C. L. Wilson on Worldbuilding for Every Author

We are thrilled today to host New York Times Bestselling fantasy author C.L. Wilson! I have just started to read her first in the Taren Soul series and I am sold. I love her writing. In matter of second, she managed to transport me in a magical world that I cannot forget. I am thrilled to know this series has four books out with the fifth coming soon.

And what better author to share her tips on worldbuilding!

Please, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a cool little journal from the Harlequin Notable collection!

Marie-Claude

Worldbuilding for Every Author

by C.L. Wilson

As a fantasy romance author, I’m frequently asked to speak on the topic of worldbuilding.  Many  authors who write historical or contemporary fiction, however, erroneously assume worldbuilding doesn’t apply to them.

 Au contraire.  

Worldbuilding—including the tools and techniques used to create believable worlds—is an essential requirement of every fictional story.  Every time I say this, I see some raised eyebrows and furrowed brows, but I assure you, it’s true.  Let me explain.

Beyond the necessity of writing a good story, one of the main jobs of an author (of any kind of story) is to create the suspension of disbelief in the reader’s mind.  Fiction writing is basically glorified lying.  The events in the book are not real.  The characters don’t exist, and their actions are entirely made up.  Readers know this, so it is incumbent upon the author to create a world in which the characters you wish to write about could actually exist, in which the story problems they face could reasonably occur, in which their actions and the ramifications of their actions make sense to the reader in such a way as to have the ring of truth.  The world should also be directly and inextricably tied to the plot, and (where possible) showcase the themes of your work to provide the reader the richest possible reading experience.

Simply put, worldbuilding is the craft of building a believable world in which the events of your story can unfold to the best effect.

Worldbuilding for every novel includes the following basics:

• Setting.   At its most minimal, setting (the physical locations where the events of the story take place) must be appropriate to the story you wish to tell and to the specific events in that story.  If you are writing a novel about cowboys and Indians, for instance, the big battle between the cowboys and the Indians should not take place in the ballrooms of Regency England, for instance.  At its best, setting should underscore, contrast, or conflict the themes of your novel, and provide an environment that can aid and/or challenge your characters in their story quest.

Tips: Understand the look, feel, mood of your setting.  Draw maps to keep yourself honest.  (map rooms in houses, city blocks, continents, whatever you need).  Ask yourself one very important question: “Is this the best place for my story to take place?”  If you cannot answer this question with a resounding “Yes!” consider changing your setting.

• Cultures.  The society we grow up in profoundly impacts every part of our lives: our values, our views, our expectations, our way of approaching obstacles and living life.   Irish policemen in Boston, for instance, have a completely different cultural and societal mores than ranchers in Texas or fashion designers in Manhattan. At a minimum, you need to understand your character’s history and what shaped his outlook on life.  At its best, the culture, society, belief systems in your novel will directly underscore, contrast or challenge the emotional and/or physical journey your characters undertake.

Tips:  Ask yourself cultural questions that impact your characters’ internal (emotional) and external (physical quest) story arcs.  How educated are the members of this culture? What does this culture value the most (money, honor, truth, freedom, power, etc.)?  What will they do to protect this value? What are the traditions and taboos in this culture?   Ask yourself: “What is it about this character that makes him/her the best—or, better yet, the only—person who could tell this story?”

• Language.   In many novels, language in worldbuilding is less about what actual language a character speaks than what accent / colloquialisms / manners of speech do your characters employ. The way your characters speak says volumes about them.  Your character’s use of language should be commensurate with his/her education and background. (i.e., an uneducated tenant farmer in South Georgia in the 1890’s is unlikely to speak with a British accent or use words like “indubitably”).

Tips:  Do your characters have accents? Do they employ certain “catch phrases,” slang, or gestures?  If you’re writing a story in deep Point of View (POV), everything in your novel will be described through your characters’ eyes.  The way they look at the world and the terms they use to describe must be true to the person they are.

• Government, Technology. Government and technology impact the rules characters operate under and the feats they are capable of.  Even outside traditional government, societal pecking orders are a form of governance. 

Tips: What type of government exists in your story world? How does it impact your characters lives? Do they operate inside or out of the law. What level of technology is available to your characters? What problems/solutions does technology provide in your story?

The above is not meant to be an all inclusive list.  It’s just the tip of the worldbuilding iceberg.  The best worldbuilding tools any author has are questions: who, what, when, where, how…and mostly importantly…why.

As you ask yourself questions and build the world in which your characters live, keep the following in mind…how can I use this aspect of my world to enhance, illuminate or challenge the plots and themes of this book? If you keep that goal in mind and worldbuild accordingly, in the end you will end up with a vibrant story built on a world so solid it feels completely real to your characters and your readers.

So happy worldbuilding!  May the words flow, the pages accumulate, and the story be good.

Thank you so much for your great tips C.L. My steampunk story is calling to me, and now my mind is swirling with so many ideas and elements I’ll have to juggle and keep track of!

Please leave C. L. a comment or question for your chance to win a cool vintage looking journal from the  Harlequin Notable collection where you can jot down all your worldbuilding ideas!