Interesting article on worldbuilding

Lillith1991 said:

Hey, as long as you don't have a dragon in a world without them I won't complain. If you state your world doesn't have them and you put them in I may look at you funny. Unless you mention they've passed into myth and legend. It's all a game of technicalities for me.

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I write what some might call magic realism, so a dragon appearing out of nowhere when it's appropriate is actually fair game to me.

It doesn't matter if dragons are supposed to exist or not. It only matters if there is a dragon or not. It only matters that a dragon makes sense.

But that's not your normal SFF, no. My technicalities are karmic rather than logical.

Roxxsmom said:

I don't know. I've run across architect types who spend months, years even, drawing maps and designing worlds but not actually writing their stories. Worldbuilding can become a form of procrastination too.

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This was my problem. I love all the little details in speculative fiction, so I spent years carefully crafting a world in which to set my fantasy. I came up with kingdoms, governments, religons, secret societies, etc. I wanted everything to be perfect before I started anything. Then when I came up with a storyline that I wanted to write, I discovered that it did not fit that world and I had to start over with the world building, though not as detailed this time around.

Even to this day, when coming up with a ideas, I get caught up in creating all the background information for the world and characters, feeling that if I don't have a solid foundation, I won't have a clear direction in which to go. Sometimes I just have to kick myself in the rear and tell myself to write.

Architect. I love worldbuilding for its own sake. It's definitely part of writing when I'm working on a secondary world fantasy, but I've also built worlds that may or may not ever have stories written about them. I've tried the Gardener route, and it's actually more stressful for me. I feel like I'm creating something unoriginal because I'm not giving it sufficient thought. Sometimes that's true, sometimes it's not, but that's how it feels, so I don't do it.

Gardner, I guess. Characters and mystery and suspense are far more important to me than kingdoms and bloodlines. I'm of the opinion that if any part of my world doesn't relate to the story, there's no need to think about it. I think in terms of plot twists and cool moments and how to make it all work together. I don't even mention family houses in my WIP because my character is an outsider. You start talking to her about who married who and who owns this and that and her mind (and mine) will wander somewhere else. I even do this in one scene. I dunno, I guess I'm not interested in characters that are part of 'the system'. Not into kingdom assassins, knights, nobles and court people, those of high bloodlines, etc.

This is probably why I'll only create one, giant fantasy world and hope to write several novels in that world. It's really the only high fantasy world I'm interested in. All the other stuff I want to write is either urban or science fantasy of other realities.

To me, it's about who shoots the gun/fireball and why–not about how the gun works.

I've been thinking about this and my answer is: Yes.

I'll think about the type of story I want and design the world accordingly, but while I have a frame work, I won't flesh it out until I get to that part of the story. I'll leave myself open to the happy accident.

A little bit of both, but I clicked gardener. For some stories I plot the entire world out like an architect. For others, I kinda let the world tell me its story like a gardener.

I don't build nuthin'. My people do weird things, and then I figure out what the hell just happened, and why.

Weeds, I tell you, weeds!!

And manure. Lots of manure.

No hybrid choice?

That would be when the dinosaurs rage forth from the jungle and flatten your buildings. Or maybe when your buildings get covered in kudzu. Or when the sprinklers go nuts and flood your landscaping. Or your parking lot becomes sentient and seeps forth over the whole world. Or all of these at once. I guess that's one way to tame the jungle!

What was the question??

Roxxsmom said:

I don't know. I've run across architect types who spend months, years even, drawing maps and designing worlds but not actually writing their stories. Worldbuilding can become a form of procrastination too.

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Little Anonymous Me said:

I don't think any sort of work on a story is time wasted. Just a different method. And I think it's really cool that you can go in not knowing anything and still have a story. I might have fewer continuity revisions because I have Handy-Dandy Charts[SUP]TM[/SUP] to double check everything as I go, but I've got plenty of other stuff that needs fixing.

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Good points. I guess there is no easier method, and both approaches have potential pitfalls, which can make it feel like time is being wasted.

I actually agree that all the work I’ve done on the story has not been time wasted, because that’s how I get to know my characters and world, and the more time I spend with my characters and world, the better I can bring them to life.

I definitely have some architect within me, but largely, I'm a gardener. I start with a seedling, and then I let my characters show me their world which then blossoms inside my mind into velvety detail. I do this so often, and I love it.

I'm pretty sure I'm 100% a gardener. My characters build, or rather illuminate, their world for me.

I'm a little bit of both, for me both world building and story/characters are a priority.

I'm a bit of both. I know where story's going, what the end point is and what some of the major landmarks will be, but I let the characters puzzle out how they're getting there.

Architect all the way. I think I actually like planning novels more than writing novels... hm.

It's more entertaining to be a gardner. Everything will surprise and be creative. Architects have strict guidelines that makes it a bit harder for a story to grow.

sheac said:

I never even thought of having a hybrid choice. My apologies

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Ruins covered in kudzu.

PhoenixFlames said:

It's more entertaining to be a gardner. Everything will surprise and be creative. Architects have strict guidelines that makes it a bit harder for a story to grow.

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Erm, I think you'll find most of us have are perfectly willing to adapt and change the outline to meet the demands of the story. Outlines are organic, not straightjackets that bind us to early decisions. And I would say that it's the mind of the writer that controls the creativity, not the way we get it done.

Architect for the most part. I love worldbuilding, conlanging and figuring out ways that dragons can actually exist or what kind of civilization would grow up in the Cretaceous after 1000 years there.

Of course it really comes down to how much of the story comes at first. Sometimes a story comes almost fully formed so I run with it. Of course I have several well-developed worlds laying around when I realized I don't actually have a story to tell here.

I'd lean more toward architect. I have photoshop drawn maps of the worlds I create, diagrams of the more prominent towns, hastily drawn pictures of the characters and diagrams of the odd item (eg weapons the lead characters wield).

That said, I don't sit down and do all that before I ever write a word, though. Much like with character creation I go in with a vague idea, and let the story shape those ideas before I solidify them with drawings and whatnot.

I find that by having it drawn out like that, I can remain consistent and can add elements in to the story, such as a cave in some part of the map the characters never explored before, without worrying about contradicting myself by having that cave in the exact same place as a town they went to in chapter 2.