…in my humble opinion, one cannot go past Steering The Craft by the great Ursula Le Guin.

The subtitle promises “exercises and discussions on story writing”…(hooray!)…“for the lone navigator”…(that’s me!)…“or the mutinous crew.” (I’m pretty sure that’s the muses, in my case: O-o.)

My current theme is worldbuilding and while Steering The Craft is not specifically about that topic, I don’t believe anyone could read Le Guin’s passages on language, or how to make point-of-view work for the story, without coming away with a wonderful feeling for worldbuilding as well.

Le Guin’s world of Earthsea

BUT, for matters germane to the art and craft of worldbuilding, the most useful chapter may be “Indirect Narration, Or What Tells”: i.e. how to provide information in the narrative.

Here’s what Le Guin has to say about SFF in this context:

“This is a skill science fiction and fantasy writers are keenly aware of, because they often have a great deal of information to convey that the reader has no way of knowing unless told…The world of the story must be created and explained in the story…But it’s a tricky business.”

“I hear you!” many aspiring worldbuilders may cry, which is why I’m giving the book a shoutout as part of my current worldbuilding focus.

The subsequent chapter, “Crowding and Leaping”—about what stays in the book and what must be left out—is also useful reading from a worldbuilding (as well as a general writing) perspective.

Le Guin’s world of Gethen, aka Winter

The thing I most like about Steering The Craft, though, is the sheer joy and love of writing, in all its permutations and guises, that quickens to life and breathes out of every line.

In fact, it may just be time for a reread…

Introduction:

Open for some serious worldbuilding business…

Last Monday I shared the somewhat astonishing (to me) discovery that I have featured around twenty-eight posts on the topic of worldbuilding on this blog, in its life from May 2010 until now.

So before launching into fresh material, I felt that a review of the twenty eight was in order. Having completed that process, I believe several definitely merit a refeature.

Some of these posts focus on the art and craft of worldbuilding; others are specifically about worldbuilding, or aspects of it, in my own writing.

“On Worldbuilding”, the most comprehensive in the former category, was written as recently as 2019. Given both these factors, I am reposting it today—in total except for much of the introduction. (But for those who like their backlist reposts unabridged, I have included a link to the original immediately below the title.)

I also wrote a companion post in 2019, “My Worldbuilding: A Few Thoughts On Guiding Influences” , which focused specifically on my own books. Although not quite so comprehensive, I’ll repost it for you either on Thursday, or otherwise next Monday, depending on how the week goes.

You may also be pleased to know that twenty-eight preceding posts or not, I still have a few more worldbuilding thoughts to share—so there will be some new material posted as well. (Huzza for the new!)

Also, one of the sparks for looking at worldbuilding again was a reader’s question, which I’ll answer at or toward the end of the post series. So if you’ve questions to ask, please do post them in the comments. If they’re straightforward, I’ll answer them then and there, or otherwise deal with them later in the series.

For today, if worldbuilding interests you, I hope you’ll find some substance in “On Worldbuilding”, whether from a reader’s or writer’s perspective.

~*~

From the Backlist: “On Worldbuilding”

(First posted on February 18, 2019)

Recently on Good Reads (GR) I was asked a question about worldbuilding …

“Can you give any tips on how to construct a…how do I put it…believable world? I’m finding it a bit trying…”

… here are some key elements … that I can identify and which may help other worldbuilders…

May include maps…: artist, Peter Fitzpatrick

Experimentation:

Just as we’re all different in other ways, so too with worldbuilding: there isna going to be a “one size fits all” approach. If in doubt, though, try experimenting – approaching the worldbuilding in several different ways, e.g.:

• Think about the most compelling aspect of your world and write an opening scene that explores that and see how your thinking and the story evolves from there;
• Storyboard your world, i.e. sit down and map out how the world works in advance, using not only maps of terrain but also images of how it looks re landscape, architecture, people, their clothes etc
• Have some key headings such as: planet; continents; countries; geography; landscapes; vegetation; creatures; people; societies; culture; religion; technology; water, food, and other key resources. (And so on.) But even if you don’t feature all or any of them exhaustively in your story, you as author have to have an idea how they fit together – or even to consciously decide they don’t matter to your particular story at all so you can dispense with worldbuilding altogether.
• Daydream it: think about your world even when you’re not actually working on it. Allow it to colonize your mind and ‘doodle’ your ideas even when you don’t have time to write or world-build in earnest. (Keeping a notebook of some kind is really helpful for this.)

