Do you use "Builder Worlds" in your writing?

Steven Lake · 09-17-2010, 11:08 AM

Definition: A builder world is an imaginary place created by an author which is used to test out ideas and story elements, but will never be written about. This is also a place from which core story ideas and elements are formulated, and then spun off as their own stories or series, or simply as additions and elements in already created worlds. Typically Builder Worlds are a mishmash combination of disassociated elements, ideas, and characters that only make sense to the creator and/or writer, but no-one else. In these worlds it is common to see lots of various themes, short stories, mini-plots, and other related and unrelated stories played out on a regular basis.
----------------------------
So, with that said, do any of you have builder worlds, and if so, what are they like and how do you use them? To start things off, my Imperial Colonies saga is actually built off of a fairly rich, well played out element within my builder world, thus I already had quite a bit of content I could use to build the foundation for that saga. What about you guys?

Vintage Season · 09-18-2010, 10:32 AM

Never even considered the idea, to be bluntly honest. My worlds—much as my stories—are formulated, and develop, as they are being written.

- M.

jaxx6166 · 09-18-2010, 10:46 AM

That seems like an awful lot of work. Create a playground for the characters to play in before you create a world to write the actual story in? Why not just use the world you wrote for them to play in? It seems more like a programming tool than a writing one, to be honest.

As a writer, I', with Vintage.

Steven Lake · 09-18-2010, 12:21 PM

Well, even with people who write "from the hip" use one form or another of a builder world. Like I said in the definition, it's a place where you build ideas, try out story lines, etc, before they go into the real book. You may not have a cut and dried version like mine, but you very likely have one and simply don't realize it. Mine is always playing out in the back of my mind. My subconscious typically takes control of it and chews on a wide range of ideas (Being ADD has its advantages in a system like this! hehe) in the world until it comes up with something it likes which it then forwards to my conscious mind to use.

Think of it like a foundation, or a "well of ideas" from which your inspiration springs.

Your builder world doesn't need to be quite as complex as mind (my builder world has gotten to be somewhat of a monster, but I like it that way!

), but I bet if you really thought about it, you'd see that you do have one, even if it's rather tiny.

Also, builder worlds are useful for creating and fleshing out a character before you ever start writing. Since characters are the core driving force of most stories, the more you know about a character you'll be writing about before you do it, the easier it is to write the world in which they exist and will interact.

That's just something to think about.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-22-2010, 11:11 AM

My Onuissance Cells stories were formulated around a "builder world," the stories intended to showcase various elements of that world. Most series, especially for episodic TV and such, are essentially created that way: Develop your setting first, then create stories to fit. It's a different kind of writing, sort of approaching stories from another direction, but it's just as useful and valid as starting with the story, and building your characters and setting to fit that.

JoeKeppler · 09-22-2010, 12:53 PM

You know, Steven, I think I've been doing that for years now and just never knew that there was existing terminology associated with it. So thank you for introducing me to the right verbage!

I write about what I know and what I've had the most experience in, which is home building... and at any given time and place in this country and all over the world, there are hundreds of absolutely mind blowing stories of confrontations, deceit, physical harm and other equally crazy things going on at once.

And because I "fictionalize" the events and experiences that I've had within this world for so many years, I'd say yes, I've developed and am now working on several story-lines that came to me when putting my mind in the overall world of home building.

There's just so much going on and there are so many thrilling ideas to mine, that yes, I'd say I've built a separate "builder world" (in this case, almost literally) that I've used to cultivate different story ideas.

Thanks for sharing!

Steven Lake · 09-22-2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

My Onuissance Cells stories were formulated around a "builder world," the stories intended to showcase various elements of that world. Most series, especially for episodic TV and such, are essentially created that way: Develop your setting first, then create stories to fit. It's a different kind of writing, sort of approaching stories from another direction, but it's just as useful and valid as starting with the story, and building your characters and setting to fit that.

Now that you mention it, the builder world idea is in fact very similar to what they do with television and movie writing. As for myself, I've actually found it a lot easier to build the world first, then the characters, then the story, as the story evolves out of the world and the characters in it. I guess, as you pointed out, not everyone does that, and instead are more comfortable going the other way with their writing, in which point they wouldn't have a builder world, as they wouldn't need one. In their case they'd have foundation characters on which everything is built.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeKeppler

You know, Steven, I think I've been doing that for years now and just never knew that there was existing terminology associated with it. So thank you for introducing me to the right verbage!

I write about what I know and what I've had the most experience in, which is home building... and at any given time and place in this country and all over the world, there are hundreds of absolutely mind blowing stories of confrontations, deceit, physical harm and other equally crazy things going on at once.

And because I "fictionalize" the events and experiences that I've had within this world for so many years, I'd say yes, I've developed and am now working on several story-lines that came to me when putting my mind in the overall world of home building.

There's just so much going on and there are so many thrilling ideas to mine, that yes, I'd say I've built a separate "builder world" (in this case, almost literally) that I've used to cultivate different story ideas.

Thanks for sharing!

heh. You're welcome. Honestly, I hadn't even realized either that what I was doing was of a specific "type" of story writing or construction. It wasn't until I started constructing my "Imperial Colonies" saga that I realized what I was actually doing to it was the same thing I did to other stories as well. IE, I built a story out of my builder world.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-23-2010, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

Now that you mention it, the builder world idea is in fact very similar to what they do with television and movie writing.

Definitely with television: The idea is to create a series that lasts for years, and that's as easily done when approached from a "builder world" standpoint (characters can come and go, but the setting stays the same) as from a character standpoint (the settings change, but the characters stay the same). And some characters are essentially permanently attached to their setting... neither will change through the course of the show... they are an essential part of the builder world.

