World Building

I recently drafted a blog post about world building. As I was putting my thoughts down on paper, I realized it was a bit difficult to put everything down about world building that I knew. It’s such a person-specific topic that it’s hard to give general advice. So, rather than post that jumbled mess, I figured I’d break down how I do world building and try to give some advice along the way.

First, I want to preface this by saying I got a minor in history when I was in school. I focused on holocaust studies and histories pre-American Civil War. All of this plays into my novels.

Most of my books have historical settings, likely as a result of my love for history. But also, because it’s much easier to modify a setting/time period that already exists. Let me explain.

When you write an alien civilization or create a world that doesn’t currently exist, you MUST ground your new world in something human. If your world, your characters, even your names are too alien, your readers cannot connect and will therefore lose interest. Think of it like you’re a scientist trying to explain your new discovery to a room full of high schoolers. Some will understand the complexities you’re talking about, but the majority wont.

It’s great to have things that are otherworldly, and alien, and manifestations of your incredible imagination. But at the same time, there must be something recognizable embedded in there. Which is why I like to use historical settings in my novels.

You can take something that already exists and change it to suit your needs. For example, in my standalone novel I’m working on, I have an alien civilization that lives on a watery moon in a made-up solar system, but their town is inspired by Colonial Williamsburg. That way, the world isn’t too overwhelming to understand for my readers. (Plus, I really LOVE Colonial Williamsburg.)

Another thing to remember when building a world is to let your imagination run wild. The best example I have of this is the short-run TV show Defiance. It took three humanoid races (the grounding aspect for watchers) and added incredible intricacies. Sometimes, the best world building is rooted in culture.

I do this in my Anastasia Series. There are 10 races, each one with their own dimensional world. And each race is based on a culture that exists/once existed. There’s Hinduism, Victorian England, ancient Scottish and Irish, Native American, Renaissance… They form the basis for my characters, upon which I can build and create and give them all intricacies. That way, they’re just recognizable enough for my readers, and yet different enough to cause intrigue.

The best thing to take away from this is to simply have fun. World building might seem overwhelming, but it’s most often the best part of novel writing. Do what you love and the rest will follow.

Humurse: The Warrior God

The Warrior God burst forth from the world’s first earthquake, shrouded in a light of gold. He is said to look like he is surrounded in a gold aura, which matches the sword he always keeps at his belt. Where his counterpart, Razibelle, protects the Gardens of Luas, Humurse watches over the natural world and its inhabitants.

Humurse is best known for his slaying of the Great Fears that plagued the First People, saving them from extinction. There is said to be a mark upon the earth where he appeared in a flash of light in the Old World, though it has been lost to time.

The Warrior God is closely related to the summer, and is therefore celebrated during the celebration of the midsummer, Serendit Leva. His descendants are the warriors and blacksmiths, known for their creation and application of weapons to protect the Nadmilise. He has been known to intervene on behalf of the people, when they are on the verge of destruction. As such, he has closer contact with his descendants than the other Gods and Angels, save his wife, Razibelle. They are very rarely seen without each other.

Where Razibelle seems to be the personification of winter, Humurse is summer. He is warm and kind, and resorts to force only when it is absolutely necessary.

Buy the first book in the Anastasia Series

Princess Anastasia Piliar's life takes a sudden turn when she is unceremoniously reunited with her home world after ten years. There, she must reacquaint herself with her people, her world, and the magic that surrounds them.

But war is brewing. The magical protections around the royal city are being pushed to their limits. The monstrous beasts that murdered Anastasia's grandparents, and caused her family to flee, have returned and are wreaking havoc on the realms.

There is a tremendous power inside Anastasia, which could be the key to saving the realms.

If only she understood what it was.

The Vine Yard: Chapter 3

The week of auditions for the teaser trailer of The Vine Yard arrived. It hadn’t hit me or my production partner, Josh, until that week that we were really making a web series. So, we sat down and had a production meeting that Monday.

We decided that we’d like to vlog our escapades, and eked out the details regarding footage, locations, and timing. After realizing that most of our actors would be either unwilling or unable to travel six hours to South Florida for filming, we weighed our options. We needed a place that could double as a club and a movie theater, but also wouldn’t be expensive to use. At that point, we realized we could use our Chabad House for filming. The café would be perfect to film in for the club, and one of the VPs of the student board had an excellent speaker we could use. And if we tweaked the script a little, we could use the parking lot for the movie theater.

After that, we worked on setting up our social media. It took fifteen minutes to pick a handle, seeing as all variations of The Vine Yard had already been used (looking at YOU Vineyard Vines). Thankfully, we settled on one, and proceeded to make a Twitter, Facebook page, and YouTube account. We started following a ton of ex-Viners, and set up our accounts for posting.

Around that time, our friend came to pick up the coffee he left at our apartment after a party we’d hosted. Upon seeing him, we both remembered he wrote music as a hobby. Excitement shot through me when he said he’d be thrilled to help us with music for the show. Not only would we not have to pay for music, but we could also promote his work to all of our followers—once we had some. It felt like everything was finally coming together.

All that was left was to audition our actors, film, and make our budget for our kickstarter!

This was really happening.

We were really making a webseries!

Writer’s Block

Writer’s block. That sneaky, depraved demon that wraps its claws around your brain and turns you into an unimaginative robot. You know what I’m talking about. When you sit there staring a blank screen, trying (and ultimately deleting) anything to progress on your latest work. It impacts all writers, but I’ve discovered some things to cure, or at least treat the symptoms of, writer’s block.

  • Start outlining your work. A lot of writer’s block can stem from a lack of direction. It helps to look up plot summaries of movies or books that are similar to your manuscript, and then follow their flow and structure.
  • Already have an outline? Work on one for another book. Or work on fine-tuning the one you have. If that fails, character development is always fun. Look up some in-depth character-building sites and go nuts!
  • Reread what you already have. There’s a quote from Once Upon A Time that says, “You know, when I get struck by a block, I usually reread what I’ve done, rather than plow ahead blindly. Sometimes, I find there’ll be a little nugget of inspiration left behind.” You’re in a different head space when you first start writing. Sometimes, a flash of that previous intention can help spur you on.
  • Read other things you’re working on, read a book, or watch TV/a movie. Sometimes, we see things and wish we could’ve written them differently. Often, that’s all it takes.
  • Take time off! Yes, we all have deadlines. However, writer’s block could just be your mind’s way of saying you need a break. So, step away from your writing for a week. Usually, I only last a couple of days before my manuscript’s sweet siren song calls me back.

Do you have another way you work around or treat writer’s block?