Approaches

In terms of the elements you’re exploring, though, and what you’re trying to achieve with your worldbuilding, here are a few more things to consider / play around with:

The Big Idea

I think it really helps to have a “big idea” that informs your world and therefore your worldbuilding. In The Wall Of Night series the original big idea was “darkness” – the idea of a “night world” in which the central protagonist/antagonist peoples are locked in age-old conflict. It was very influenced by my first reading of Norse myths (i.e. Diegotterdamerung: the twilight of the Gods) and also by books such as Alan Garner’s more Celtic influenced Elidor and – a little later – by Tolkien’s Beleriand in the backstory to The Lord of the Rings. (In its turn very influenced by Norse myth again, so there’s a certain circularity…)

As I grew up and my original world idea developed, I realized that a dark world, while atmospheric, made for challenging worldbuilding and difficult storytelling, so I revised the “darkness” back to more of a twilit world, with an accompanying stark and bleak landscape, that became the Wall of Night. I also originally thought the wall would be an actual constructed wall (like the Nightwatch’s Wall of Ice in A Game of Thrones) but the more I thought about it the more the “mountain range as shield-wall” idea took hold.

At which point I started writing, with the idea of the Wall shaping the Derai as they are first encountered, although as quickly becomes clear the Derai originally shaped the Wall, so “which came first” in terms of influence is by no means clearcut.

Other “Big Ideas” I (believe I) perceive in Fantasy worldbuilding, which pervade the stories, include:

• “Winter is Coming” – in George RR Martin’s A Song Of Ice and Fire series (aka A Game Of Thrones)
• “The Everstorm” – in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series
• “Land heirdom” – in Patricia McKillip’s The Riddlemaster of Hed series
• The four elements of fire, earth, air, and water – in Midori Snyder’s Orans’ Cradle series
• The language of music – in Anna Smaill’s The Chimes

Choose A “Spine” for Your Worldbuilding

If you think of a world as being similar to a human body, the spine is the central column, or core idea, that connects everything else.

Some of the key elements that are drawn upon for speculative fiction worldbuilding include:

• History: especially taking a particular period such as renaissance Italy in Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana; the Carolingian era of European medieval history in Kate Elliot’s Crown of Stars series; medieval Korea in Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts Empire trilogy; and colonial North America in Orson Scott Card’s Alvin Maker series.

• 

  Outstandingly influential worldbuilding

  Science: such as the strong emphasis on biology in Julie Czerneda’s worlds and again with Sanderson’s Everstorm and everything that flows from that; or music, its language and structure, in Anna Smaill’s The Chimes.

• Geography/Nature: outstanding examples include JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth where a strong vision of nature and its forms shapes the characters’—and the readers’—experience of the world; also Ursula K Le Guin’s Earthsea and the archipelago, and Mary Victoria’s world tree in Tymon’s Flight (Chronicles of the Tree series.)

Live It, Breathe It, Experience Your World: Make It Sensory

In order for the world to be real for readers, it must first be real in your mind so that the characters can experience their surroundings in a real way.

One really important way of doing that is to remember that the characters must experience through their five senses, i.e. the reader must also know what the characters are seeing; hearing; smelling; touching; and – where appropriate – tasting.

Yet it is not enough to simply experience, the characters must also respond emotionally to what they experience. For example, in any given situation, does the character feel fear or horror, foreboding or doubt; happiness or confidence? Do they respond to stimuli with joy and delight, or disgust and loathing?

