What goes into creating the world in which a story takes place? I’m not going to go into technical descriptions. I will not be using precise methods or terminology. I want this to be as simple as possible for those who like things to come as they come and write as the inspiration hits them. A word of warning: many how-tos will tell you not to do this, that you cannot wait for inspiration to come to you, that, when you don’t have inspiration, you must wring the words out of yourself and onto the page. I am not like that. I prefer inspiration because the story comes out more natural and less forced that way. However, I also do not suggest that writers wait around for inspiration, getting nothing written in between, rather than doing a little bit of planning and plotting.
Especially at the beginning, you must form the clay of an idea into a workable object or plot. Don’t expect the whole story to fall into your lap. If it does, great. Just remember that it is not the norm. You are not likely to experience it more than once.
Here is what is going on with my fantasy novel, I mentioned in a previous post, “It’s Great to Be on the Road Again“
It started with a basic idea; a vague idea. There are two women from social groups of opposite/antagonistic rules. They meet and get to be friends and learn from each other, which naturally causes problems for each of them in their conflicting groups.
This description is actually a bit more fleshed out than my original concept, but you get the idea; that doesn’t count as a full plot.
Then, I let that idea or part of an idea stew for a few years while I worked on other things.
After that time, I let my mind wander back to that idea because I was curious about what I could do with it. It was then that I got my fleshed out idea with a basic plot concept. “A kingdom divided by a usurper whose line continued to keep the people polarized so sharply that the kingship would go unchallenged for all generations. Enter a young woman who discovers she is from an old group with the ability to bridge gaps. Can she survive and help bring hope and unity to the kingdom, dethroning the tyrant?”
Good plot, right? I had the main protagonist, the main antagonist, the problem, and the call to adventure. I started writing.
A chapter or two in, I started to feel something wasn’t… quite… right. I found some worksheets (by some, I mean a lot. More about them later.) These worksheets challenged me to think more about worldbuilding and the behind-the-scenes sort of stuff; stuff that won’t likely be written in the story except between the lines. It was/is stuff like how did the world originate, (I didn’t go back that far; just to how it was settled), the eras, what motivates my characters, social structure, clothing, play, work, etc… I have not filled all of them out and don’t think I will have to, but many of these worldbuilding worksheets got me to learn about this world I had created. Add my plot synopsis, and I am more able to write what I know rather than write what I have an idea about.
Now, here I am ready to try to figure out how to build my plot and add a bit more substance to my story. I know what motivates my main antagonist; power. I know what motivates my lesser antagonists; power, hate, and fear of the head power-hungry honcho. I know what motivates my main protagonist; desire for peace and a better world, and that’s not counting the basic motivation of… wait for it
… survival. Somehow, that wasn’t enough. The goal was still vague other than, dethrone the tyrant and get people to unite despite their differences.
As I thought about how she could beat the current king, I realized, since she couldn’t make people change their opinions, there was no way for her to win. If she could force cooperation, she would be no better than the big, bad villain. So, was there something she could change?
I looked back at how the original usurper took over. That had been a bit vague. He got people to hate and oppose each other and the benevolent rulers. That is time-consuming and would take more than one man’s lifetime. A usurper isn’t likely to be that patient. Besides that, the benevolent rulers were loved by a large enough population that the usurper would likely run into some hostility on a few fronts.
Solution: I had him pull some sort of sneaky underhanded trick that can be countered by my protagonist generations later. That means the usurpers descendants have to know about and keep the dastardly do in working order.
That increases the current heinousness on the part of the current royalty and gives my protagonist her opening or those on her side, i.e. the side of the original lineage.
Now, I have a solid goal to meet: “Destroy the ring of power in the fires of mount Doom” instead of “Take down Sauron.” The first is much easier to act on rather than the latter vagueness. These are a few ways I have worked to build “The Holders of Peace.” (Still don’t know if that will be the final title.) I hope this is of assistance to others who might be finding their own difficulties with their plot. Besides that, remember to enjoy the wonder.
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