# Do you plan ahead what your world will be or does it unfold in your writing?



## KimFrei (Oct 17, 2012)

I often have trouble trying to create the full world when I write. How do you overcome it? Does a map help you? Do you plan it out ahead? I try to let my world unfold as I write but that often leaves things unclear. What are some tips you all have for fleshing out a weak world?


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## WyrdMystic (Oct 17, 2012)

I have the same problem. When I get to that stage I play through the scenes in my head like a movie but focus on the surroundings. Then I’ll see how I can make the world different, unique, yet believable.

For the rest I do start with some world building but try to grow it as I go, sometimes though I just have to take a step back from the story to explore my world in a little more detail – even if that detail doesn’t make it into the book. Research helps a lot!

Problem I have is I can’t draw, if my life depended on it I would have to hope that a roughly square house with a chimney would be sufficient to save me. So I am very reliant on being able to describe thing in writing.

The best tip I can offer is to take some time away from the story every now and then to concentrate solely on fleshing out your world. This can be a dynamic process – you may find that your world building changes your story and then your story changes your world building.


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## CupofJoe (Oct 17, 2012)

Once I have the big idea, then yes; it does [usually] start with a map. It might be a map of a house or of the entire world. When I have a plot [even a rough one] I can start to try to fit the world around what I need.
 Usually I come up with the basic concepts of geography, cultures, characters so I know where to head next.
 And I frequently go back and change things [rewriting the map] if I want the plot / characters to do something else.
 I try to think of process as iterative or maybe fractal [... if there are mountains to the north – but I’m heading south I don't care too much what they contain until the story takes me north...]
 My problem is that I can get lost in fleshing out the world and I've spent a year and a half on one world only to realise that I didn't really have a story.
 My one tip would be not to do it all in one go and then think of it as fixed in stone.


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## shangrila (Oct 17, 2012)

Honestly, I make it up as I go and fix it up in subsequent drafts


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## Gurkhal (Oct 17, 2012)

I make the world's general stuff first so I know what I'm doing and then I may add some details as I need them. But then again I'm not really making a world to fit a story but stories to flesh out a world, if that makes much sense.


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## Penpilot (Oct 17, 2012)

For me the world comes into focus more and more through multiple drafts. But in general, I find that just thinking about what the facts of your world are, and the consequences of those facts, helps to bring things out. What are the political systems like in your world? What are the religions? What are race relations like? How are gender roles, and attitudes toward them, defined? 

For example, what would a world with a heavy theistic society look like? What are the consequences of that? OR what about a world that's been completely atheistic in all their history? There are logical consequences to this. All you have to do is rift on it and ideas good and bad will come and fill up your world.


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## TWErvin2 (Oct 17, 2012)

I have a general outline of the world, with basic details and information. I fill in the specifics as I go along.


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## Saigonnus (Oct 17, 2012)

I think for many writers (myself included); having at least a general layout of the world, broad details about the cultures in the area and geography can totally help speed things up so they don't have to come up with things "on the fly" and even if they have to change something to fit the story, it's still easier to do so. There have been a few threads on world-building, what should be included and the like that perhaps you'd benefit from reading.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Oct 17, 2012)

The settings of most stories I write are largely vehicles used to carry the characters. Being largely character driven, I usually write a 1st draft with minimal setting description or world building, then flesh that all in with subsequent drafts.

In some instances, the setting can become like a character itself, especially when POV characters are pitted against the environment, struggling to survive.

In all planning & outlining though (whether it's world building, character sketches, plotting, etc.) I like to keep my plans loose & dynamic. I go into the story with a general idea & heading while retaining the flexibility to move in unexpected directions.


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## Butterfly (Oct 17, 2012)

I second TWErvin's technique. 

I have a map. Basically I started with pencilled blobs on a sheet of paper and added details to them as the story progressed. I now have mountains, a coastline, forests, cities, etc.... everything that's relevant to the story. I can then flesh out the rest to give it more life and presence.