The reality of the worldbuilding will help you, as author, to know how your characters respond. It will also help your readers not only understand what’s going on for your characters, but to understand environment and world through their senses and perceptions, i.e. the world becomes real for all involved.

And that’s it: I don’t think there’s a great deal more I can say in terms of a few quick tips but I hope something in here will help. 🙂

© Helen Lowe, On Worldbuilding.

Deep in the world of Haarth… (as is only right 🙂 )

…for the best reason, which is that I’m pressing to complete the current section-in-progress for WALL #4 by the end of the week, and I need to keep my nose to the writing grindstone.

By my reckoning, I have one more chapter to write. Earlier, I went over the “entry vector”, i.e. the preceding sequences from the POV character’s perspective, to ensure everything lines up — and so far, it’s reading pretty well. Fingers crossed the positives may continue and the writing go smoothly!

There’s not a great deal of downtime, but I’m using it to read through those 28 posts on worldbuilding, as per Monday’s post. When it comes to priorities, though, it’s the writing and WALL #4 all the way!

Although I did allow myself to be diverted temporarily when I discovered a wasp nest on the porch, the diversion taking the form of calling pest control immediately. All is well now, however, and my focus back on the writing. 🙂

Best without wasps…

On which note, time to get back to it!

Having fun with worldbuilding…; map credit: Peter Fitzpatrick

Last Monday I discussed taking a(nother) look at worldbuilding and observed that having posted a reasonable amount on the topic, the starting point might be a review.

We-ell, that turned out to be a remarkably percipient observation, because when I sat down to tot up preceding posts, I counted a grand total of twenty eight on this blog alone, specifically addressing worldbuilding or an aspect of it.

And then, there’s the  Worldbuilding in Fantasy series that was my 2020 post theme on Supernatural Undergound…

All of which leads me to conclude that worldbuilding is a topic on which I have some reckons—and that a review is looking like an essential starting point, with a few From The Blog Backlist refeatures and probably some listicle action thrown in. 😀

For today, here’s an excerpt from what appears to be the very first worldbuilding themed post, from away back in June 2010; also the first month of the blog.

Middle Earth: possibly “the” most influential example of Fantasy worldbuilding

From the Backlist: “Influences on Story” — June 2010

On Sunday 20 I wrote about winter solstice and Matariki, the Maori name for the Pleaides and also for the Maori New Year: the rising of the Pleaides into southern hemisphere skies was the traditional signal used to judge when to plant many of the next year’s crops. …

…

Yesterday, the section of The Gathering of the Lost (The Wall of Night Series, Book Two) that I was working on centered around a festival called Summer’s Eve, which is “always held on the first new moon of summer.” Which got me thinking about influences on our writing, especially where the author is trying to create a world that feels “real” and resonates with the reader (yes, even when writing “Fantasy”).  For example, influences such as Matariki being celebrated, by certain Maori tribes (hapu or iwi), on the first new moon after the Pleiades constellation rose.

Other, perhaps clearer (given Matariki is nearer midwinter), influences for a festival of Summer’s Eve would be the northern hemisphere’s May Day, with its tradition of mumming (acting out folk stories), crowning the May Queen and (in England, anyway) dancing around a Maypole.  But when I lived in Sweden, the festival of Valborgsmassafton, which is also celebrated in Germany as Walpurgis Night, seemed almost as important as the May Day that followed. The nights are definitely shortening by 30 April, and Valborgsmassafton is celebrated by lighting bonfires in the long clear evenings and dancing and partying through the night and into May Day itself.  You can argue that bonfires are a traditional celebration in many circumstances, but I am sure it is not accident that one way in which “Summer’s Eve” is celebrated in my story is by lighting “fires for Imuln.”

The About The Characters post series focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, in large part because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from: Legend Award Finalist’s Interview, 2013

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood — in alphabetical order, by name, of course!

