Come and sit a spell. ;)
I think that's the thing about paranormal stories that both entices and frustrates me to no end. The whole concept of 'world-building'. It can be a tricky proposition, to say the least.
"But..." the novice might ask. "Why does it matter? Why can't you just make it up as you go along?"
Seriously, that would be great. But if I get something wrong, or change mid-stream, it wouldn't make sense. Yes, I'm talking about my own particular paranormal world where humans live side-by-side with descendants of gods and humans, with demons thrown in for good... uh, bad measure.
I write about characters who can speak to the dead; change into animals; read minds; see the future; and draw crime scenes before the criminal sets a foot out the door. I can pretty much go wherever my slightly bent imagination takes me. Right?
Uh. No.
If my world doesn't make sense to my readers -- yes, setting aside the demons and ancient prophet driving a Hummer -- then they won't keep reading. Every world, no matter how make-believe, has to have it's own set of rules. It's own points of logic and order. I can try to circumvent the rules, but readers would catch it. Fast. And they'd just as quickly write a snippy review and/or refuse to buy any of my stories ever again. If a writer loses their audience, there's not much point to putting it out there. In that case, it's better to resume hide the pages under the bed. ;)
Yes, I make up my own world. My universe co-exists within the sedate, blandness of 'real' life. But I still have to follow certain protocol: Demons are born evil, but can choose otherwise. Shapeshifters are the black sheep -- no pun intended -- of the demigod-like family. Knowing the future does not necessarily ensure a happy life. Things can still suck. Royally.
Luckily, my rules also include the concepts of everlasting love... hot heroes who are completely monogamous.... happy endings... and heroines who can kick ass. ;) It's a fun and slightly scary place, but I love it here. There's so much to learn.
What's your world like?
~~Meg Allison
Indulge your senses...
http://www.megallisonauthor.com
Step Into The Mists with our adventurous band of award-winning authors to otherworlds of paranormal, SF, fantasy and speculative romance. Nervous? Don't be. The creatures that live here are friendly. Most of the time... This blog is for age 18 and over only.
1 comment:
I tend to make up my worlds as I go along--to a point. Sometimes I have to draft out the whole story to understand what the rules ought to be. Then I go back and make sure everything is consistent. Fortunately, I'm usually working in single stories, where I don't have to create a world over several books. There's an imp of the perverse inside me that would be all too tempted to mess things up. ;-)
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