Comments on: Fiction Writing and World Building

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:53:12 +0000

It’s rather amazing that children from the same household can grow up into completely different adults with vastly contrasting interests and lifestyles. We really understand very little about what forms a person’s identity (nature vs. nurture). But fiction is definitely one way to explore the mysteries of human nature!

By: Tammi Kibler

Tammi Kibler — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:58:29 +0000

Great points. I was reminded of how different the modern world can be for each of us when visiting my mother for Mother’s Day. I am one of five children raised in the same home and today we are all living in completely different worlds. From the media we choose to allow us to influence our decisions to the genres we read, the clothing we wear, one cannot make assumptions about any of us based on geography or culture.

@James you are so right that our mindset shapes our perceptions and we should shape our presentation of information to the reader with this in mind. If the character wouldn’t notice it, should the reader? I like how Margaret Atwood managed this in The Robber Bride. Three different third person accounts – each only presented metaphors and descriptions pertinent to the focus character’s mindset.
Tammi Kibler´s last blog ..Writing Career Goals – Plot Your Destination

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:45:42 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. There are few things in literature that are more droll than reading page after page of description. I’ve seen it done effectively, but usually, it tends to be tedious, uninteresting, and boring. The trick is to establish the world or setting through the action so that you keep the reader engaged while revealing their environment. J.K. Rowling does this particularly well. Using photographs is a good idea — a writer can immerse herself in the locale and then it is more likely to come through the writing organically.

By: James Bent

James Bent — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:11:27 +0000

Absolutely – absolutely necessary to build the world, whether it’s fantasy or real world, because the reader needs to get a sense of where they are. I guess the difficulty is, however, to not just throw the world straight at the reader, i.e. describe everything in one go, at the start of the book. Also, it’s really easy to just “tell” the setting, whereas I think it’s better to be shown – as in it’s what the characters would be seeing at any moment, rather than the narrator telling us about the whole 360 degrees of the scene and the whole history of the place in one great go.

I think a great place to start is by looking at photographs or a place, or indeed sit somewhere, maybe a park, and write about what you see, in the order that you see it. That makes it authentic, and it feels like I’m getting bits and pieces in the order that they come into prominence, which also can help build a character – i.e. why did they focus on the phone-booth first and not the red car parked next to it e.g. because they’re waiting to talk to someone and not thinking about traveling.

I keep a daily 1000+ word offbeat fiction short blog at jamesbent.com/blog
James Bent´s last blog ..New Fiction Short: White butterflies and Shapeless Clouds