Worldbuilding: What to know – Blog #46, February 8th, 2022

Hey all! Today I wanted to discuss one of the biggest hurdles for authors, game designers, DMs, and literally anyone who is responsible for making an immersive universe – worldbuilding. Since Sovereign Soul actually takes place in many smaller worlds, I think it makes a perfect sample piece for this discussion.

First off, I’d like to start by saying – I don’t say no to any ideas. I always read blogs and author posts telling you what NOT to do, and I think that’s garbage. Every idea you’ll ever think of has probably been done in some way, shape, or form. I know I frequently run into types of media that have eerily similar ideas to my own, but it’s bound to happen. Think of how many creative ideas are out there right now. Unless you wrote a book in the early 1900’s, you’re bound to be recycling an idea of some kind. But here’s the thing: that’s not your story. You have a big, wide, boundless world in your head just dying to make it out onto paper, and in the long run, it’s gonna be unique in many, many ways, most of which you don’t even consider right away. So write it – and don’t worry if it’s been said before. Nobody’s ever told exactly what you have to say.

So with that out of the way, let’s jump into the basics:

1) Pick somewhere to start. Most of us probably have this, unless you’re literally just starting to think up what to write. It could be very simple. For example, one of my first ideas may have been I want my characters to travel across many unique worlds. From there, you’re bound to spark an idea. What kind of worlds do you want your character to experience? How do they involve the plot of your story? What do they look like?

To narrow it down, let’s talk about one of my worlds, Harohto. In some concepts of my work, I’ve referred to it as the beginner’s world. Just labelling it as the beginner’s world opens up a wealth of questions: is it dangerous? How dangerous? Are the people friendly? Do they know about Defenders? Harohto is generally the first place a Defender lands when entering the spirit realm the first time. It’s meant to be a place with some danger, but not overwhelming for somebody just starting out.

You can pick any aspect to start out, though. What’s their language like? How’s the weather? What sort of impact will it have on your characters?

2) Rules and laws. The easiest thing to do after you’ve got a concept is to define its laws. What may come to mind first is crime rates, what the capital punishment is, the type of government… these are all correct things to wonder, but consider this: how does magic work in this world, if at all? How do they react to different races?

Looking at Sovereign Soul, there are both in different measure. Some rules and laws spread across all worlds. A Defender is not to make a world self-aware that they’re in the spirit realm. Each world takes their own facet of this, trains their military to be able to assist Defenders, or beats them to the punch by literally ensuring their whole world knows they’re dead – usually that goes just as well as you’d expect.

For magic, many of my different worlds treat it differently. It’s commonplace enough in worlds like Syaoto and Harohto. You either have it, or you don’t. Magic academies are established to ensure no wild mages run amok. Otherwise, they’re pretty normal. Whereas, in Orden, magic is practically outlawed. Only the royal family is allowed to practice magic, and others are persecuted. Why? To uphold control. And the why is what you should consider for every rule or law you make, and how it will impact your characters when they enter this place.

3) What type of world do you want? Is it a dystopian world? Post-apocalyptic? Medieval, ravaged with plague? When does your story take place, and how does the time affect it? Is it similar to Earth, or far from it?

In a story like Sovereign Soul, I’m free to choose what each world is like, since there’s a myriad of them. Harohto is feudal medieval, matching an era similar to around the 1300’s of our world. There is magic, but otherwise, it’s a familiar setting for many of the characters. Syaoto is similar, but more fantastical, with unique races living all around and strange ways the world runs. Orden actually proceeds into a sort of early British Empire-esque world, replacing broadswords and steel-plate armor with rifles and waistcoats. Lysvid lives in a similar era, though the vampires consider themselves more refined.

Don’t be afraid to use something tried and true. A fantastical medieval setting? Sure, it’s been done before, but I know many a people who agree it never gets old. What matters is the direction of your story, how it differs from the norm, or even how you accommodate the comfort of a Tolkien-like world or something like Christopher Paolini’s Alagaësia. Dystopian futuristic? Yes, it’s been seen in the Hunger Games and Divergent, but what’s your take?

4) What’s the environment like? This can differ throughout the terrain of your world, of course, but think generally of the lay of the land. If your kingdom is made of stone, how did they get all the stone there? Is there a rich mountain mine nearby? Or in a small backwater village, how much of the woods did they clear-cut to make room for their log houses? How much of it is surrounded by water? How mountainous is it? Depending on your area, are things like snowstorms, avalanches, or tsunamis unheard of, or do they ravage the world you made?

In Sovereign Soul, Harohto’s main continent is pretty standard. One central mountain range, plenty of forest, rivers that run through it all. I had to consider how a place like the Capital built their wondrous walls, made of sunset stones that glimmer fantastically as the sun begins to set. The line between the Old Forest – a sacred and mysterious wood – and the Bytold Woods, a more routinely trimmed and clear-cut forest that the people of Bytold hunt in more regularly. The elevation spikes along the west side from south to north, ensuring that not only do neither Bytold or the Capital have to worry about tsunamis – they also can’t use it as a resource. Lynnport, however, on the lower east coast, is able to fully flourish with the sea at their face, and the forest at their back.

