Building and developing a sense of place is a great excuse to flex your descriptive muscles. But don’t just rely on describing what you see – talk about the sounds, the smells, the feel of your chosen place; the atmosphere and the things that contribute to it; and, perhaps most importantly, the effect the place has on your characters.
the more you do it, the better it will be, and more description is always better
Place has an important role in every story, and is often used to great effect in literary fiction. In novels with an especially strong sense of place, the setting virtually becomes a character in itself; it embodies, reflects, supports and enhances the narrative at every turn.
the setting effects everything, and a bad one will ruin it
Whether you’re setting your alternate reality in a real-world location or reimagining a history event, learn all you can about its real counterpart and incorporate your knowledge into your new interpretation.
its the small details that make it, things like real names, and geography.
1984, is a classic example of this; published in 1949, it leaps almost 40 years into the future to make bold extrapolations about the potential dangers of politics and technology.
woke af.
The slightly familiar settings, warped realities and semi-relatable human scenarios presented in this type of storytelling will heighten readers’ senses of what’s believable and what’s not.
if its close to reality, then it has to be good basicly
What if a particular, important historical event had never happened? What if our planet and its inhabitants had evolved differently? What if a fundamental aspect of life as we know it was to change suddenly? What if we invented new technology that could accomplish wonderful/terrible things? What if we could visit or communicate with other life forms (or vice versa)?
major keys. these are what make it good
By creating an alternate reality, you are developing an alternative version of our own Earth, imagining how things could be different and posing questions about what these differences would mean for humanity. Authors often use this style of writing to express their thoughts about the flaws of humanity and today’s world, exploring the consequences these flaws may have to potential to produce.
alot of classics are like this, like animal farm, 1982, etc. thought sometimes alternate worlds are used for escapism.
You may be able to flesh out your world by moulding, adapting or drawing parallels with real-life locations, landmarks, pivotal events, or even historical personalities. <img class="size-full wp-image-8660" src="http://www.writersedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-build-fantasy-worlds-3.jpeg" alt="how to build fantasy worlds" width="600" height="280" srcset="https://writersedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-build-fantasy-worlds-3.jpeg 600w, https://writersedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-build-fantasy-worlds-3-416x194.jpeg 416w, https://writersedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-build-fantasy-worlds-3-300x140.jpeg 300w, https://writersedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/how-to-build-fantasy-worlds-3-500x233.jpeg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />
this in many ways also makes it more relateable
The most successful storytelling comes from a subtle, nuanced approach
dont beat them over the head with it
it must still be governed consistently and carefully by the internal logic and laws you set up for it.
this is important to making sense
What it looks and feels like – its landscapes, its climate? Its people – their appearance, customs, ethics and values? The dominant forces that shape change and development?
this seem to me to be saying that you need to make a culture, and climate.
that make up a convincing, consistent imaginary world.
probably the most importent part
Of course, not all writers will be capable of (or interested in) creating a functional, fictional language – but budding world-builders can still follow Tolkien’s lead in order to get started. By pinpointing one aspect of your imaginary world that you’re most interested in or most apt at developing, you’ve got yourself a great starting point. Work hard on this element first, and then concentrate on building up and fleshing out from there. You’ll find that the pieces of your world fall much more easily into place once you have a solid foundation from which to expand.
what I get out of this is to pick one element to use as a seed, and build off of it.
Creating an imaginary world is one of the most complex types of world-building. It’s most often utilised in fantasy and science fiction, where a writer conjures up from scratch every detail of a world: geography, history, language, lore, characters, social customs, politics, religion…
there is a lot of factors to account for.
Imaginary worlds – the construction of entirely fictional universes, found primarily in fantasy genres. Alternate reality – re-imaginings of the details of our existing world; popular with writers of science fiction. Actual locations – the invocation of a real place in the world, utilised in novels with no elements of the fantastic.
these are the types of fictional worlds that a author can choose from. each is different, and brings a different element to the story.
It’s the very essence of any good fantasy or science fiction story, and the basis of a sense of place in other genres.
this drives in how essential good world building is to a story