Every fictional book ever written has at least some small form of world building. As the author presents their story through the eyes and actions of their characters, they are building a world for you to experience as you read the book. Some authors excel at this naturally. Others struggle. For most, it just take a little practice, a little experience and knowing how to bring all the little pieces together.
World building is a short phrase that includes a lot of parts. For many new authors, it can feel daunting or confusing. I have found it’s easiest to think of it more like a movie or a play.
The most obvious part is the scenery – the world(s) in which the characters live. What does it look like? Does it have special plants or animals? Is it a lush forest or an expansive desert? Or is it in the far reaches of space, riding through the stars on a spaceship?
That setting, that piece, is the large backdrop – like a scene painting for a movie or stage play.
Once you have that larger backdrop sorted, you can start adding in your props – the smaller world building details that help your universe come to life. This is where it can get a little sticky. Too many details, and your audience will have trouble seeing the actors. Too few and the audience will have trouble imagining what’s really going on or believing that your characters are as real as fictional people can be.
Props include things like sounds, smells, objects, colors, weather, history and language. Yes, history. A world, even fictional, is not a stagnant section that exists out of time. A fully built world will have a sense of history – of events and things that have come before to influence the present circumstance and environment your characters exist it. A world is also not stuck in one moment in time – a world is ever evolving, ever changing. Moving forward, giving your characters momentum, goals and dreams.
World building can be very fun, and it isn’t just for books, movies or plays. Some do it for games, others do it for role playing, and some do it every day right in the real world they live in. Chances are, you’ve been world building since you were a kid and created a fortress out of books for your action figures or set up a doll house. Writing a world is simply taking that same imaginative creation process and translating it to written words.
You can get an idea for my style of world building by downloading the first book in my series, Ghost In The Machine, for Free. Http://www.cekilgore.com/ghost.php
This world building is carried throughout the series, each book building on the structure built in previous books and always progressing as the story does.
Blurb
Hankarron Eros has loved Tara since she had pigtails, but fear of losing their friendship leads him to keep his heart's desires locked away. When the truth about his family is exposed and leaves him grasping to hold onto his ship, his crew and his sanity, words are spoken that can't be taken back and the presence he had grown so used to having at a convenient reach is gone.
Tara Flint has never denied her heart's attraction to the floppy-haired, brown-eyed Hankarron, even if he can be a stupid limik sometimes. Her strong will falters as she is forced to decide between a promise she made to her father, a boy she has loved since she had pigtails and the possibility of finding out what her life might be like without the presence of Hankarron always by her side.
They say that the stories of our time will one day be traced into the stars to help guide others home. Fate strings intertwine with skipping stones across the stars of the universe, pulling it forward and writing new lines in the night sky as the Corwint Central Agent saga continues to lead Ethan, Orynn and Jarren towards a collision that holds the power to change everything.
Author Links:
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cekilgore
twitter: https://twitter.com/ce_kilgore
website: http://www.cekilgore.com
blog: http://www.TracingTheStars.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572080.
C_E_Kilgore Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/C.E.-Kilgore/e/B009Z4QKMO/
C.E. Kilgore (1981 - ) has always had a love of romantic stories and science fiction. Although active in the writing community during her undergraduate studies, she chose to focus on her love of history and culture. Graduating with an HBA in History and a BA in Cultural Anthropology, she puts a deep emphasis on creating characters and environments within her writing that are full of both culture and history. The relationship development between characters and the worlds they live in is also an important aspect of her stories. Sarcasm, comedy, hidden "modern" references and subtle hints at underlined universal meanings are common within her writing style, but there is always plenty of action and a darker side lurking just around the corner.
Thanks to C.E. for stopping by for a visit today! You can find her books at the following links:
Book Links for book 3:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FBG6S2W
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/359523
Free Book 1:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009UFHA0O
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/248899
Now for the big bonus! C.E. Kilgore is giving away 1 grand prize of a $25 Amazon or Nook gift certificate and 2 second place prizes of $10 gift certificates via Rafflecopter. Enter below. And thanks for visiting Spacefreighters Lounge.
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Thank you so much for letting me visit!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us on your blog tour, Corinne. We enjoyed your visit.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Corinne! Worldbuilding is one of my favorite components of fiction writing as well. Thanks for stopping by on your tour!
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