Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds - Intro
By Michael James Liljenberg Introduction Everybody says, 'My topic is the most important thing you can learn in order to write science fiction and fantasy,' when they write a tutorial for FARP. There are four basic parts of a story: plot, character, setting, and theme. But what sets Fantasy and Science Fiction apart from other genres is the setting. To be a good writer you need to know character, plot, and theme. Nor do you need to create a universe that is totally original or free of those dreaded Fantasy clichés. And that's the key for creating a realistic world for your story, creating the world as a whole. All this is not to say that your worlds have to be completely scientifically realistic. J.R.R. George Lucas's Star Wars universe was never very well developed, especially from a technology standpoint, but it still works. Chapter 1: In the Beginning God - Theology/Spirituality In the Beginning God: what kind of god or gods and other supernatural forces are at work in your world?
www.aliciarasley.com/artset.htm
Copyright 1999 by Alicia Rasley Here is a quick exercise to help you explore your protagonist's relationship with the setting. Just free-write on the questions. Look for conflict and character-building opportunities. Also look for possible events and places where events might take place. 1. The plot requires a city exploding with growth, as real-estate development plays a role in the story. 2. Meggie is from the east, a working class town like Hartford. 3. A mover and shaker might have been born into a powerful family, or clawed the way up from the lower class. Meggie moved here when she married. 4. I think she's going to decide she has to invest herself in the place. 5. This is a pretty circumscribed place. 6. I think the old-money vs. new-money aspect would interest an outsider. 7. The basic family unit is either the two-income couple, maybe with kids, and the single mom. 8. No doubt about it- money matters in this town. 9. Meggie's overriding goal is to solve the murder. 10.
Creating a Believable World
By Sharon Caseburg One of the greatest difficulties Speculative Fiction authors experience when writing stories in this genre is in their ability to provide a believable environment for their readers. Any kind of speculative fiction, whether it be hard-core Science Fiction, Time Travel, Horror, or Fantasy requires readers to put aside the conventions they have become accustomed to in the “real world” for the world the author presents in the story. This of course holds true for speculative romance stories as well. Basically, this translates to the more the author knows about the world he or she is creating, the more confidently the author can write about it. So how can the author successfully prepare for the creation of an alternative environment? The answer may sound easier than it really is: work out ALL the details of your story before submitting your final draft to a publisher. Although this point may seem obvious, it is more difficult to perform than it sounds.
Creating the Perfect Setting - Part I
It was a dark and stormy night... This is one of the most ridiculed openings, not because once upon a time it didn't work, but because too many people have written their own version of it. And yet setting, the weather, landscape, the opening scene, can often lay out the feel and tone of a book brilliantly, and create an instant context, often a time-stamp, a fixed point which helps the reader find the correct emotional stance to absorb the work. The first I heard of the beach was in Bangkok, on the Khao San Road. Note here that we don't just get setting but also information, some explicit, but a lot implicit. As David Lodge pointed out in The Art of Fiction, a distinctive sense of place was not always a feature of prose fiction. Unfortunately, the first thing some writers did was to overwhelm the reader with masses of descriptive detail, often using description only as a warm-up to the rest of the book. But Charles Dickens could lay the description on thick and yet not bore us to sleep.
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life by Anne Marble Return to Setting & Description · Print/Mobile-Friendly Version Description is something that gets in the way of many authors. Why? If you're not very accomplished at writing description, then sometimes you might want to avoid writing it. At the same time, some writers err in the other direction, including too much description. How bad is bad description? Avoid Huge Lumps of Description In the past, authors could get away with including long, detailed descriptions in their stories. Unless they're seeking out writers known for lyrical descriptive passages, today's readers wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. Of course there are authors who, even in today's marketplace, can get away with pages and pages of description. Make Description an Active Part of the Story To make your stories more interesting, you must find ways to blend the description into the story. How did I come up with that line?
World Building 101
World Building 101 by Lee Masterson You are the ultimate creator of your fictional world. No matter where or when your story is set, regardless of what events unfold, and despite the characters you introduce to your readers, they are all products of your unique imagination. "But I write romance set in the present time," I hear you cry. It doesn't matter whether your story is set in 16th century Middle Europe, or the 28th century Altarian star-system, your story still belongs in a world created entirely by you. The good news is you still get your chance to put on your megalomaniac's hat and play God! Regardless of where (or when) your story is set, YOU have decided your characters' destinies for them. But there's a whole lot more to world-building than simply creating a nice backdrop for your characters to parade against. In short, the fictional world your characters live in must seem plausible to your readers. Ask yourself these things about your characters and your story: -
Magical World Builder
By, Stephanie Cottrell Bryant <map name="admap78618" id="admap78618"><area href=" shape="rect" coords="0,0,468,60" title="" alt="" target="_blank" /></map><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:468px;border-style:none;background-color:#ffffff;"><tr><td><img src=" The Magical World Builder's Guide is a tool for creating a fantasy universe. In addition, I've written a much-beloved 30 Days of World Building tutorial designed to help you hit the ground running with your world building in just a few minutes a day. By popular demand, you can now download the Magical WorldBuilder Guide in three easy-to-carry (non-DRM) formats:PDF for printing out at home or reading on a computerePub for use with many fine ereader devicesMOBI for use with Kindles and MobiPocket software. Fantasy, like all fiction, is a function of the imagination. In another classic fantasy example, Ursula K.
