{"id":36434,"date":"2019-02-18T06:30:55","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T17:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=36434"},"modified":"2019-02-17T15:12:38","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T02:12:38","slug":"on-worldbuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2019\/02\/18\/on-worldbuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"On Worldbuilding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Recently on Good Reads (GR) I was asked a question about worldbuilding. I\u2019m not terribly active on GR because there\u2019s only so much social media a gal can do in a meaningful way and still write books and deal with realtime life, so questions are a relatively rare event. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

In this case, Zainab\u2019s question was about worldbuilding and I thought required a little more thought than just a dashed off reply. I also thought others might find it interesting, so decided to share m\u2019terribly important thoughts as a blog post. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Zainab was nice enough to say some complimentary things about my worldbuilding in the WALL series [twinkles] but I\u2019ll focus on the key question:<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you give any tips on how to construct a\u2026how do I put it\u2026believable world? I\u2019m finding it a bit trying\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

From one perspective this is a hard ask, because my worldbuilding is more intuitive than cerebral. By which I mean that I perceive the world really vividly and that\u2019s what I write and develop in concert with the action of the story, rather than sitting down in advance and nutting out the detail of the world.<\/p>\n

However, I still think there are some key elements incorporated into this approach that I can identify and which may help other worldbuilders, even those who prefer a more cerebral approach.<\/p>\n

\"\"

May include maps… (Design by Peter Fitzpatrick)<\/p><\/div>\n

Experimentation:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Just as we\u2019re all different in other ways, so too with worldbuilding: there isna going to be a \u201cone size fits all\u201d approach. If in doubt, though, try experimenting \u2013 approaching the worldbuilding in several different ways, e.g.:<\/p>\n