tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245338355060736409.post3738037334057464676..comments2023-12-13T00:46:22.877-05:00Comments on The Speculative Salon: Finding the right worldbuilding plan for your fantasy storyElla Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08852415807766754606noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245338355060736409.post-62760072365439875902013-06-16T16:26:57.560-04:002013-06-16T16:26:57.560-04:00That's about the most backwards way of world b...<br />That's about the most backwards way of world building I've ever heard of.<br /><br />First, why would you have a <i><b>Home Base</b></i> in the first place? Some of the best fantasies I've read didn't have one. They didn't need it. Character and Plot were far more important. I'm not saying that setting isn't important - it is. Look at the disaster that Abrams created with the 2009 Star Trek reboot. Effectively he designed a future where it was considered a great idea to pollute and damage the planet for military reasons. It was also a future where security around an extremely dangerous (95 Megaton explosion if you overload the impulse engines) construction site - remember the young Jimmy Kirk riding his motorcycle up on the hill to look down on the Enterprise under construction? Yeah, right.<br /><br />Landmarks - again, you don't need them. If Plot and Character are solid, landmarks don't matter. Take the Lord of the Rings trilogy, where YOU DON'T SEE THE SAME PLACE TWICE.<br /><br />The Unknown - gee - didn't know Lord of the Rings was a dystopian fantasy. Didn't know that the Black Company series was a dystopian fantasy. Which doesn't mean that the Unknown can't be compelling, but it doesn't matter unless the Plot and Character can hold the readers imagination.<br /><br />What if you start with the Character? You ask yourself a lot of questions. What sort of society would generate this sort of person? How would the Character interact with the environment? Why does the Character have an unneeded requirement (Frodo had to get rid of a ring, Bilbo got conned into being a thief).<br /><br />What if you start with the Plot? Why is there a war going on? What conditions were the precursor to the war? How does society adapt to those conditions, and why doesn't society change those conditions so that there isn't a war in the first place?<br /><br />From either of those two starting points you can build a setting. Be careful with what you do though, the setting has to logically interact with the Plot/Character.<br /><br />Going back to the new Star Trek, we all know that the warp engines are powered by a matter/antimatter reaction. So you build the Enterprise on the surface of the Earth, and oops, the antimatter gets loose, and destroys Iowa. Sounds like a really smart move.<br /><br />Then there's the consideration that most refined materials require ten to one hundred times the weight/volume of ore. You've got a 2.5 Million ton starship, which means that they had to dig between 25 million and 250 million tons worth of ore from the planetary surface. And then refine it. Talk about pollution problems.<br /><br />Why not just build the ship in space, where if it explodes, it won't destroy Iowa, and where there's an enormous asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that you can use for raw materials? Just think, you don't have to pollute the planet to build the ship. Ships rather, since there was at least ten Federation ships named in the movie, and a lot more than that shown on screen...<br /><br />Yes, Setting is important, but without knowing your Plot, your Character, or both, Setting is useless.<br /><br />Wayne<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354974465136846413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245338355060736409.post-52178693249721176712013-04-20T23:25:30.264-04:002013-04-20T23:25:30.264-04:00I can understand that, Rosalie! Thanks for your co...I can understand that, Rosalie! Thanks for your comments.Marsha A. Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380081382159214513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245338355060736409.post-18372972784392237352013-04-20T00:08:56.206-04:002013-04-20T00:08:56.206-04:00Great post. I think the landmarks are a great defi...Great post. I think the landmarks are a great defining feature. For the 'there and back again' type story a map is essential.<br />Rosalie Skinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15530160674372850136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245338355060736409.post-89878496809543745482013-04-19T09:29:45.213-04:002013-04-19T09:29:45.213-04:00Hi Lexa! I'm a plotter and delving into the un...Hi Lexa! I'm a plotter and delving into the unknown feels a bit shaking to me too. Thanks for stopping by.Marsha A. Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380081382159214513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7245338355060736409.post-47366005463825776212013-04-19T05:31:22.168-04:002013-04-19T05:31:22.168-04:00I never really thought of having a home base; my c...I never really thought of having a home base; my characters are usually too busy adventuring or running. But I love the idea (and I must read Morgenstern's book!). I'm not sure I'd leave world-building to my characters though. I'm too anal for that! <br />Great post :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735576044552810103noreply@blogger.com