My overnight learning about fantasy storytelling

[scarlettina]

Last night, amidst Merlin's bed-tumbling and Spanky's crankiness, I had a realization that will address one of my issues with the novel, which has sat dormant since I got back from Africa. The realization was that I'd been working on the characters as characters, but hadn't been working on the setting as a character, and somewhere in the back of my mind I'd wanted the setting to be a character and had been failing at creating that. It's not the thing that has kept me off the book, not the main one, but it's a contributing element. I've had this vague idea about how the incursion of magic into my world has affected society, but I've never really developed it to its logical conclusion: how the incursion of magic has affected the environment in which that society exists. It's world-building 101, right? We learn by doing, I guess, or at least I do. Heaven forfend that I actually, you know, read a book to learn about process, or listen to friends who have tramped this road ahead of me.

::sigh::

I despair of myself sometimes. So I'm note-taking and thought-processing and we'll see where this goes and if it helps to fire the process again.

Comments

[blakesrealm.livejournal.com]

Not quite sure where your recent D&D knowledge is at the moment but have you looked at Eberron at all by Keith Baker? Some interesting takes on a world that is basically run by magic, in a lot of ways. Just small things that add a lot of flavor, might be worth looking at just to get an idea.

I recall you're friends with Jeff Grubb so I'm sure that the books are available in your circle of friends.

As far as Merlin goes ... here's hoping the best for you both. It's funny the lengths that us pet owners will go to ease the pain/suffering of our loved ones. A friend of ours without pets couldn't understand why Pam and I would spend $2,200 on a surgery for one of our cats when money was tight for us. I just can't see not doing it personally.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Hey Blake, thanks for the thought. I'm familiar with Eberron, but it's not really the sort of thing I'm doing. When I talk about reading to learn about worldbuilding, I'm really headed more in the direction of reading books about craft (http://www.otherworlds.net/worldbld.htm) rather than other people's fiction, though other people's fiction is hugely instructive.

If you dig deep worldbuilding and you dig Eberron and D&D, then you ought to read Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, which has some of the deepest, strongest worldbuilding I've ever seen. Lynch is a game designer and his experience tells in the narrative. The book'sa helluva good read and completely immersive. Someone else whose work includes impressive, inventive worldbuilding is jaylake. Yes, he's a friend, but that doesn't lessen the power of the invention in his novels. You ought to check out Trial of Flowers or Mainspring (the latter of which has made it to the preliminary Nebula ballot).

[blakesrealm.livejournal.com]

I figured that you were talking more about the actual construction of a world book, aka more how-to rather than anything else, but figured I'd throw out a D&D reference to a world that involved more magic and some technology as well. No idea why it popped into my head like that, the whole Eberron thing I mean, but it did. :)

Also, thanks for the recommendation I'll check his work out.