Building a World From Scratch: Maps and Crap

You've seen worlds before.  We're in one shared reality with a whole lot of different views on what the hell it is we're seeing.  

Newbie world builders (and we've all been there) tend to fall back on their perception of the real world as a model then plus-one it. Often times, there is an obsession to correct some of the glaring flaws (again, completely subjective) of this world then add elves and kick the shit out of tropes.

Well, that's one way to do it...

After a few insightful posts in a writer support group, I've noticed a couple of things people were consistently overlooking: creative license.  We all love to run parallels with research and learn more about the world we live in.  By way of example, a few of the topics that came up were: masculine and feminine roles, the accuracy of maps, societal norms.  Some of the comments had come up as problem-solving you would apply in the real world and nothing wrong with that.  If you're writing urban fiction or want to accurately depict a mental illness, it makes sense to adhere to some research. However, let's not forget: it's YOUR story. While fantasy should follow some system of logic, it doesn't need to play by the same rules.

What is the logic of society?  Society is created so that ever-increasing numbers of people can work together. Small societies depend on roles even when they are small and isolated though-- people better at one job create better odds for survival.  Have you see the tribal societies where one woman is wet nurse for the whole village? Not only does she excel at milk production, but her job makes it so that women in the tribe better at farming or some other trade can recover quicker and do jobs they are better at. What keeps society going is necessity. In a seemingly perfect society, there might be a horrifying reality-- black market slave trade or a bloodthirsty god demanding sacrifice.  Similarly, a really flawed society might be on tenterhooks with only one powerful force keeping it from dissolving. Your society does not have to be matriarchal or patriarchal to make sense. I may have touched on this before, but my friend Liz has one alien race where the males and females have no societal advantage over the other and don't even use gender pronouns.  This has shit to do with punching you in the face with how society should be.  That society has PLENTY of problems.  The point is you CAN take other routes not modeled after the supposed patriarchal society first-world countries bitch about. There are supremely patriarchal societies in our world.  Supremely matriarchal ones too. However, there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself...

But I digress. We all know that men and women invent a lot of issues between them. Personally, I'm done humoring those arguments because they become accusatory and you're both right and wrong. I'm one of those people that despises small talk but I will take it any day over the shit-slinging war of the sexes. However, that makes a great lead-in for another bullet point-- masculine and feminine characters.

In my eyes, you need a societal structure first which is why that took top spot.  When I start to visualize the world my characters will inhabit, I like to have a good idea of whether they go with the flow, swim up stream, or fly into the sun. First off, does being male or female give them an advantage/disadvantage right away? If so, which do I need them to have? If I really want to skip over the details of society's influence, I pick the 'easy' way out or the road of least resistance.  Not all of us want to make every story an elaborate political construction.  By way of example, Dragon Age:Inquisition handles this beautifully.  Depending on your class and race, several instances in your interactions are immensely different. A human warrior might float through that section unscathed, but your elven mage is gonna have a bad time. 

Ah, so before I nudge too far off the tracks, this can be your concern to address from the get-go with gender roles. Some people worry about whether they are writing a male or female to be... male or female enough. My experience is that you are the one directing the narration, so that is something you have the burden of.  Don't make excuses for your characters!  If your he-man likes flouncing around in a tutu and your society doesn't give a crap, make that authentic to the reader. 

{Bystander:Uh, hey, Taco is bouncing around in a tutu again...

Other Bystander: Yeah, and?

Bystander: I think he's wearing it backwards.

Other Bystander: How can you tell?

Bystander: My daughter has one and the bow goes in the back.}

I'm not going to wax poetic about the virtues of defying gender roles.  That is missing the point of creative license.  Look, some people embrace the feminine and masculine gender roles in their society.  They are also perfectly capable of not giving a shit if someone else does or not. The assholes that make it their duty to oppose it? That's where you get your opposing forces and antagonistic scenes. Because any logical society has those people. Usually, they're also a gripey minority with no actual power, just bitching on the sidelines. I have in equal parts told to be more feminine, accepted for not being particularly feminine, embracing what is feminine about me, and not giving a shit if it's feminine or not. I've never needed permission. Bonus points for being that bitch.

