McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Creating a Fantasy World
shades of grey:
hows about the three sorcererdoms have been manipulated by the sorcerers for easier control, they all been altered to look alike in one way, say hair or eye colour and anyone who does not have the same trait is instantly an outsider.
could lead to some good plot lines where people are outcast because they are born recessive or used as spies, etc
belial.1980:
First off I have to say I really like your idea. It sounds great so far!
World building is fun but it can be tough. The other day I listened to a podcast and heard a good bit of advice from a successful author. (Can't remember her name, sorry) She said that when she was world building she takes real world, events, cultures, and people that fascinated her and emulated them.
Another technique is the List and Twist. Let's look at some elements that typical fantasy dwarves have:
Drink, hoard gold, short, rowdy, stubborn, etc.
Then try to swap out or change some of these characteristics to make something that still has the same spirit but adds a unique flavor. "What if?" is always a good starting point. What if dwarves were always born as sets of identical twins? What if they worship cave demons? What if they're a matriarchal society? Etc. and so forth.
You could do the same thing with your human cultures. Take something familiar then dissect it then shoot a bunch of what if's at the idea till you come up with something that drives you.
One thing to remember is that no culture is homogenous. Some writers seem to disregard this. All Klingons are warriors; all elves are sublime, spiritual beings, etc.
Whatever direction you take your project, I wish you luck!
The Observer:
--- Quote from: Nickeris86 on April 17, 2010, 03:46:55 AM ---well for your dwarfs instead of making them live in the mountains to resemble the rocks that they live around, make them from the plains if there are any in your world. yeah i know that sounds weird but if the area is under constant assault by wind storms then being short would be an advantage, and instead of giving them the build of a boulder build them more like the scrub trees that are found in plains lands, short and really hardened.
as for the humans yeah different religions factions and forms of government are great, one could be simpler Japan where the emperor is the embodiment of their god/s, another could be feudal society, and another could be Romanesque. as for churches i think a sect of sorcerer monks would be scary as hell especially if they viewed enlightenment is the same manner as Shaolin monks.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: belial.1980 on April 17, 2010, 09:08:36 PM ---First off I have to say I really like your idea. It sounds great so far!
World building is fun but it can be tough. The other day I listened to a podcast and heard a good bit of advice from a successful author. (Can't remember her name, sorry) She said that when she was world building she takes real world, events, cultures, and people that fascinated her and emulated them.
Another technique is the List and Twist. Let's look at some elements that typical fantasy dwarves have:
Drink, hoard gold, short, rowdy, stubborn, etc.
Then try to swap out or change some of these characteristics to make something that still has the same spirit but adds a unique flavor. "What if?" is always a good starting point. What if dwarves were always born as sets of identical twins? What if they worship cave demons? What if they're a matriarchal society? Etc. and so forth.
You could do the same thing with your human cultures. Take something familiar then dissect it then shoot a bunch of what if's at the idea till you come up with something that drives you.
One thing to remember is that no culture is homogenous. Some writers seem to disregard this. All Klingons are warriors; all elves are sublime, spiritual beings, etc.
Whatever direction you take your project, I wish you luck!
--- End quote ---
Both of these are great, and I'm definitely going to use suggestions from both.
I just have one more problem. I'm looking for a word that would serve as a derogatory term towards normal humans. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Also, what do you guys think about curse words in fantasy novels? Should I make up my own?
shades of grey:
if you make up your own then your devotees will be instantly spottable ;D
Nickeris86:
making up curse words and slang is fun, but hard. at least for me.
i think it would largely depend on how you structure the cultures of the human nations, they are likely to each have their own derogatory terms for normal humans based on how their culture is structured.
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