As you think of the geography and villages, start to reason out why places might be where they are. Think of the founders of these villages. Why did they set up camp there for the first time? Are natural resources abundant, or were they? Did they have to accommodate for a lack of resources later in development? If they have an active forge, where do they get the metals?

5) What’s the culture like? Think of what your people in each given town, or country, or kingdom, do through each year. What do they worship? Is it a god, or a natural phenomenon they’ve granted a name to? Has a wealthier kingdom imposed its beliefs on them? Why do they believe what they do? What customs do they have?

For Sovereign Soul, I’ll use Lysvid as an example. The whole world is largely inhabited by vampires and werewolves. Since it’s always night, werewolves are always in their wolf form and virtually abolished from main cities. Vampires run the world, and they’ve made their own sets of beliefs centered around blood, wolves, and their general treatment of one another. The general consensus is that humans are allowed to visit, and especially to be hired on as werewolf hunters (as werewolves are toxic to vampires). However, a certain following called the Ritual believes humans are there for their own nourishment, and free pickings. In a world of vampires, what business does a human have to be there?

In many stories, a common sort of evil trope is certainly religion, and there are factors in our own daily lives that usually lead us to this. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it – I’m always down for a good hero-vs-religion story. However, what’s the reasoning behind it? If you’re creating an ‘evil religion,’ what’s the incentive for the believers? I guarantee many of them have a conscience and aren’t just readily doing bad things (although there’s certainly some), so there must be a reason the vampires believe humans are there for food. In that example, it’s clear to see and hard to argue. People think animals are there as nourishment for them, and some have very little regard for their wellbeing. When in doubt, compare it to our world. You’ll find similarities, and your readers will find things to relate to.

6) What language(s) do they speak? A battle we have going on in our very world, today, is which languages should have the right to continue. Isn’t it easier if everyone all speaks the same language? It certainly doesn’t work well that way – ancient legends are lost to the new tongue, old words lose their meanings, and suddenly everyone understands each other, more or less. Not everyone could grasp subtle humors behind one main language, or convey their disappointment without using choice words. Or, maybe in your world, they do. An interesting take.

In Sovereign Soul, one interesting concept is that Defenders can inherently understand all the languages of the spirit realm. This seems to have limitations, but they can generally understand, and be understood by, the locals. There are old words carried down from long lines that don’t translate, and sometimes people downright don’t make sense. It’s convenient to start, but it can quickly bog down if a Defender gets wrapped up in a world for too long. They’re meant to interact at a glance, then move on. And generally, each world has a sort of common language (Harohtian, Syaotoan, Ordenite, etc.), but there are clearly other variations buried in their subculture. Syaotoan has an old, dead language written in old tombs that only those of the royal family seem to understand. Accents vary from town to town.

In your story, a sort of common language may exist that’s recognized as their official language, but there will almost always be others. In Canada, we primarily speak English or French, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t hundreds of other languages spoken among us from day-to-day. Many First Nations languages have been buried in the dust, snuffed out by colonizers impressing their language upon them. Again, if you’re looking for inspiration, sometimes you need look no further than outside your door, or at the local grocery store.

7) What’s the history of this place? Think back to how your villages and cities were formed, or even further: how did your people get there? Were there already people there when they arrived? What cities are the oldest? Were there people here before the main people of your current world?

Sovereign Soul paints this out in different aspects. Syaoto clearly seems to be an older world than it immediately appears (and so does the whole spirit realm). Ancient kingdom ruins lie within the overgrown jungle. A dead language is carved into its walls. Old, terrifying magic is locked away in the catacombs. Their royal family has roots with gems that are buried far below the kingdom. What does it all mean? And does it tie into the main threads of the story you want to tell, or will it be slowly sketched out on the side?

8) Read! Get inspired! As I said before, don’t be afraid to call on some old classics. Tolkien, Paolini, Pullman, and many other authors have drawn out wonderful worlds already. What did you like about the worlds you’ve read about? What didn’t you like?

Short of copying them outright, it’s no sin to reflect upon what you’ve read, your own experiences, or even what you’ve seen on Netflix to help weave the threads of your world together. Sovereign Soul takes inspiration from hundreds of facets. Lord of the Rings encompasses the early feeling of grand adventure I want to convey. Eragon proceeds in a thoughtfully-woven story to tie even the threads you’d almost forgotten into the main plot in a direct, detailed yet simple plot, something I’m still aspiring & working towards. Phillip Pullman seamlessly weaves magical elements with science into a steampunk sort of era, even adding an element of the multiverse as well. Stories like Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians inspire me toward fitting magical elements into a modern world.

At the same time, many parts of my stories are drawn from daily life. A forest in my book could be similar to one I’ve walked myself, or a nice river path, or a moment where everyone takes a minute to relax for lunch by the river. I’ve used interactions I’ve had, good or bad, to help me write a scene of interaction between two or more characters. Hell, even JRR Tolkien based a lot of his stories off his experience in the war! (Watch Tolkien on Amazon Prime – it’s so good!)

There’s much, much more to worldbuilding in any facet, but these eight steps might help you broaden your way of thinking and get you thinking of the niches in your world. Remember, even if you don’t end up using every facet of worldbuilding you know, your writing will show for the background strings you’ve considered, the meaning behind praying people at the church, or exactly how that village came to be – and even if they don’t, your writing can only flourish with an additional note in your head!