# World Building



## thetraveler (Mar 20, 2012)

Just a random question: How long does it typically take you to have built a world you feel comfortable placing a story in, that you know well enough your reader gets a sense that you 'did your research'?

For me, I've only really built one world, that started a lot small back when I was young 'un, and only in the recent year or so has really come to a 'full boil'. So I would say about a year is the time frame for me. You guys?


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## Devor (Mar 20, 2012)

thetraveler said:


> Just a random question: How long does it typically take you to have built a world you feel comfortable placing a story in, that you know well enough your reader gets a sense that you 'did your research'?



I expect it takes until you finish with the final edits on the story.

I build my worlds around what I need for the story, so everything's a little in flux until the very end.


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## Androxine Vortex (Mar 20, 2012)

Devor said:


> I expect it takes until you finish with the final edits on the story.
> 
> I build my worlds around what I need for the story, so everything's a little in flux until the very end.



Same with me. While I write I always try and expand a little bit more as I go.


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## MAndreas (Mar 20, 2012)

I write by the seat of my pants (aka, I have little idea where I'm going half the time) and I do my world building that way as well.

I was once complimented by an agent at a workshop on how strong my world building was in the sample she read....then she asked me to describe my process.

I wanted to run out of the room because I don't have a process!  My world develops around my characters, not the other way around . It sounds to me like you have enough world building to dive in .


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## thetraveler (Mar 20, 2012)

MAndreas said:


> I write by the seat of my pants (aka, I have little idea where I'm going half the time) and I do my world building that way as well.
> 
> I was once complimented by an agent at a workshop on how strong my world building was in the sample she read....then she asked me to describe my process.
> 
> I wanted to run out of the room because I don't have a process!  My world develops around my characters, not the other way around . It sounds to me like you have enough world building to dive in .



Kind of like that. The rough draft just pops itself out, then afterwards I go into waaaaaay more detail on the world. And I daresay I've dived in, I'm 20-40k out from finishing the final draft.  I just have to actually build, because I'm somewhat ADD and so I risk being inconsistent with the 'rules' of my worlds if I don't do some actual world-building.


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## Queshire (Mar 20, 2012)

Ulitmately it varies by author, some start with plot first then build the world around it, while others go the other way around. Tolkein for instance, if I remember correctly, started with his world first and then came with a plot to fit it.


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## Taytortots (Mar 20, 2012)

I really have no set period of time for World Building. I make my World around my plot, and add as I write. So, for me that means my World Building isn't done until my novel is. I may not add all that much, or I may add a lot, it just depends. As for the time I spend just working on _just_ the world building aspect, I probably only spend a month specifically on it. I try to figure out all the main characteristics for the locations the characters will encounter, the customs for the land and the characters if they are not from that country, and other things that are important to the story or that will come into play.  But everything else I develop as I go, which seems to work find for me.


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## Barsook (Mar 20, 2012)

I do it either way, it just depends on what world it  For example, my main world, Torzukarr, I have built it first, because of when I thought fist of the Dragzard race. Then started to work on a plot for it.  Well, many plots.  I have it about 80% built at this moment and from what I'm writing, I'm tweaking it.  Most likely by the end of my first novel, Torzukarr will be fully built.

For my other world, a nameless one, I have started with a character and a plot dealing with them.  I'm slowly building a world around that plot, though it might happen in Torzukarr because the worlds are so alike.


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## Deleth (Mar 20, 2012)

Queshire said:


> Ulitmately it varies by author, some start with plot first then build the world around it, while others go the other way around. Tolkein for instance, if I remember correctly, started with his world first and then came with a plot to fit it.



This is how I write, I usually come up with a setting or world for the story before the story is even fully formed. Kind of like:
Idea - World - Characters - Plot - Setting within the world

My high fantasy project world took 16 years and 8 rough drafts before I was happy with it. And even so I'm still working on the 'fanal' version of the rough draft, which is currently on hold while I hammer out another, easier writing project in the real world. Horray for urban fantasy, google can help with that!


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## Anders Ã„mting (Mar 20, 2012)

thetraveler said:


> Just a random question: How long does it typically take you to have built a world you feel comfortable placing a story in, that you know well enough your reader gets a sense that you 'did your research'?



Actually, I kinda do it the other way around. I start with the characters, then the story, then the world. I'll basically just iron out the details as I go along.

I'd love to say that this is some kind of clever strategy for more efficient writing, but the simple truth is, I'm lazy and I think spending a lot of time constructing worlds is tedious.


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## myrddin173 (Mar 30, 2012)

There is no "optimum" length of time a writer should spend on world-building.  In my opinion a writer should world-build until he or she feels comfortable with the world, whether that is five minutes or five years.  Also just because a writer starts the story doesn't mean world-building must cease.  My worlds are constantly in flux, growing and evolving.


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## Ifinx (Mar 30, 2012)

I would say that it's a little different for every writer.  Like for example I like to do a lot of world building before I start a story.  The one I am currently working on I spent about 3 months coming up with background information on each race, realm, creature, and school of magic.  Its really whatever helps you the best.