It’s been a while now since we’ve had a character that appears in both The Gathering of the Lost and Daughter of Blood—but today is that day! 😀

—

UK/AU/NZ

USA

Lord Falk:  Castellan of the Northern March of Emer, in the Southern Realms of Haarth

When Carick looked again the two combatants were still hammering away at each other, but their adherents had fallen silent, easing away from a chestnut destrier that had appeared in the gate. The chestnut’s rider was bareheaded; the early breeze riffled thinning sandy hair as he surveyed the yard, and the voice that spoke was light, but with an edge beneath the even tone. “What,” the newcomer asked, “is going on here?”

The rider had not seemed to raise his voice, but it cut across the clash of swords all the same. The two combatants sprang back, lowering their blades; their faces wore matching expressions of chagrin and apprehension as they turned toward the gate. “Lord Falk,” Girvase said, gasping for breath. “Ser, we didn’t realize …”

So this, thought Carick, taking in the mix of dismay and apprehension around the yard, is the Castellan of Normarch, the Duke’s foster brother and strong right arm in Emer’s wild north. 

~ from © The Gathering of The Lost, The Wall Of Night Book Two – Chapter 14, Maister Gervon
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UK/AU/NZ

USA

Drifts of mist lay between black trunks and a russet fox slipped out of the undergrowth, stopping with one paw raised to gaze at her from eyes she knew would be the color of barley ale. Above its head, a knot in an oak trunk twisted into a fox’s mask before shifting into the face of Lord Falk, Castellan of Normarch and leader of the Emerian Oakward. The russet fox slipped away.

“Ah,” Lord Falk’s expression was as inscrutable as any Raven could muster. “I wondered when you would come calling on me again.”

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 18 — The Wayhouse

…all sorts & conditions of heroes

If you checked in last week, you’ll already know that I’ve signaled a “Heroes in Fantasy” post theme for 2022 on the Supernatural Underground. So if you’re interested, do check in on February 1 to see what I do with the topic.

You will also have seen my WALL #4 update — and no question at all: that’s my upfront-and-centre focus for 2022.

In terms of “…on Anything, Really” I pretty much aim to keep going as I have over the past few years, with a focus on the writing life, all things genre, reading “all sorts and conditions” of books, and anything really (ha!–did you see what I did there? 😉 ) that otherwise takes my fancy.

For the immediate future, what appeals to my blogging fancy is having another look at worldbuilding. I’ve posted a reasonable amount on this topic before, so the starting point may be a review.

Worldbuilding fun; art credit, Peter Fitzpatrick

I do have a specific question to address, though, which came from a series’ reader and relates to an aspect of the worldbuilding in The Gathering of the Lost in particular. I asked the reader if I could address the question here and they said yes, so-o… A few posts on worldbuilding, here we come—“probably” starting next Monday. 😀

Otherwise, I have no particular blogging plans at present, beyond steady-as-she-goes, but will always herald something new before it happens (as much as possible, anyway.)

On we go: full steam ahead into 2022!

Yes, it’s finally time for The Wall Of Night #4 (working title: The Chaos Gate) update.

Back in July I reported being on the cusp between the endgame setup and the final denouement, when all the character arcs and storylines will resolve (where they have not done so already.)

And no, “resolve” does not mean “dies”: i.e. WALL #4 is not a Shakespearean tragedy where all the main protagonists usually end dying messily in the final scene. So perhaps I should have written, “resolve, whether happily or unhappily.” 😉

In July, I also reported that I was going to have to rejig some earlier material, an exercise that turned out to be considerably more major than I anticipated. All setbacks are, of course, always the author’s responsibility, but the three C’s—aka Characters Behaving Badly, continuity (with earlier sections but also the previous books), and contrary, if not downright cantankerous muses—also play their part.

However, all the gnarls and passages-of-arms did eventually resolve (that word again), allowing the story to roll onward. There is still a large part of the denouement to write, but Kalan is currently in the right place, Malian is well along the path, and as of today I commenced the final instalment of the heralds’ arc. So I can report steady progress.

