An important part of writing a story is world building. Whether you are writing a short story, a novel, or anything in between, your world has to stand the test of believability. If the readers don't buy into the world you've created, you might as well just stop writing. Either that, or make your world better.
There are lots of questions to be asked, and answered, when building your world. First, you, as an author, need to know your world. It isn't enough to base it off of Tolkien's Middle Earth or Asimov's future. Your characters and your plot need to fit comfortably in that world. The characters make certain assumptions, behave in certain ways, and have certain rituals that require a cultural understanding of the world they exist in. Even if the reader doesn't know all the details of that world, they do need to know that the character understands what (s)he's doing.
The basics of world building are Where and When. Where is the place your story happens, the physical location (Alternate Earth / Europe / Jupiter). When is the time period (contemporary, the middle ages, the far future) your story happens during. Everyone can do this. If you are writing science fiction, chances are it's either near or far future (I've never heard of requests for "middling" future). If you are writing fantasy, chances are it's in the past or it's contemporary (current day). Simple, right?
Not so fast. Knowing these two things gives you the framework of your world, but doesn't give you a world. Every world needs rules and laws.
Rules are things that you, as the author, need to abide by when describing fantastic things. Is magic unlimited or does it cost the mage life force to perform? Can a person's physical pattern be saved in a transporter buffer and be reconstituted while retaining the person's mind and personality intact? Does the sun kill vampires or just give them a really bad sunburn (unless they have the magic Marvel amulet of sunlight protection)?
Laws are things that your characters must obey or get in trouble for breaking (crime and punishment). Is murder really a crime in Transhuman fiction when the human brain can be backed up and reloaded into another body? What does werewolf law have to say about hunting on another wolf's turf? What happens to the mage who steals some one else's life force to perform magic?
You may not be able to come up with the laws of your world until you flesh it out more, but you should at least know the rules of your world. List them out on a separate piece of paper or in a notes document on your computer. Keep them separate from the rest of your world building so you can easily find them and refer back to them as you evolve your world and your characters. And if a rule isn't working for you, don't be afraid to change it. Just write down what the new rule is, what old rule it's replacing, and why you changed. You can worry about updating the actual story later during second drafts.
Other world building considerations will be covered in tomorrow's blog.
