storyworld creation – Almost An Author

How to Write Fantasy and Science Fiction

So, you’re a writer. And you’d like to write fantasy and science fiction. You have a great idea for a story set in a world of dragons, sea monsters, and wizards. Or on a space ship orbiting a distant planet. This all feels so exciting, and you can’t wait to get started. Except.

Except you know very well that dragons, sea monsters, and wizards aren’t real. And that man-made space shuttles haven’t yet found a way to orbit planets at the other end of the galaxy. Also, you’re quite aware that many authors have already established fictional worlds of their own in these settings, and you don’t want to rely too heavily on what’s come before – you want to create your own take and leave your mark on these genres.

How do you go about all of this?

Here are some tips, from a self-published fantasy author who has faced all of this herself.

Do your research. Huh? For stuff that doesn’t exist yet, or may never have existed at all? Yup, that’s right. As we’ve already noted, there are numerous published titles in the fantasy and sci-fi markets, which have created a sort of baseline for the genres. So, find out just what has come before your work – but don’t feel obligated to adhere to any of it. Genre novels run the risk of becoming clichéd, and readers can get tired of hackneyed plot devices and cardboard character archetypes. This brings me straight to my next point…

Be original. Once you’ve figured out what all the tropes (or common elements) of recent sci-fi and fantasy are, attempt to break them. For example, we’ve all read several tales of nasty aliens trying to wipe out humanity by nefarious means. Why not write a novel about kind aliens who want to help us reverse pollution to the environment and cure disease?

Before I started writing my fantasy series, The Order of the Twelve Tribes, I dug and dug through literature on mythology, fairytales, Tolkien and CS Lewis and JK Rowling, hoping to find a “hook” that would make future readers sit up and take notice. In the end, I went with a snippet of Celtic Christian folklore I stumbled across, connecting the origin of fairies to Fallen Angels after the War in Heaven. And one of the main praises from my subsequent reviews has been the originality of the premise.

Where necessary, find out how things really work. Yes, you are building a fictional world, but it still needs to make sense. If you have a magic system, determine early on how it operates. Can your characters acquire it, or do they have to be born with the ability? Does it come from an outside power source or influence (such as the One Ring in Middle Earth)?

Are your characters in a galaxy far, far away, but still human? Then what requirements would their planet/space ship need in order for the survival of their carbon-based life forms? If a race of dragons – or aliens – has remained undiscovered for x number of centuries by your protagonists, how did that happen? Was there a lack of funds for space travel in your home setting? Were the dragons suspected of being extinct, and they used this to their advantage, hiding deep in remote wilderness?

Readers will appreciate that you fleshed out the details.

Self-published author and blogger Daley Downing is also a stay at home parent, autistic adult, ballet teacher, and cat lover. She spends her days writing the YA fantasy series “The Order of the Twelve Tribes,” and wrangling special needs children.

War of Worldcraft: Two approaches to World Creation

So you want to create a storyworld, eh? Well, it took God six days to complete the one you’re living in, so don’t expect to make yours in one day. Worlds are complicated things, and in order to make one believable, you’ll need to take into consideration a whole host of things from politics to geography. But first, let’s approach the philosophy of world creation. There are two extremes, but most authors approach the task with a little give and take from both.

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From the story, arises the world…

In this approach, you start with a story idea and create the world as the story progresses. You haven’t mapped out the flora or fauna and you may have no idea what the planet’s political structure looks like, but you’ll figure everything out as you write. The principle advantage to this method is speed. Specifically, you can start writing immediately and fill in details later as you figure them out.

But before you get started, you’ll need at least a general idea of the storyworld’s outlook. Even something simple like knowing your universe is similar to Star Wars, or that magic and technology are used like Final Fantasy VII, that can help a lot. You can’t copy the intellectual property, but a general idea can help.

A word of caution: when you use this process, you MUST go back and examine your manuscript for consistency. If you flippantly mention the protagonist grew up climbing trees, you can’t later say his hometown was a desert. Similarly, if you realize midway into your book that you’d like to populate the earth with elves or cyborgs (or cyborg elves, whatever), you’re going to have to go back and add details to that effect earlier in the novel unless you intend to completely catch the reader off guard.

From the world, arises the story…

With this style, you design maps, ideologies, technology, and fantastic creatures early. Your characters are crafted within the realm of this fictitious land, and as a result, they feel genuine. Why? Because their motivations are drawn from the rich history you’ve created. In fact, the main advantage to this method is that the world will feel alive, because you’ve already considered how its inhabitants fare in their daily routines.

One problem I’ve seen with this approach is when a proud author frontloads his manuscript with world-details instead of the actual story. It’s understandable, right? I mean he’s created an entire ecosystem in his head. But the result is a lengthy prologue that belongs in a reference manual for a roleplaying game. Boring! Instead, display the richness of your universe in the way your characters interact with it. Subtlety is the key.

The other drawback is “analysis paralysis.” If you worry too much about the way your world will hold together, you may never get around to actually writing your story. If you want to be an author, you know you eventually have to write a book, right?

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Finding middle ground…

As I said, most authors approach world creation with a hybrid of the two methods. As they write a couple chapters, their heads are filled with ideas for international drama. As that grand-scale conflict solidifies, new incentives are born into their characters. And so it goes. Most importantly, understand the advantages and disadvantages of the two philosophies and pick a method that works for you.