I’m sorry I can’t offer more specific information at this stage, but with the writing at a critical stage I don’t want to jinx anything by getting ahead of myself. So it’s “steady as she goes” time—but I have pencilled in 7 April for the next update, if not before. (All writing digits pretzelled.)

Remember, too, that the places to check for updates (if they’re not at the top of the masthead) is under “About My Books” & “About What I’m Doing” (under Categories in the far-right-hand sidebar.)

Thank you, too, as always, for staying the course with me and for continuing to check in. It’s greatly appreciated, as are you.

A virtual bouquet

Happy New Year, one and all! 😀

The first of the month being “my” day on the Supernatural Underground, I was on deck there for a New Year’s Day post — in which I look forward to a year of celebrating heroes in Fantasy fiction.

With maybe a sidestep into film and television from time to time, and the occasional, or even frequent, dive into myth and legend, folklore and fairytales.

To find out more, slip on over to the ‘Ground & have a read:

Looking Forward To An Heroic 2022

Meanwhile, may your New Year may be bright & the Force be with you all throughout this year.

Aragorn_LoTR

Bobby Draper_The Expanse

Agatha_Girl Genius

I love this time, when I get to look back over my blogging year and see the posts that have really  “spoken” to all those who visit here.

How I present the top ten always depends on the posts themselves. This year, the most-reads fall into four main groupings, so in terms of presentation I’ll order the posts by theme, then chronological order (as opposed to an exact ranking by number of views) beneath that ‘umbrella.’

Otherwise, my very best wishes to all of you for January 1 and the new year ahead!

—

Here They Are: The 10 Most-Read Posts of 2021

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Theme 1: Matters Pertaining to The Wall Of Night Book Four Progress & Updates

A theme that is both gratifying and also something of a “gulp” moment for the author, given this manuscript is an epic journey in itself! The posts that really caught your interest were:

1. March 29 — For The Wall Of Night’s UK & Commonwealth Readers: Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Will Be Available To You!

This post arose when it came to my attention that questions had arisen around the availability of The Wall Of Night Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) in the UK & Commonwealth. As a result I was able to answer a number of questions readers were asking around that. These clarifications still remain valid.

2. April 5 — As Promised, A “The Wall Of Night” Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Update

As promised on March 29, I followed a week later with a WALL #4 progress update. The rest, I believe/hope, is self-explanatory. 🙂

3. May 24 — Tweet O’ The Week, for WALL Readers 🙂

The tweet in question was the newsflash that Malian had reached “the” Chaos Gate — for which book #4 is currently named and a sign that the story is surely and steadily, if not as swiftly as we all would like, drawing toward its close.

4. July 22 — The Wall of Night Book #4 (The Chaos Gate) Update (July)

In which I was able to share that the writing had reached the cusp between the endgame setup for the book and the denouement for both that and the WALL series, while also noting that some rejigging of the setup material was required.

Theme 2: The 10th Anniversary of the February 22nd, 2011 Christchurch Earthquake — & “The Sparrows”

In many ways it feels extraordinary that a decade has passed since 2011 and the earthquakes that destroyed lives, homes, and swathes of my home city of Christchurch (while leaving other areas largely unscathed.) I spoke of some of the effects of those events and their aftermath in a post titled “Faultline.”

Yet the reason, I believe, that “…on Anything, Really” got so much attention during that time was because NZ’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, concluded her commemorative speech by quoting from a poem I wrote in 2011, titled The Sparrows.

The speech was quoted in full and part in media throughout the world, and the UK’s The Guardian newspaper linked to my blog and the poem. A sequence of events that is reflected in the year’s most-read statistics.

PM Ardern & “The Sparrows”

5. August 2, 2011 —  Tuesday Poem — The Sparrows

This is the version of The Sparrows that The Guardian newspaper linked to, so although published in 2011, it definitely garnered some attention again this year.

6. February 22nd — Faultline: My Decade From February 22nd, 2011

In this post, I endeavoured to both commemorate the events of February 22nd and chart the aftermath and effects on myself, over the subsequent decade.

