World-Building in Fictional Stories

[shadowkat]

truepenny aka the author of the notable fantasy novel, and Hugo nominee, "The Goblin Emperor" has been blogging on her writing process in a series of posts. The latest, which is entitled Five Things I Know About Worldbuilding, I find to be rather interesting and quite helpful.

In case you missed the link, go HERE for her post "Five Things I Know About World Building".

Never tell your audience everything you know.

This goes back to both (1.) and (2.) You aren’t writing a textbook; there isn’t going to be a test. You don’t have to explain everything, and in fact you’re better off if you don’t.

Also, there should be a difference between everything you know and everything your viewpoint character knows. Unless you’re writing in omniscient (in which case you, sir or madam, are as mad as a fish2), you need to filter your information through the character. If she doesn’t know it, she can’t tell the reader about it. If she doesn’t think it’s important, she won’t tell the reader about it. If the version of the facts she’s been given is wrong …

This is a problem that I've seen in historical novels as well. Most recently in the novel "The Other Daughter", where the writer got distracted by the time period. It also happened in a friend's novel that I read several years back. It's why I'm not a fan of historicals, because the writer's often
forsake characterization for well, sharing their extensive research. Hint - if you prefer research to writing, don't write, hire yourself out as a professional researcher.

I hate researching. Doesn't mean I'm not good at it -- I am. And I'm fast, when I have to find the answer to something. But I hate it. Something I have in common with my father - he has no patience for it either, but is wickedly good at it. The man is an encyclopedia of information and can find things quickly - or he used to. Age has had its effects.

But it is also a problem with a lot of science fiction and fantasy novels. Various popular writers do it all the time and get away with it. So non-popular, beginning writers think they can do it too.

I had a creative writing professor once who cautioned us not to try world-building until we figured out characterization and plot mechanics. But I think truepenny really provides some good tips. One of which is to build the world through the point of view of the characters.

Omniscient science fiction novels rarely work for me. I prefer sci-fi that sticks to a point of view, one or several, doesn't matter. And builds the world through it. See for example what George Lucas does in Star Wars - the first three films, he builds his world through the eyes of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and to a degree Vader and C3PO and R2 D2. The next three films - he loses most of his audience, by building the world outside of a specific characters perspective. Instead of the characters being the focus, the world becomes the focus. Which is why various actors looked like they were walking through their roles. Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman in particular. Because the point of view was omniscient, not specific to any one character. Skip to Star Wars:The Force Awakens, in that film we go back to the original model - the point of view is the characters. We are in Rey and Finn's point of view and to a degree Kylo Ren's and BB8's. The switch to the character's perspective, brings the audience into the action. We care about the characters, so we also care about the world. While making the focus on the world, distances the audience from the action and characters - so we are no longer invested in the characters, and as a result don't care so much about the world.

Another way of looking at it - think of buying a house or an apartment. When you visit a house that has no one living in it. It's well just a bunch of rooms. But if there is someone in it - you see it in a different way. Houses that are inhabited often sell faster than empty houses, because we can see how the house is a home. A model home or house looks very different than a house that your friend or someone you know lives in. Or even a stranger. The house takes on the personalities of the people in it. As does the world that you are building - it takes on the characteristics of the people who inhabit it.