  Fantasy
This week: Do You Have World Builder's Disease? Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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An Elf (written) Fantasy Newsletter
This week, I explore the issue of world building from the perspective of a fantasy writer who does very little of it. And I look at those who spend way too much time on the challenge, for you know... balance. |
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Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a fantasy writer who does not world build. Surprising, I know. Fantasy and science fiction, both very large genres in general, are also both known for the worlds the authors create. There is a lot involved and not doing some work ahead of time can lead to headaches when it comes time to rewrite and edit. I know first hand. But I can't help it, I'm a write first and fix details later type. So, why am I, the non-world-building type, writing about the topic for my newsletter? Thank the commenter for last month's Wings topic, who asked me what I meant by world building. Here is the comment sent in:
When you world build what exactly do you mean by that? My idea was to buy this cheep three dimensional world creator software and have it create contents and such based on the simple setting you give it. I needed a fantasy world map maker so I could plot my story for nano out and keep track on each village we won back from the enemy.
I found that this program did the maps we find inside a lot of the books we read in this genre. I could take my created world and even incorporate it into a game engine and use it maps to create game encounters, quests, and so on. I was just wondering if that was what you meant for world building. I have to admit $49.00 for this program was money well spent if your going to really do world building.
When I was software hunting in the fantasy genre I found a story creator program that helped with your fantasy characters family trees and also those of your sub characters. If your doing a large series this would be a tremendous help to you. It was the same price as well. I find when I write sc-fi or fantasy I have to write two sections one is the story itself the other is a time line of what happened to who and where and who did they meet and where. I basically am writing two stories or so it seems. When I edit it this is invaluable to stay consistent, and always knowing where each character is. Most important is what they are doing. - The Run-on King PDG Member 
Thanks for the lengthy comment by the way and topic for today's newsletter. What I mean in general when it comes to world building is a simple answer. It is the world the writer builds in which the characters live. To the point and all do it, though some take less effort. A contemporary story may take place in modern times but the characters and their lives are still fictional and require some craftsmanship to show the world through words to the reader. Other stories, however, like those found in the genre of this newsletter are in different worlds and some creation is in order so that the writer can show the reader the story. And as they say, a reader sees the tip of the iceberg when reading a story, the writer has to know everything that is underneath the surface of the water.
But in honesty, I don't draw maps of my worlds. I don't do a lot of prep work before writing. So, I'm a bad world builder. I have 2 books done each in the same world but the start of two different series (one young adult and the other adult) with no world building done for either of them. One book is 65k and the other is 90k in length. In fact, I have my nanowrimo 2012 attempt which is currently at 171,400+ words (almost done with first draft) and it's a fantasy world with two types of magic, and different places the characters visit, each requiring their own customs that will need to be figured out before the rewrite. Yet, I wrote 165,000 words in one month, without building the world. But then why title this about the disease where people focus on world building? Let's address that topic now then.
There are people who are quite the opposite of me. They world build first. They do all the maps, the character sheets, the templates of entire races of people along with figuring out economic climates, weather conditions, clothing and other refinery's and all of it must be determined and noted before the story can be written. And for some, that works great. They build a glorious world, write the story at a later date and in many ways the writing is more amazing because of the work done beforehand.
However, sometimes the writing never gets done. Then it becomes a problem. Some people dedicate so much time and attention to building the world that they forget about the story. They have a massive landscape that only they get to see and forget to submerge it to get their iceberg (and wow I really forced that metaphor, didn't I). This is what they call world builder's disease. The intense focus and time spent on creating worlds, which often get abandoned in the end because the world is so intricate they can't get the story to match the intensity, or they decide they need a different world entirely. Or they just like to make maps. People vary.
Some have world builder's disease, some make amazing worlds and find time for the story too, and others are like me and write lots of words only later figure out the world they are made in. Which are you?
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Here are a couple of stories/articles I found searching on the site and in contests in particular.
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And if you are interested in some suggestions for world building, I posted a topic on it years ago on my blog after attending a writing conference in colorado. Here is the link to the specific post as it lists some things to consider when world building: http://dawnembers.blogspot.com/2010/09/world-building.html
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Do you have world builder's disease? Or do you forget to build the world and upon rewrite wish you had worked more on the world ahead of time?
Last time, I wrote about wings and received a few comments in return. Thank you to everyone who enjoyed that newsletter.
On the subject of wings; in my main novel I have several characters with wings. Most are dragons, of course, but there are many types of dragons and all fly. But the closest to my character is a cat from another world who has feathered wings and also flies. He's part of a whole race of winged sentient cats. World-building for me isn't just a hobby, it's a fact of life with a novel like this because I deal in several worlds all connecting my character with several races. IT'S SOO MUCH FUN!  - by Elfin Dragon-finally published 
- I've only written one dragon story but they can be quite fun. I know others who love to write them and they can make for interesting tales.
I wrote a thriller that involved the spirit world. The two factions faced off moving in and out of the present day world. One side working havoc and the other resisting, fighting and protecting those in the human world. They didn't have wings. If you believe in Angels you know there are many species. The arch angels don't have wings but have heavenly bodies that allow them to move between heaven and earth. They may appear like men. If they had wings we'd all know who they were when they visit us. Your accuser was just ignorant. - by Quick-Quill 
- Thanks, though I think his main point was wings like that of a bird on the back of a man who wore a suit didn't make sense to him. He was right within his logic even if that wasn't the same logic that I used for my story.
I've got a dragon or two flying around here.
Oh, and speaking of dragons, have you seen "Quest for Camelot"? In it is this two-headed dragon, who can't fly or breathe fire. Turns out, it's because the two heads never agree on anything, that is until their new friend gets kidnapped, and the pair agree that something must be done to save her, that they find out what had been missing- teamwork- and thus use their new-found flying and fire-breathing skills to help rescue Camelot. - by BIG BAD WOLF is Merry 
- I actually haven't seen the movie but I'm familiar with it and one of the songs from the movie in particular. I remember seeing a commercial for it and seeing the poster which had the two-headed dragon on it. That is a good point. Thanks.
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Fantasy: April 30, 2014 Issue [#6296]
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