The other one I had brought up is map accuracy. This is actually a subtopic that fits under 'things fantasy writers add to breathe more life into their work.' Other good examples I have seen include character art, music soundtracks (either a kind of assortment of chapter or character theme songs or just what people like to listen to while they write), side stories...  Some writers like to do a little or a lot of all of the above.

(Side note: Where I currently stand on this! Maps are a sometimes thing. I do have maps for my first series and my current work in progress. They need them or I get lost.  Yes, ME. A YA story I'm doing doesn't need them. It juggles between places on Earth and pockets with no actual physical location. Character art?  I love doing it, but I make it clear that even I am not locked in on what they actually look like.  I consider it fan art for my own stories. Music? Not a chance. I have music in my head.  Constantly. I can listen to songs with no words when I write, but no writing gets done when there are words being sung.  I am guaranteed to stop and karaoke. Side stories? Ehhhhh, it's probably going to end up being a full novel though. In fact, some of my early books were a collection of short stories.  This is why they started out... clunky and telling before I relaxed that tendency.)

MAP ACCURACY!  Damn it, girl, focus! One commenter had asked if people bothered with tectonic plates or natural formation of mountains. Phew.  Gotta say if this is important for your world or even for your knowledge hunt, more power to you, but ZRMGRFLFUCK (zer-mah-gurr-full-fuck for the phonetically inclined), that would give me a brain aneurysm. For one thing, I do often plot things like underground springs or caves or tunnels in the story itself but I form maps purely for directional navigation-- I don't even consider scale. You only need to look at Game of Thrones for a hilarious contradiction in its praise for 'historical' accuracy and... glaring inaccuracy at the speed of travel. Someone might care but it definitely isn't a deal breaker. My take on maps is that they serve a purpose. Do they enhance your experience, help your plot, motivate you? I'd say skip it altogether if there is nothing in it for you. 

I'm sure by comparison sometimes you might feel like the underachiever.  Personally, I don't operate on comparison.  Too many pitfalls there and none of it is something I gain productivity from. My dedication levels work for me.  Some writers are fully immersing themselves into a single world so of course their passion means a HUGE amount of companion media attached to the writing alone. For me, I tend to carefully plan which things are feasible because other ideas are at war for my time. Often my artwork is not my absolute best effort.  My absolute best can take days for one picture.  I pick and pick and pick if I have a mind to. But no, right now, it's a lot about letting my muse get some say.  Insofar, the productivity has been massive where it had been a trickle for a while there. This means world hopping and quick sketches and experimenting. Other than reading my friend's story, I've also offered to proofread a screenplay written by a native Italian in English. Yeah, curiosity piqued on that one.  I haven't proofread a screenplay before, but I used to write radio plays and I've done some stage acting, so it's not completely unknown.

So!  This week, back to the coloring process for the final book for The Truth about Heroes before a new tale begins in that world with the A World Reborn series. I know all three trilogies should probably get one big fancy name-- I've called them the Heroes, World and Universe trilogies, but they need an epic compilation name. Nothing seems to come to mind though. Right now, it's the only thing I'm publishing so until I need people to know they tie-in, it's not immediately important.

In closing, UnSung is in motion and I've poked at Dreampunk Chronicles a bit. Piscine hasn't gotten any love, but I'm thinking that one is getting shoved into next year.  Just so much to do for a while that I want that one to get more of a solitary focus.

And that's it for... my musings and updates.  Love my little writing group for all of its diplomacy and inspiring posts to talk about. I haven't seen anything I would call false, but some assumptions deserved a bit of careful insight.

Fantasy is only as restrictive as you need or want it to be. I think all writers tend to be swept away on currents of characters and plot but, ultimately, defend your creative license and flex that creative muscle! 

Keep writing and reading, daydreaming, taking long walks and avoiding housework...