When you write a novel, you create a world.
I have it on good authority readers kinda like it when that world plays by rules they can comprehend. It can be a reasonable facsimile of the world readers live in, or it can be an entirely new place spawned from that wacky dream you had back in February when you were feverish and taking cold medications.
Either way, the world you build in your novel needs internal consistency. Oh, it needs character motivation consistency, timeline consistency, and so on, but today I want to focus on worldbuilding consistency -- a well-constructed setting and mythology for your speculative novel.
If your heroine has brown eyes on page three, unless she undergoes a significant biological change (which I hear shapeshifters do!), her eyes need to be brown on page two hundred and three. If your hover cars can’t travel beyond the city limits due to mechanical limitation, then don’t include a hover car chase through the rural terrain of Terra Prime. If vampires aren’t harmed by silver bullets any more than they are by regular bullets, it’s not very consistent if silver knives burn their flesh.
This is especially important for authors of speculative fiction who arguably have more details to track. Since the spec content of their stories has facts known only to the author, uniformity of worldbuilding might not be as instinctive as it would for a contemporary author. The contemporary author, while she’s researched her protagonists’ professions, geographical locations, and so on, doesn’t have to fret about the color of the grass, the length of the lunar cycle, and how, exactly, magic works. The level of worldbuilding a lot of spec fic authors juggle is even more than an historical author deals with. But with all authors (Lewis Carroll excepted), consistency is the key to authenticity.
Not that this is some great revelation! We know what creates a convincing and fascinating world because we’re readers, too. Facts that get established and then seemingly ignored (I’m looking at you, LOST!), jolt us out of that pleasurable reading trance.
In my WIP, a light urban fantasy set in the now, I’ve got a plethora of unusual information to catalog. Many of my characters are empowered, and then there’s the political, economic and social system of how these particular individuals coexist with the norms. As I write, I highlight details I think are critical (or that I fear I might forget!) until I can transfer them to a master notes document. I have character descriptions of everyone in the story, a list of powers and who has them, and explanations of how each power works.
With my novel A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH, due out in 2008 from Samhain, my world is a fairy tale flavored fantasy construct, so I added maps, dictionaries, world histories, and a “setting” outline, where instead of plot I focus on what worldbuilding minutiae I reveal in each chapter.
There are plenty of articles and books out there about creating worlds, but what about keeping track of your creation> If you’re a writer, what do you do when you’re WIPing to ensure your world is consistent? If you’re a reader--which we all are!--what types of setting or worldbuilding irregularities really throw you out of a story?
Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com
http://meanjody.livejournal.com
I have it on good authority readers kinda like it when that world plays by rules they can comprehend. It can be a reasonable facsimile of the world readers live in, or it can be an entirely new place spawned from that wacky dream you had back in February when you were feverish and taking cold medications.
Either way, the world you build in your novel needs internal consistency. Oh, it needs character motivation consistency, timeline consistency, and so on, but today I want to focus on worldbuilding consistency -- a well-constructed setting and mythology for your speculative novel.
If your heroine has brown eyes on page three, unless she undergoes a significant biological change (which I hear shapeshifters do!), her eyes need to be brown on page two hundred and three. If your hover cars can’t travel beyond the city limits due to mechanical limitation, then don’t include a hover car chase through the rural terrain of Terra Prime. If vampires aren’t harmed by silver bullets any more than they are by regular bullets, it’s not very consistent if silver knives burn their flesh.
This is especially important for authors of speculative fiction who arguably have more details to track. Since the spec content of their stories has facts known only to the author, uniformity of worldbuilding might not be as instinctive as it would for a contemporary author. The contemporary author, while she’s researched her protagonists’ professions, geographical locations, and so on, doesn’t have to fret about the color of the grass, the length of the lunar cycle, and how, exactly, magic works. The level of worldbuilding a lot of spec fic authors juggle is even more than an historical author deals with. But with all authors (Lewis Carroll excepted), consistency is the key to authenticity.
Not that this is some great revelation! We know what creates a convincing and fascinating world because we’re readers, too. Facts that get established and then seemingly ignored (I’m looking at you, LOST!), jolt us out of that pleasurable reading trance.
In my WIP, a light urban fantasy set in the now, I’ve got a plethora of unusual information to catalog. Many of my characters are empowered, and then there’s the political, economic and social system of how these particular individuals coexist with the norms. As I write, I highlight details I think are critical (or that I fear I might forget!) until I can transfer them to a master notes document. I have character descriptions of everyone in the story, a list of powers and who has them, and explanations of how each power works.
With my novel A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH, due out in 2008 from Samhain, my world is a fairy tale flavored fantasy construct, so I added maps, dictionaries, world histories, and a “setting” outline, where instead of plot I focus on what worldbuilding minutiae I reveal in each chapter.
There are plenty of articles and books out there about creating worlds, but what about keeping track of your creation> If you’re a writer, what do you do when you’re WIPing to ensure your world is consistent? If you’re a reader--which we all are!--what types of setting or worldbuilding irregularities really throw you out of a story?
Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com
http://meanjody.livejournal.com
6 comments:
I think one of the things that bugs me is that some writers don't set limits for their worlds and characters.
I remember reading a book where every time there was a plot twist, or an inconvenient problem arose, the heroine suddenly developed a new talent/skill/psychic gift to deal with it. I mean, out of the blue, with no explanation.
Did she eventually run up against a brick wall? Maybe - I didn't finish the book. About 2/3 of the way through (this was a fat mainstream paperback, probably around 200k), I got tired of reading about this perfect, overachieving character and moved on to more interesting stories. :)
Limits are what make the story and the characters believable and appealing.
Internal logic is eesential, fail to do that and for me the book is a waste of money.
S.J.
I totally agree about limitations. Sometimes, when you're writing, you'll have Eureka moments and things will happen you didn't pre-plan, but there have to be limits!
I think I read the same book Carolan did, and no, I didn't finish it either : )
What gets me on some paranormals is the "convenient science" used without explanation of how/why it works. Granted, I don't need a dissertation (ie: info dump) on the subject, but let me know where you're coming from. If the writer's done their job I'm willing to go along for the ride.
I've read very popular/successful authors who throw stuff out there and don't give ANY sort of reason why I should believe their world works. Needless to say, I don't read them any more.
Gee, Cathy, I wonder what popular author you're talking about? :)
Jody: I'll never tell. In public anyway ; )
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