Please welcome guest TC Southwell, scifi/fantasy author, with a post on world building.
One of the most important aspects of writing is to set
a good scene in which to tell your story. Readers need to be able to envisage
the environment, especially in fantasy and science fiction, since the world is
alien. Building a vibrant world will make your story more profound and increase
your readers’ enjoyment. However, do not
use info dumps! Never spend pages describing your world’s flora, fauna, society
and government, or lack thereof. It’s boring!
Weave your world building into your story, whenever an
opportunity or need to describe something new crops up. Ensure your
descriptions are interesting, vivid and succinct. It’s best to start a story
with a bang, to engage your readers, then take time later on, but not too late,
to paint a picture of your world. Below is an extract from
The Broken World
Book One: Children of Another God, as an example of interwoven world
building.
From its bright, warm sun and
profusion of life, he guessed it was one of the Lakes of regeneration, like the
Lake of Birth or Renewal. A vista of burgeoning growth stretched away in all
directions, plants and trees so alien they defied description. Bulbous growths
supported disk-shaped leaves of brilliant magenta, turquoise and indigo. Tall
spindly trees draped the air with long streamers of vermilion, maroon and
saffron. A soft haze of pollen filled the sky; countless airborne seeds
drifting like gilded dust motes in the sun. A velvet bed of bright aquamarine
grass clothed the soil in a rich fur of sweet-scented succulence.
As the sky paled with the
first blush of dawn, Sabre became aware of a strange phenomenon ahead. At
first, it looked like a low band of mist, faintly luminous in the weak light.
The scanners showed nothing unusual, and he plodded towards it, wondering if he
was hallucinating. As the light increased, the mist looked more solid, and he
realised that it rose into the sky in a weird, translucent wall that skirted on
the edge of invisibility.
It played tricks on his eyes,
and he could not discern exactly what it was until he was only a few metres
from it. The sun rose over the horizon, and its first golden rays shot across
the sand to illuminate the misty barrier. A shimmering wall confronted him,
gleaming like mother-of-pearl. Rainbows flickered within it, warped by
billowing water vapour.
It’s important to describe the world as your characters
perceive it, and never do it from god’s point of view, as this distances your
readers. They should experience the world as your characters do, see what they
do and be as puzzled as they are when they encounter something they don’t
understand. When they discover what it is, so will your readers, and this will
enhance their interaction with the characters. Try to put your readers in the
character’s mind. Below is an extract from
Slave Empire Book Two: The
Crystal Ship.
The alien entity filled the
screens with a dreadful, awesome beauty. Scintillating crystal spears radiated
from it, and refracted light weaved webs of brilliance through the space around
it. Immense beyond imagination, alien beyond belief, it scattered shards of
radiance from numberless crystalline facets. No form or shape confined it. No
words could accurately describe it. Vast webs of crystal surrounded it in huge
butterfly wings of gossamer glass ablaze with liquid light.
Be careful when describing magical or amazing things.
Never say things like ‘it was awesome’ or ‘it was magical’. That’s telling your
readers what to think. Try not to use ‘it was’ at all. Remember, it’s your
character who thinks it’s awesome, but you also need to describe, as clearly as
possible, what he or she sees, without ever saying ‘he/she saw’. Also, be sure
to describe all aspects of your world, not only what it looks like, but the
smells, sounds and weather, etc. When it comes to things your characters don’t
experience first-hand, such as legends or rumours, have them discuss it or
think about it, and weave in a bit of conjecture, opinion and fabrication.
Author bio:
T. C. Southwell was born in Sri
Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative
years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination
flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled
through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South
Africa.
T. C. Southwell has written over thirty novels, ranging from fantasy and
science fiction to romance and adventure, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies
include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she is now a full-time writer.
Purchase links:
Find TC Southwell online:
Introduction to Southwell’s series
All the
below books are permanently free.
A doomed kingdom, a young queen’s sacrifice and
a killer who will bring an empire to its knees... In a world where men share
kindred with beasts, an ageless seer predicts a child who will end the Endless
War. One man is the instrument who will change fate. He will usher in a time of
strife and pain that will live in legend, and forever bear his name... the time
of the Queen’s Blade.
When Queen Tassin is
forced to flee her kingdom on the backwater planet of Omega V, she has no idea
that the strange warrior who helps her is a cyborg; the deadliest hi-tech
killing machine ever created. Her world has forgotten the technology that
almost destroyed it, but then a freak accident damages the micro-supercomputer
that controls Sabre, and he is free to take charge of his destiny…
Seven blue wards have
imprisoned the Black Lord in the Underworld for aeons. Now he has stolen a
human child and made him a mortal god. After eighteen years of torturous
training, Bane sets forth to break the wards with aid of a dark army. The Demon
Lord will release Arkonen and destroy the Overworld unless an innocent young
girl can turn him from his savage path...
Alien hunters invade a
dying Earth in search of a saviour, and an ancient prophecy predicts a golden
child who will save a galactic empire. A mysterious black ship is Rayne’s guide
and a masked outlaw known as the Shrike her guardian. Others want to slay her
and prevent the prophecy from coming true. In the midst of two great empires’
strife, the Shrike holds the power to save or destroy her.
Mujar do not use their
powers for good or evil; they simply exist, immortal and apparently
purposeless. The mounted warriors are known as the Black Riders, but no one
knows where they come from or why they seem bent on exterminating every man,
woman and child. Talsy uses her father’s knowledge to trap the Mujar with gold,
which has an odd effect on his kind. Her father intends to throw him in a Pit,
from which he will be unable to escape.
Talsy does not believe the Mujar deserves such a fate, so she frees him and
begs him to take her with him on his journey. He agrees, and they set off
across Shamarese, continuing his quest to find an old hermit’s lost son. There
is far more at stake than Talsy realises, however, and she has innocently
stumbled upon the last free Mujar, who has the power to decide the fate of her
race…
And during the tour, there will also be promotional discounts on other books by TC Southwell. The special today is -
1 August
and from tomorrow, you can get -
6 August
For other special promotions, follow along on the rest of the tour below -
TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary
1 – 14 August 2013
Friday,
2 August
How to Create Good Characters, hosted by Rebekah Grow
Saturday,
3 August
Author & character interview, hosted by Nicole Hill
Wednesday,
7 August
Creating Original Fantasy Creatures, hosted by Michelle Louring
Saturday,
10 August
Inside the Mind of an Author, hosted by Tracy Falbe
Sunday,
11 August
How to Deal with Book Pirates & author
interview, hosted by the Indie
Author Network
Monday,
12 August
Literary Characters TC Southwell would Date, Dump or
Marry, hosted by Nicole Hill