A big portion of the world building will be in flux as well.  Due to the fact that not everything you plan will fix together perfectly or you find you wish to change something to better fit a scene or overall story.  I do it often enough.  I agree with all the others.  World building isn't set in stone until the very last edit of a novel and nothing else is going to be done to it.

Hope that helps.

Ifinx


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## Ophiucha (Mar 31, 2012)

I'm not too consistent on that. I've written stories on the fly, and I've spent months worldbuilding, as well. I have a motto: nothing is set in stone until the final draft. The only project I ever completed - several drafts, several more edits, and more notes than you could store on a flash drive - changed wildly in nearly every way. For the first three drafts, the world had a _sun_ and was _round_. For the first five drafts, I had a man, his husband, and his sister running the court. I changed who the main character of the novel was not once, not twice, but _three_ times. I'm ready to start writing when I've got some decent names - placeholders or otherwise - and know what I can do in a setting. A lot of the time, that means I can start the moment the idea hits. Other times... it takes a bit of work.


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## JBryden88 (Mar 31, 2012)

I like to do world building first, during, and after -> and then take what I built and apply it to rewrites.

So far I've mostly fleshed out one entire region on my map. I have the cultures, the locations and everything placed in a sketched out map on my computer desk, but otherwise, the true details? I've only done fully on one kingdom. I've started work on a more northern area and a real southern area while I mine my own brain for ideas for my next project.


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## Ifinx (Mar 31, 2012)

JBryden88 said:
			
		

> I like to do world building first, during, and after -> and then take what I built and apply it to rewrites.
> 
> So far I've mostly fleshed out one entire region on my map. I have the cultures, the locations and everything placed in a sketched out map on my computer desk, but otherwise, the true details? I've only done fully on one kingdom. I've started work on a more northern area and a real southern area while I mine my own brain for ideas for my next project.



Question?  Do you normally use a program to help you draw your world or do you draw it by hand?  Any suggestions on how to actually start drawing a really authentic looking map?


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## JBryden88 (Mar 31, 2012)

Honestly?

The first thing I did when I built mine...
- I decided on about five base cultures: namely, the inspirations. So for me it was Celtic, Norse, English, Arabian, Roman
- I started crafting the lore of the cultures, at first they appeared similar to their inspirations, and eventually evolved into their own thing with similarities (naming structure/government)
- I began to name places
- Then I started making somewhat crappy sketches of a map
- Eventually, I taped four pieces of printer paper together, and penciled a map. It doesn't look great, but its my basic idea of where things are.

I am no artist, so ultimately I'll hire someone to make a full on map...


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## Penpilot (Mar 31, 2012)

myrddin173 said:


> There is no "optimum" length of time a writer should spend on world-building.  In my opinion a writer should world-build until he or she feels comfortable with the world, whether that is five minutes or five years.  Also just because a writer starts the story doesn't mean world-building must cease.  My worlds are constantly in flux, growing and evolving.



Pretty much agree 100% with this. I'll also add that I think the most important part of world building is finding the wants of each of your main characters. Once I find those, everything else seems to fall into place more quickly and easily.


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## Jabrosky (Mar 31, 2012)

For my current WIP I have a very vague idea of my world's geography, but other than that I'm pretty much worldbuilding as I go.


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## Devor (Mar 31, 2012)

I think the trick is avoiding the name-and-history syndrome and finding ways to make that world-building process interesting and relevant.  Crafting the world is an incredible tool which fantasy writers have, and it ought to be used to make a powerful impression on readers.

We're building a setting for a story, not cataloging the seventy towns of Wrathmandoo and the fifty kings of the Masalamba dynasty.  Let's keep it that way and make the details of our worlds a _compelling_ part of the story.


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## Mindfire (Mar 31, 2012)

I tend to do very little research. For two reasons: 

1. I prefer to let my research be guided by my worldbuilding, rather than the other way around. If you do too much research, then I find it squelches creativity because you feel obligated to the facts.

2.I'm kinda lazy.

As for worldbuilding, I very much do it as I go. One thing that helps me a lot is to draw a map. I've drawn countless maps and they've evolved as I've gone along. The one I've got now is nothing like the one I started with. I'd say as a rule, do as much as you need, when you need it. Ask yourself, what do I need to know in order to make the story work? Once you've got that down, use it as a foundation to expand on and explore the world.


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## Jabrosky (Mar 31, 2012)

Mindfire said:


> I tend to do very little research. For two reasons:
> 
> 1. I prefer to let my research be guided by my worldbuilding, rather than the other way around. If you do too much research, then I find it squelches creativity because you feel obligated to the facts.
> 
> 2.I'm kinda lazy.



I can relate to this, but for me it's less about laziness than impatience. It's not necessarily hard to look up relevant information, but I'm typically so eager to begin actually writing the story that I neglect the research.

That said, research can sometimes give you story ideas. For example, my WIP features a dinosaur huntress character who was very loosely inspired by the real "Amazons" or woman warriors of Dahomey in West Africa.


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