Skip to main content

How to Create a Richly Imagined World

For someone who likes fantasy and sci-fi fiction, most of the time, a lot of people ask me about how to create a richly imagined world. Fantasy and sci-fi elements rest heavily on how an author weave the setting and the world in which the heroes dwell in, and it helps to make the novel to be imagined vividly in the readers' minds.

A convincing world should be relatable, something that we can associate ourselves with. For us to be associated with a world an author created in his mind, and wrote on the pages of a book, this world has to be close to the real thing. It has to be systematic, real and alive, and very convincing.



A real world has certain elements, and an author must consider them in writing a vividly imagined world:

  1. Cartography - a fantasy or sci-fi world depend heavily on geography and maps, especially if the plot requires war and the belligerents occupy so much space in the plot. A convincing world has the world separated in territories, and every part of the world has attention to details.
  2. Society - a richly imagined world has a society clearly defined. And society requires culture, it requires constant socialization, a way of life, it has social problems, it has tyranny and social menace, and there are social biases.
  3. Economy - a fantasy or sci-fi world is not complete without a source of economy. Economic activity must be clearly defined, although not all fiction in this genré emphasize economy in the fabric of their works, but it is always very helpful to hint on it.
  4. Conflict/Opposing Forces - a good story is only as good as its conflict, and a conflict driven world has proven to be the most effective. A conflict has opposing forces who are usually fighting for glory or supremacy. There are also opposing forces who are fighting against suppression and tyranny.
  5. Race/People - a fantasy or sci-fi world is not always about the human race, although sometimes they are also included. A race has to be clearly defined, including their appearance, clothes, characteristics, color or skin, as well as their powers and unique abilities.
  6. Government - a government is always important in weaving a fantasy world, and they are usually part of the conflict. A government has its own form, system of governance, politics, and erring politicians, as well as policy conflicts, among others.
  7. Weaponry - a system of weaponry is also important to define, with each race carrying unique abilities, or possessing universal weapons.

There are other elements that effective fantasy or sci-fi novels possess and these are only some of them.

x------x

Photo from Pixabay.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Machine

A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refers to the six classical simple machines that were defined by Renaissance scientists: Lever Wheel and axle Pulley Inclined plane Wedge Screw A simple machine uses a single applied force to do work against a single work load. Ignoring friction losses, the work done on the load is equal to the work done by the applied force. The machine can increase the amount of the output force, at the cost of a proportional decrease in the distance moved by the load. The ratio of the output to the applied force is called the mechanical advantage. Simple machines can be regarded as the elementary "building blocks" of which all more complicated machines (sometimes called compound machines) are composed. For example, wheels, levers, and pulleys are all use...
Post a Comment
Read more

Crusades

 The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Christian Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were intended to conquer Jerusalem and its surrounding areas from Muslim rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of military campaigns were organized, providing a focal point of European history for centuries. Crusading declined rapidly after the 15th century. In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the first expedition at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in western Europe there was an enthusiastic response. Participants came from all over Europe and had a variety of motivations, including religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations,...
Post a Comment
Read more