Monday Musings 8-1-22

It’s August already! I just finished my first book event of the summer season at Tampa Bay Comic Con and sold out my inventory by noon on Sunday! People seemed really excited to be there, and a good time was had by all.

At these events, I’m often presenting on panels or programs. In Tampa, both the panelists and the audience had a productive conversation about World-Building, a topic near and dear to science fiction and fantasy writers.

Since I am now trying to take a day or two off to recover from the Con, here’s a blog post I wrote on World-Building, which covers many of the topics we discussed on the panel. For the readers here who are also writers, I hope it’s useful!

As a science fiction writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about the worlds my characters inhabit. It’s part of the fun of writing in this genre! Solid world building is essential to the story. When it’s done well, readers become immersed in the tale, but when it’s done poorly, they notice. Here are some tips to help you create believable worlds in unbelievable settings:

Rules and Consistency:

If you are writing fantasy, you’ll likely have magic in your story, and in sci-fi, some super-cool technology. Here are some things to consider when building these elements into your world:

• Know how the magic and technology works, who can wield it, and what it can do. Equally as important, understand its limits, or the cost of using it. Do only some people have access to it? What are the repercussions if that’s the case?

• Consider its impact on people and society. Once you’ve introduced magic or futuristic technology into your world, it is now quite different from our world. You’ll need to think through the effects it will have on the people and the culture.

• Death must be real, or only reversed with dire cost. No amount of magic or fancy technology should easily combat death, because if death has no meaning, the stakes for your characters aren’t high enough.

• Be consistent with applying the rules. Readers will catch it if you aren’t!

Physical Geography and Climate:

You should have a good sense of the physical world you’ve created for your characters to navigate. Here are a few suggestions:

• Create a map, even if this map is just for your own reference.

• Think through how geography informs society. Does a mountain range serve as protection from a neighboring army? Do coastal cultures use the waterways for trading?

• Understand the climate. How do people have to adapt to their climate? How does the climate in different regions impact how society functions in those areas? Does it affect food production, clothing needs, travel conditions?

Social and Economic Constructs: 

Unless your character has crash landed on an uninhabited world, you’ll need to think about culture and society. Here are some things to consider:

• How does the government function? Who holds power? Who are the disenfranchised? Are there different forms of government in different regions?

• Does religion play a role in the society? If so, how? What are the tenants of that faith? Are there consequences for non-believers? Are there different interpretations of the same religion?

• How important is an origin story to your culture? Is that origin story based on real history or mythology?

• What does the infrastructure look like? People communicate, travel, use water, eat. How are these things managed?

 By thinking through the physical terrain you’ve created and the important pieces of culture, science, or magic that exist there, you will have created a consistent, believably unbelievable world in which readers can experience the story alongside your characters.

IN OTHER NEWS…

Here’s a list of my upcoming events in case you’re in the area. Come by and say hello!

• Boston Fan Expo - August 12-14

• World Con Chicago - September 1-5

• The Big E - September 30

Monday Musings 2-21-22

The Monday after a weekend event always feels a little weird to me. When I have a book signing for a couple of hours, or even a whole day devoted to book stuff, I ease right back in to my day to day life and work. After a convention, though, I have to work a little harder at re-entry. First off, I’m tired. Three full days on my feet, chatting with strangers, participating in programs, and sleeping in a different bed takes a toll. But also, at a conference or convention, I’m totally immersed in a different space for days. It’s a little surreal.

Despite my exhaustion and transition challenges after the fact, I really do love these events. I always leave with little gems of wisdom, a truly special encounter with someone new, an engaging conversation to reflect on, and sometimes really good book sales.

Boskone is the oldest annual science fiction convention in New England. Smaller and a little younger than World Con, it is nonetheless a revered event, rich with history and attended by fans, legends in the field, and up and coming writers. It’s a special event to take part in for sure.

Some highlights from my weekend include sitting next to a science fiction historian in the dealer’s room. My delightful table neighbor heard I wrote space opera and proceeded to buy me one of the earliest space opera’s in the genre, published in the 1950’s. He then shared that this conference, Boskone, was named for the enemy empire featured in those stories. Before the end of the weekend, he’d purchased my space opera series. I felt a moment of pride and relevance that my work, in its own small way, has become part of a long, creative tradition in storytelling.

I always learn something new from the panels on which I participate, even when I’m the moderator who planned the program! At the World Building program, one of the panelists compared the opening scene of our novels to the on ramp of a highway. If we make the entry too daunting and steep, our readers may not be wiling or able to follow us on the journey. I thought that was a great metaphor to consider as I edit my latest manuscript for the seemingly hundredth time.

I had the pleasure of eating dinner with an author who is about to publish his thirtieth novel. Granted he started writing in his twenties, but still, what an achievement. I left that meal with extra motivation!

Sometimes writing is a labor of love, emphasis on labor. But when I hear that a reader loved my work, there really is no better feeling. This weekend, I sold the first book in the HORIZON series to a young man on Friday, and by Sunday he’d read it and was back to enthusiastically purchase the rest of the series. That kind of praise and feedback is priceless to an author. We sometimes feel we are toiling away in isolation, sending our words out into the void.

Anyway, I’m off to do some laundry and maybe take a nap, but by tomorrow, I’ll be ready to resume normal activities!

Monday Musings 1-7-19

I only spent one semester as an English major before switching over to Classics, so when I started my official writing career, I didn't have a degree to support it, or any real experience. What I learned, though, is that the way you become a writer is by, well, writing.

First, you write crap. Then you rewrite it. Or maybe you put that project aside and start a new one. Somewhere along the way, you realize actual skill is required to do this job well. Like any form of art, talent alone doesn't cut it.

I found that workshops, conferences, critique partners, and good editors made all the difference. I could produce content while improving my craft. Now, on occasion, I get to lead those workshops, guest lecture, and, in different ways, teach new writers some of what I've learned along the way.

Saturday, January 12th at 10:00 am, I'll be at the Pascoag Public Library hosting a workshop on World-Building. For science fiction and fantasy writers, crafting believable worlds in unbelievable settings is part of the job. But, as I've learned, we can't just dump detail after detail into our story or we'll bore our readers to distraction. Seamlessly weaving in background, history, and setting, creating rules for magic and advanced technology, and bringing authenticity to our imaginary worlds requires skill. And, there are actual lessons to be learned on how to do this.

So, if you're an aspiring writer and in the area, check it out. Here's a FB link with more info: Author Series: World Building with Tabitha Lord. Maybe I'll see you there!