World-building fascinates me, because it applies to so many aspects of writing. It’s a fairly specific term applied to the creation of a fictional world for genre fiction or roleplaying (fantasy worlds, etc.), but it also has a wider application than that. Any time you write fiction (and some sorts of non-fiction) you participate in world-building. Your job is to build a representation of the world (whether this one, a variant of this one, or another entirely) that captures the reader’s imagination and seems “real” to her.

There are so many exercises you can perform to help you imagine and create this kind of vivid, real world that aids the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. Some of my favorites, however, involve photographs and other forms of art. I associate photographs with world-building because they make us look at physical details. They often focus on very mundane things but allow you to see the beautiful details of those mundane things–which is exactly what you need to do when building a world with words.

Today, take a look at this lovely “top of the world” photograph with its snowy heights, precise trees, and shining clouds. Imagine that this is a location in your fictional story-world, either near or far, and imagine what it might have to do with your tale. Is it a place your main character visited once as a child? Is it a place she dreams of visiting as an adult? Is it a beautiful-yet-treacherous passage your heroes must traverse to reach their destination? Describe this place using every sense, imagining the chill of the wind, the glare of sunlight, each sound and sense in its place. What do you hear? What do you feel? How does the air taste and smell?

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, photo.net, photographs, prompts, write, writers, writing

When you’re world-building, it’s easy to forget about the seemingly inconsequential details–the blades of grass, the wisps of cloud, the moths. Most of these details may never see the light of day in your manuscript, but they help to bring your world alive–both for you and your readers. Spend a page at the micro-level of your world. Look at the ground, the trees, the blades of grass, the bugs. Detail them and let them speak to you. Click through the image above for a wealth of beautiful insect pictures to inspire you, if you need it.

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, photo.net, photographs, prompts, insects, world building, write, writers, writing

This morning I made a blog post titled World Building in the Twilight Time. It was actually a reference to a world building article in a zine called Twilight Time, but the title of the blog post got me thinking. A world set in the “twilight time” of its civilization(s) can make a fascinating setting. While twilight is more commonly used to refer to dusk, it can also refer to dawn:

Twilight: The soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or, more commonly, from sunset to nightfall … the period in the morning or, more commonly, in the evening during which this light prevails … a terminal period, esp. after full development, success, etc.

Therefore, a world or civilization set in its twilight time would probably be on the verge of falling apart after a long period of development and success (think fall of the Roman Empire), but it could also refer to the beginning stages of such a civilization.

Today, free-write about a civilization entering its twilight years–of either variety.

Technorati Tags: fantasy, fiction, free-writing, journaling, prompts, science fiction, world building, write, writers, writing

Take a long look at this lovely photograph taken inside of a Mosque. Now set a timer for 15-30 minutes and do one of the following:

• Describe the room as though you were there. Be as intimate as possible.

• Set a scene (or an entire short story) in this location.
• Write about what’s going on right outside those windows.
• Write about the figure seen in the distance silhouetted against the light.

If you’re a fantasy writer, use this photograph as inspiration for a setting in your world, perhaps adapting one of the above exercises.

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Today, take a look at this ghostly building and imagine it as a part of a fictional world. Use it as the inspiration for a plot, or use it for world-building purposes and imagine what has happened there, what the location is used for, who might live or work there, and so on. Or, simply free-write using the photo as inspiration.

Photo.net contains many images under their “landscape” and “architecture” categories that could inspire fascinating world-building or plot material. Go to the gallery section, then to “browse portfolios”, and choose the category from the drop-down box before clicking on “search”. You can also use this to search for portraits to help inspire character-building.

Girl’s Best Friend Ornament (Oval)

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I’m continually amazed by the contents of FARK photoshop threads (those things where someone presents an original image and challenges folks to come up with amazing, clever, or funny photoshopped adaptations of it). The better ones provide a world of material for writers’ exercises. In particular, the images generated using this pointy structure made my jaw drop. Each of these images, with a few exceptions, could act as inspiration for an entire fictional world, or could act as a unique story starter.

Today, check out the photos in that thread. Try to look through the entire thread before settling on an image if you can–it’s tough because there are some amazing early entries, but you don’t want to miss out on the later ones. Pick one image and do one of two things with it:

• Use it as a story starter.

• Set a timer for 30 minutes and free-write about a fictional world inspired by that image.

Myself, I may use some of them as inspiration for a Rifts campaign I’m thinking of starting. Feel free to go back later and do the same thing all over again with other images; I can’t imagine wasting such beautiful inspirational material!

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You can build an entire world beginning with a single image. Today, look at Dave K’s Beach Sunset. (If the photo is no longer available at that URL when you click through, use the alternate description at the end of this entry.) Spend a few minutes just looking at the photograph, taking in every detail–coloration, textures, topography. Then sit back, close your eyes, and imagine that you’re zooming outward until you can see some of the surrounding area. Look around, noting everything you see–animals, colors, people, structures. What changes and what stays the same?

Open your eyes and free-write for at least ten minutes or one side of a sheet of paper. If you like what you have so far and want to do more, sit back, close your eyes, and pan around to one side or another in your mind’s eye until you see something new and interesting–a change in the landscape. Again, open your eyes and start free-writing.

Finally, take a new sheet of paper and write down a list of details or rules that seem to hold true for this world that’s taking shape before you. This could be as meta (and broad) as genre or as specific as details of the society of people living on this world–if any.

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This exercise is for you fiction-writers creating your own realities (or your own versions of our reality). If you aren’t a fiction-writer you can of course free-write random answers to these questions for the fun of it and see what you end up with!

Pick a setting from a piece of fiction you’re working on (or plan to work on) and answer the following questions about it. In most cases when I ask for “firsts” I’m asking for firsts within the collective memories of the world’s living people and written histories, but if you have an idea for an absolute first, then go for it! Try not to stop at a simple answer–go into details. Preferably pick a question and write for at least half a page about it.

• Describe your setting’s first major cataclysm.

• Frst plague
• First man-made disaster
• First miracle
• First war
• First visitation
• First major sporting event
• First assassination
• First murder

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Imagine a world in which the justice system worked exactly the way you wanted it to. Set a timer for thirty minutes and free-write about this world. This could take several forms–a simple list of crimes and punishments, an idealistic narrative about your uptopian land, or whatever comes pouring out of your head.
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