7. February 25: The Prime Minister’s February 22nd National Remembrance Speech & “The Sparrows”

In which I talked about the poem and the PM quoting from it in her speech, and how I felt about it all…

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Theme 3: The “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes” Series

I posted this series from 2018 through to 2020 (and there may still be a post or to in it: we’ll see!) and it’s proven enduringly popular, so much so that two posts were still in the top 10 most-read posts for this year, with another one, plus a direct spinoff,  in the Top 15. So I’m guessing people are getting something out of them!

Aragorn & Anduril

The two posts in the top 10 are:

8. July 23, 2018 — We’re All Going On A MacGuffin Hunt

MacGuffins are objects or devices that motivate characters, both protagonists and antagonists, to undertake the actions that comprise the story. In most cases, particularly in Fantasy, this involves some sort of hunt or search—aka the quest-journey.

And the rest is history, but traversing it makes for considerable blog enjoyment. 😉

9. August 13, 2018 — Artefacts of Power—and Doom—and Where To Find Them

“Artefacts of power, and/or doom, are one of the great staples of epic fantasy and the myths, legends, and folklore that inform the literature …” And so the post begins, starting with checking out magical swords but by no means restricted to them..

Theme 4: Reintroducing Group Haarth

Although the existence of Group Haarth stems from that of the WALL series, it exists independently of the WALL #4 status updates, which is why I believe it constitutes a separate category. One that’s generated quite a bit of interest:

10. April 22 — A Reminder That There’s A Dedicated “The Wall Of Night” Facebook Group for Readers

If you’re interested in a group established for the sole purpose of discussing the books, just click on the link. 😀

Conclusion:

So there it is: ten posts, four themes—and several more that just missed the cut. And now it’s onward to 2022, “coming ready or not.”

Stay well, one and all, and keep taking care.

Reading and thinking about books, storytelling, and writing is a big part of a writer’s life. No surprises, then, that reading and discussing books is also a central plank of my blog.

Although I don’t post on every book I read and enjoy (‘no time, no time’ she cries, reminiscent of the white rabbit’s plaint of lateness),  as regulars here will know, I do only feature books I’ve liked. (I leave the others to the “real reviewers.” 😉 )

Yet even among the books I’ve read and enjoyed, there may be one that stays with me, so that when I cast my mind back over the reading year, it’s the one that stands out.

Other metrics of reading goodness include the rereads: a book encountered last year or a couple of years prior that I find myself picking up again (and again!)

And then, of course, there are the enduring favourites, the books that are like old friends, whose company never tires or grows stale, and which are always assured of their place on the bookshelf.

In terms of the new-to-me books read in 2021, the standout was not a new publication per se, but Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer, published in 2000.

The link to my June post is here:

What I’m Reading: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

But here’s a sample of what I had to say:

“… dear readers, that I loved this book! I really enjoyed everything about it: the strong and compelling environmental themes; the equally strong sense of place (West Virginia / Appalachians, I believe), interwoven with family, community, and historical continuity – along with the contemporary challenges to that; the characters (dear readers, I adored the characters); the storylines; the strong beautiful prose – and just the sheer heart of the narrative.

In fact, it’s one of those books where I kept going back and rereading previous chapters, just to ensure I hadn’t missed any of the goodness.”

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As for those other classes of read, the palm for most reread goes to Martha Wells’ marvelous novella, All Systems Red, which I found myself returning to several times. Yep, it really is that good.

What I’m Reading: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

I read it for the first time in 2018 and my summary then still holds good:

“I really enjoyed it: All Systems Red is a fun, light read with a genuinely engaging main character and interesting supporting cast.”

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And the enduring favourite? That would be Patricia McKillip’s oft-mentioned (by me!) The Riddlemaster of Hed — to the extent that my personal copy, as indicated in May, is falling apart!

The full post is here:

I Revisit The Riddlemaster of Hed