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 This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario. An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. |
| World-building - Towns So we have mountains and rivers, now let’s look at where to put people (or any population) – the places they live. In an area, initial settlements will always be around a source of water. If the region rains a lot, then amongst the first things to be built will be large areas to capture water. But water is tantamount. This is in the early days of a settlement, as it grows. Now, the second thing is food. Is it a hunting society? Then there will be areas for wild animals to be living, and often surprisingly close to towns, with the predators that can bring. Is it an agrarian society? In that case, there needs to be the right sort of land, and lots of it, for farms to be established, and to supply enough food for a town, and there has to be roads for transport and a means of getting the water to the crops. Or the town might be a place where trade occurs. In that case, it must be remembered that most heavy trade is water-borne as it is cheaper and easier than horses. But there will also be overland trade, with each town no more than a day away by regular transport (horse, foot, horse team, whatever) from the previous. Yes, I understand pioneers and settlers camped, but we are looking at towns established after initial expansion. Then there is exact location. If the region is filled with warring tribes or warlords who want land, then the town will have fortifications, and most likely be on higher ground, within easy access to the water. It might even be built some way up the slope of a mountain by the water supply. Or, as in the case with Paris, France, it might be on an island in the middle of a large river. Even coastal cities on seas and oceans generally originally occur at the mouths of rivers or bays (which tend to be fed by multiple water supplies) for that water supply. Eventually, of course, trade will increase and water can be brought in from across the waves, and a lot of the original waterways end up being diverted or built up on, and so those streams or rivers are not needed, but at first, they definitely are. But, you cry, my town is beyond the initial settlement phase! It has a population of a hundred thousand and is renowned for being where the finest magical hammers are made! Great… but how did it start? There will be water, or the remnants of a water supply, still evident; there will be those initial food sources still evident. Some of this evidence might be a town on both sides of the river that supplied so much of its trade. It might be the fact the town has very few hills because of the original farms. There might be a fortified walled internal part of the city where old defences had been built. Or, look at our modern cities. We cut down the trees and name the roads after them. We name suburbs after the owners of original farms. Dried up river-beds become highways. Old lakes get filled in and become developments. But the old traces are still there, physically and in town memory. Towns appearing in the middle of nowhere can only exist if there is a large amount of traffic that can bring goods and even water with them. They might have an underground aquifer to supply water, but as civilisation progresses, this will become polluted or even run out. They will rely on traders and travellers to supply everything, and the economy will be based around this sort of trade. So placement of towns is important when looking at the world you are building. The history needs to lend itself to the towns being where they are, and this is important for the current state of the town and how it developed. Even the country it is in, or the world at large. |
| World-building - Rivers We looked at mountains, now let’s look at rivers. Rivers are lines of water that flow from a high point to a low point. The majority of rivers start in a mountain range and terminate at a sea, ocean or large lake. Basically, you cannot have a river without a mountain. Rivers are formed by rain or melting snow forming creeks and smaller waterways, which eventually combine and come together to form a river that gravity draws downwards. It is said that some rivers come from natural wells, but this is not really supported, and is more a piece of folklore. Part of the issue is: how does water come out of the ground? There would have to be some sort of upwards pressure, and that would mean the area is very unstable geophysically. Yes, there are lowland freshwater sites – oases and billabongs, for example – which are fed from underground aquifers, but these are still bodies of water, not flowing rivers. Now, rivers are vital. The first communities were all established around freshwater rivers or freshwater lakes fed by rivers. The water was important, and it drew animals to them for food, and enabled them to have crops. Rivers were also the first freeways. A horse can go on land and go places where others couldn’t, but rivers were how large goods were transported. No early cultures with a permanent site of habitation built this site away from water. When world-building, this is important because a land with cities needs a supply of water, especially when being established. Having a city in the middle of a desert with only a small oasis makes no sense at all. Stars Wars were shocking in this regard – I know they had dew farms, but where on Tatooine was the water to support life before a civilisation developed? The canyons show clear signs of water erosion, but where is it all? Where does the dew even come from? That planet makes no sense whatsoever. As can be seen, rules of physics make no difference to many world-builders, but if you want your world to be accepted as at least plausible, then maybe look at the water supplies. |
| External Writerings April 2025 That time of the month where I list the writing I have done for Weekend Notes (and any other places that could be bothered publishing me online). Songs, films, places, events… oh my! One of the reviews got me a tourism award (  )… which was a hearty thank you and no money. So, of course, some of this is going to be completely irrelevant to USians, but remember, you do not have to listen to the songs (though I would be grateful if you did), but every look at the articles from a different IP address with no ad blockers helps me out in my increasingly desperate attempts to make money as a person who writes.My favourite albums - and there's a lot of them - from the first three months of 2025. A look at my favourite Val Kilmer performances, following his death. Reviewing two new artists that caught my attention. A local café that caught my attention. Great food. Songs about churches. Yes, churches. The local Cornish Festival. We get visitors from around the world, and I am doing a story reading, hopefully helping a book launch, and helping in a guided walk of one of the towns.6 articles this month. I have to do at least 4 to keep my ranking in the top 25 contributors, so your clicks will also help me in that regard. As usual, if you want a certain topic covered in songs (I can do films and books as well), leave a comment below. I would love to give readers what they want. |
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