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Therefore I say: Ea! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be; and those of you that will may go down into it.
- Iluvatar, from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, page 21 |
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Last week due to the helpful criticism received from the Fantasy Novel Workshop, I realized I hadn't built up one of my fantasy worlds enough. Determined to get some bones into my story, I sat down to hammer out a plausible background and creation of my world. But that seemed like a huge task. Where should I start? Well, as Fraulein Maria tells us in The Sound of Music, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.
 Where does the world come from?
Enter the creation myth. This is the first question that every worldbuilder should start with. Every culture has a creation myth, so your made up culture should be no different. Even if this information never makes it into your story it's a good idea to have it in mind.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most of your worldbuilding doesn't have to be insanely detailed. Don't worry about the intricacies; as long as you have some concrete ideas you should have enough to get the creative gears turning in the right direction.
Obviously, one of the first questions to consider when writing a creation myth is who or what created your world? Here's a brief rundown of the most common perspectives to write a creation story from.
 The Monotheistic view - Belief that there is only one supreme god or goddess. This single deity created the world and all its inhabitants.
 Real life examples: Christianity, Judaism, Islam.
Literary example: J.R.R. Tolkien's Ilúvatar.
Things to consider: Is your deity still active in your world after its creation? Is there formalized worship? Are your characters even aware of him/her?
The Polytheistic view - Belief in many gods and/or goddesses. Usually in polytheistic societies there is are two main deities that create the world, a male god and a female goddess. Or sometimes it was one god at first and then the others came later.
Real life examples: Hinduism, ancient Eygptian pantheon (Isis, Ra, Sekmet), the classical Greek and Roman pantheon (Zeus, Athena, etc).
Literary example: Tad William's Shadowmarch.
Things to consider: One thing I've seen in reading about various polytheistic societies, is that their gods and goddesses don't get along. Is that the case with yours? What happens to their creation when they fight? Do they take pride in their creation or do they fear them? Why? Are they all-powerful or are they merely like people with divine powers?
The Pantheistic view - Belief that the creation and the creator are inseperable.
Real life example: I'm not personally aware of any at this point.
Literary example: the Force of Star Wars.
Things to consider: If you chose this then you would have to determine if your world has always been or if it too had a creator separate from itself. Also, this almost makes the world a character in and of itself. What impact does this have on your other characters?
The Atheist view - belief in no gods, goddesses. In this case, your world would most likely have come about from some cosmic accident and evolution was involved.
Real life examples: Limited to individuals.
Literary examples: I can't think of a specific one at the moment, but most of the science fiction novels I've read tend to assume this view.
Things to consider: If you culture is primitive, how do they know that the world evolved on its own without divine intervention?
The Raelian view - belief that aliens created the world and humankind.
Real life examples: The Raelian sect.
Literary example: semi-referred to in Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Things to consider: If you write from this POV then what role, if any, do the aliens play in your characters' everyday life?
These are just a few of the ways for start your creation myth.
Tip: This part of the worldbuilding process can also lead you to construct a religion for your characters.
 A word of caution! Don't get so caught up in worldbuilding that you never write the story.
In my experience, I'm finding that getting at least a vague outline of where I envision the story to go and then growing the world around that idea is much easier than building the world and then modifying the story to fit those parameters. Your story should come first.
 Challenge! If you haven't already, write a creation myth for your fantasy story. |
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From: Satuawany  
Ah, this makes me sorry I missed the other climate lectures. I've yet to write anything set in a desert, but this letter inspires me to try.
You're in luck! I save every article I write in my archives. The only other climate newsletter I've done is right here: "Invalid Entry"
From: schipperke
Did you know there is a desert in Maine?
Great newsletter!
No, I didn't! That's strange  .
From: Bonzer 
How can you do a whole issue on deserts and not mention Frank Herbert's Dune, about the best known original-world desert story ever? Even if it is more often considered science fiction than fantasy, it's still a staple of the subject.
Oops. You and a lot of other folks noticed the conspicuous absense of Dune in my last newsletter. My only excuse is that I haven't read it yet, so it did not come readily to mind.
From: alissaameth
Hello Erin!
Thanks so much for the great newsletter, and the surge of dry, hot inspiration!  Now, to do an experiment involving dropping a few characters off in a desert... 
You're welcome
From: Karen Rump
I would like to point out for reading materials, one of the best books describing desert settings and using them to the fullest would be Dune and it's sequels by Frank Herbert. They deal not only with the basic neccessity, but also with the evolution of desert and how it forces the evolution of the characters. I hope that made sense.
Thanks for the recommendation. You're not the only one who noticed that I neglected Dune .
From: Raine
And, of course the most famous sci-fi desert tale Dune. You're absolutely right. Setting is hugely important in characterization. And knowing the details (such as temperature and plant life) is vital in creating a believable world. If the world isn't "real" to the reader, the characters won't be either.
Couldn't have said it better. Thank you .
From: dusktildawn
What an informative Newsletter, Erin. I will have to keep this as reference if I am ever creating a world that is a desert. WOW. I might add that the series of Dune written by Frank Herbert is another astounding and vivid resource that deals with a desert-like world.
Thank you!
From: bazilbob
Wow! What a lot of info! A desert would be a really cool setting for something, esp as you've already doen the research! Thanx!
You're welcome . But don't rely soley on my little newsletter article. There are a ton of other resources out there... like at the library . |
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Fantasy: March 08, 2006 Issue [#909]
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