimsy. Yet, we likely wouldn’t tolerate George R.R. Martin’s creations here.

We would shake our heads in disgust and change the channel if we saw a dragon landing on the white house, or the white walkers attacking Stockholm. We would wonder, where is the military? Surely, they could easily deal with this, and a nuclear bomb would likely destroy whatever horrors come marching out of the north.

The politics also would make everything too complicated. The many countries that might be brought into the fray would have to be dealt with respectfully, with realness, otherwise the writer would be described as lazy, stupid, not worthy of further thought.

JK Rowling stayed clear of the politics, creating a world that was separate from the real, staying clear of world events. This was made easier by its being a children’s series.

Another world dispenses with all the baggage, all the constraints. It allows the author to create whatever is needed. And yet, there are limits. It can not be too bizarre, unless one is going for satire, as amazingly done by Terry Pratchett. It also can’t be too much like our own. Otherwise, what was the point?

If you have found that this realm or various incarnations of it – be they through alternative histories, Armageddon, or nipping into the future – do not fit your story, you have to start the monumental task of building your own.

Where do you start?

Stephen Shortall

Here is a link to my book, Power’s Wrath. https://www.amazon.com/Powers-Wrath-Hourglass-Book-1-ebook/dp/B076HXPTHL

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