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## ThinkerX (Oct 17, 2012)

A given framework to write within is extremely useful when writing.  Kinda spares moments like this:

Hmmm...'so and so comes from....errr...uhhh...Tree City, and used to work for the err....uhhh... Ax Family, doing...err...drat!'

Having the name of the city already down, along with just enough details to answer such questions can really help.

It also helps with things like knightly orders, magic, and the nobility.  Not that long ago, I had to take time out from my WIP progress to put together a convoluted geneology - because different characters support different factions of an imperial family.  I needed to know who was who in that imperial family just to keep the names straight, even though none of them made a direct appearance.  I really should have done that *before* writing most of the WIP.  I probably should put together a couple more geneologies AND at least bullet point type names and overiews for other noble family's because that influences what characters in a couple other WIP's will do.  Only a few members of these family's will make an appearance, but they do get mentioned enough to where I, as the writer need to keep things straight.


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## KimFrei (Oct 18, 2012)

Butterfly said:


> I second TWErvin's technique.
> 
> I have a map. Basically I started with pencilled blobs on a sheet of paper and added details to them as the story progressed. I now have mountains, a coastline, forests, cities, etc.... everything that's relevant to the story. I can then flesh out the rest to give it more life and presence.



A "make it as you go map." I like that idea! I tend to not like being boxed in. If I make solid decisions before I begin then I have a hard time working with them later. They tend to suffocate me. I like the idea of starting with a general map and getting more specific as you go along. I think it might depend on how elaborate and or complicated the story will be too. I have a hard time believing that George R.R. Martin wrote Game of Thrones without a fully planned out map ahead of time!  But thank you Butterfly for that idea!


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## Gurkhal (Oct 18, 2012)

KimFrei said:


> A "make it as you go map." I like that idea! I tend to not like being boxed in. If I make solid decisions before I begin then I have a hard time working with them later. They tend to suffocate me. I like the idea of starting with a general map and getting more specific as you go along. I think it might depend on how elaborate and or complicated the story will be too. I have a hard time believing that George R.R. Martin wrote Game of Thrones without a fully planned out map ahead of time!  But thank you Butterfly for that idea!



I also like the idea of making the map as you go. I'm horrible at doing maps despite several attempts they never come out the way I want them to. Its certainly something I will try and use.


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## SeverinR (Oct 18, 2012)

I write like planning a family trip.
I want to stop here, here, here and maybe there if we have time.
But I don't plan every single detail, every rest stop or place to have lunch.

Plan on the highlights, and write in the unplanned or special occurences along the way.  Suprising yourself will also suprise your reader. If you know the plan, then the reader might figure it out too.
Even a detour in the plan might throw the reader off from the predicatable path. You(and your characters) planned this, but something happened to change the plans.
Life is the little things of interest that are out of the ordinary that you do in your everyday routine.


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## Tansy (Oct 19, 2012)

I try to draw maps but I'm not good at drawing so they are only for my own use.  I plan out the major places in a world and any places that I have decided are important for the plot or where the MC is from.  The rest I make up as I go along.


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## Sheriff Woody (Oct 20, 2012)

I like when setting is integrated with the story of the characters, and the best way of doing that is figuring out locations and landmarks and interesting places and structures and such in outlining. 

You can't write the characters' story and _then_ come up with the setting and hope it fits together as well as it can, because it more than likely won't.

It's best to have the major components down before you go in search for the details.


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## dangit (Oct 24, 2012)

TWErvin2 said:


> I have a general outline of the world, with basic details and information. I fill in the specifics as I go along.



This.

And this.


Sheriff Woody said:


> I like when setting is integrated with the story of the characters, and the best way of doing that is figuring out locations and landmarks and interesting places and structures and such in outlining.
> 
> You can't write the characters' story and _then_ come up with the setting and hope it fits together as well as it can, because it more than likely won't.
> 
> It's best to have the major components down before you go in search for the details.


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## Wanara009 (Oct 24, 2012)

Well, I start by making the premise, then fleshing out the world as detailed as possible. I try to set thing down as much as possible, from measurement system, calendar, geography, etc (Hell, I even plot out how the animals and plants evolves). I find it easier to make consistent narrative this way.


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## Jes (Oct 29, 2012)

It is incredibly important to have a solid setting before you start writing anything. I always fully develop the world as a whole before I get into regional conflicts and cultures. Generally I'd think a map would be the best way to accomplish this, as it immediately gives the reader a visual aid. Some readers don't need this, but when you give it to readers who do, you open yourself for an even wider audience.

I would go so far as to insist that a new world that is created from your mind should also come with an in-depth history. My biggest and most in-depth setting has over two thousand years of history to go with it - and I haven't even written the book yet. The setting is one of the most important pieces of a fantasy novel. If your setting is not 100% believable and tangible, it will not be as "real" as the one in which we live. Giving your world a life of its own is essential to the success of a fantasy story - especially if it's a world that no one has ever heard about before.

Think about some of the most popular fantasy worlds from novels and even video games: Middle Earth, the Four Lands, The New World/Old World, Azeroth, and Tyria. All of these worlds are fleshed out in their entirety, with an immense amount of history and culture - many areas of which weren't explored in the first installments of their stories.

If there is anything you should take away from extensive reading of other Fantasy works, it's that the setting is the foundation of your story - without it, even if the plot is unique spectacular, your novel will fall apart.


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## Shadow Fox (Oct 29, 2012)

I tend to design worlds extensively, though I mainly blame being a DM for that, however when it comes to making a story, i think the detail of your world depends on the type of story you are making and whether or not you plan to make many different stories in the same world. For instance, what is the scope of travel in your story; how many regions or nations will your characters be passing through; how relevant are politics to the story; etc., etc.

What i would avoid however is getting focused on every little detail. for example, you should probably establish the names and governments, demographic baseline and issues of the nation in your world. but you don't have to premeditate that for every single settlement in each nation. You could say, name and set up the mood for a particular spot of wilderness, what dangers lye in them, and so on, so long as that spot of wilderness will be specifically featured in the story, but you shouldn't do it for every spot of notable wilderness in the land. A broader way of saying this is that you should focus on what matters and you shouldn't get lost in the details.

Another piece of advice is if you have trouble coming up with names, there are a bountiful supply of random name generators that you could use to assist you.


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## krunchee (Oct 31, 2012)

I think I might start planning ahead a little more, I have a couple of WIP's that are 30,000 words or more and due to a lack of forethought I have realized the story is heading nowhere. Rookie mistake I guess.


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## Nihilium 7th (Nov 3, 2012)

I like to plan out some of the areas of importance first build a little history around them (climate, type of civilizations, affects on its surroundings, etc) then I start building my world around them first then I develop my world as I go along, things usually fall into place.


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## TermiteWriter (Nov 4, 2012)

I write a hybrid between SF and fantasy, so I start with a plot and the characters.  Creating a world without plot or characters can be fun, but to me it's essentially meaningless because I want to write stories, not settings.  My SF is laid in the 30th century and one of my purposes was writing future history, so I had to construct the basic events of the future from the present day to the 30th century.  By that time, there is interstellar travel, so then I had to have a planet.  It makes a difference whether you're writing a pure fantasy world, which (I take it) most people here are, or a world on another planet.  That latter requires a lot of research, because certain rules of physics and perhaps genetics still apply.  My characters are giant intelligent termites - bring on the entomology websites!  Then I worked out the geography of the planet and ultimately drew several maps to match an epic journey that the big bugs took.  But that was pretty much at the end.  
The main thing with a pure fantasy world is that it be consistent.  If magic produces an effect once, it should always do the same.  You have to set the rules of the world and then abide by them.  Not as easy as it sounds!  What laws of our own physics still apply?  Do things still fall down and not up?  If a character is a shape-shifter, do his buttons burst when he suddenly becomes too large for his clothes or do his clothes enlarge with him?  All kinds of problems!


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