Movies aren't usually as attached to builder worlds, since it's usually a one-shot deal... they are usually character-based, or character-builder, but not so often builder-based. Exceptions to the rule are movie series, like Star Wars. (Interestingly, the first 3 movies--episodes 4, 5 and 6--were character-based, while the second set of movies--episodes 1, 2 and 3--were more builder world-based.)

Steven Lake · 09-23-2010, 10:24 PM

Good points. As for the star wars reference, I think that the prequels could be more builder world based because the world was already firmly established and cannonized by that point. In the first three films they were still building the world, therefore the movies had to pivot around the characters instead.

crich70 · 09-23-2010, 10:43 PM

It sounds a bit like the idea of the M.I.C.E. quotient.

M.ilieu- The setting
I.dea- the what if story
C.haracter- The character based story
E.vent- The event is the most important thing story

Which one of them it is is based on which of the four gets the most time. If you don't have a really detailed setting for example because you are showing a character running round then it's a character driven story, if you concentrate mostly on an event that occurs then it's an event story and etc.

Steven Lake · 09-24-2010, 09:56 AM

In many ways the idea is similar to the MICE quotient. The only difference is, MICE is used to describe how the story functions. A Builder World is merely one way to describe how it's built. In many ways, the way a story functions and the way it's built are very similar. However, you can also have a story be constructed from a character standpoint, but ultimately function from an event based premise.

DaringNovelist · 09-24-2010, 11:41 PM

Of course I use "builder worlds." (I call 'em dream worlds since they often come from dreams.) And I have to say I intentionally violate the rules of real sf world building when I do it. I wrote a blog post about it this summer:

http://daringnovelist.blogspot.com/2...fantasize.html

I myself often prefer my strange builder worlds to the elaborate and sensible (and logical) worlds of regular sf and fantasy. And, of course, I'm perverse enough to want to use them in mainstream fiction. (sigh.)

In that blog post, I report a typical conversation I have with myself all the time:

Creative Me: It's a heist story that's set in a place that's something like Texas only it's in the the middle of Europe.

Sensible Me: Why not just have it set in Texas?

Creative Me: Then where would the yodelling bi-atheletes in lederhosen come from?

Sensible Me: Well, then why not place it in Europe?

Creative Me: Then where would the cowboys come from?

Sensible Me: They have cows in Switzerland.

Creative Me: Do they wear chaps? Do they have cattle drives from Zurich to Geneva? Do they have shootouts at high noon with six-guns?

Sensible Me: Um, not as far as I know. Look why not make it an urban fantasy? Have a dragon drive from Zurich to Geneva?

Creative Me: That would be ridiculous.

Sensible Me: And the yodelling bi-athletes are...?

Creative Me: ...subject the laws of physics. This is a heist story! Dragons and spaceships would have unfair powers that would change the balance of how everything works. I don't want to change the world, I just want to rearrange it!

Someday I'll write a book about Texerland.

Camille

Steven Lyle Jordan · 09-27-2010, 10:25 AM

Be sure to let us know when that story comes out.

bthrowsnaill · 09-27-2010, 12:23 PM

Has the working definition of "builder world" drifted a bit during this discussion? The original post defines a builder world as "an imaginary place created by an author which is used to test out ideas and story elements, but will never be written about." That last phrase is the one that's throwing me off. I think that many authors develop their characters and worlds and then run a mental simulation to see what events emerge. But it sounds like Steven Lake creates settings that diverge from the actual story settings and plop the characters into these worlds to see how they react (eq: like dropping your Sci-Fi hero into "High School Musical", or something equally bizarre?)

bobavey · 09-27-2010, 02:08 PM

After reading the post, my first inclination was to say "I'm a writer and I've never used anything like that -- but after giving the idea more thought, I think most writers probably create and use Builder Worlds. If they're like me, however, the Builder Worlds exist only in their heads, and they probably aren't aware of the existence, until someone brings it up. Something like that.

09-17-2010, 11:08 AM	#1
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Do you use "Builder Worlds" in your writing? Definition: A builder world is an imaginary place created by an author which is used to test out ideas and story elements, but will never be written about. This is also a place from which core story ideas and elements are formulated, and then spun off as their own stories or series, or simply as additions and elements in already created worlds. Typically Builder Worlds are a mishmash combination of disassociated elements, ideas, and characters that only make sense to the creator and/or writer, but no-one else. In these worlds it is common to see lots of various themes, short stories, mini-plots, and other related and unrelated stories played out on a regular basis. ---------------------------- So, with that said, do any of you have builder worlds, and if so, what are they like and how do you use them? To start things off, my Imperial Colonies saga is actually built off of a fairly rich, well played out element within my builder world, thus I already had quite a bit of content I could use to build the foundation for that saga. What about you guys?

09-24-2010, 09:56 AM	#11
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	In many ways the idea is similar to the MICE quotient. The only difference is, MICE is used to describe how the story functions. A Builder World is merely one way to describe how it's built. In many ways, the way a story functions and the way it's built are very similar. However, you can also have a story be constructed from a character standpoint, but ultimately function from an event based premise. Last edited by Steven Lake; 09-24-2010 at 10:07 AM.

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09-18-2010, 10:32 AM	#2
Vintage Season Pulps and dime novels... Posts: 343 Karma: 1952003 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kobo Aura/Kobo Aura One LE/iPad Air	Never even considered the idea, to be bluntly honest. My worlds—much as my stories—are formulated, and develop, as they are being written. - M.

09-18-2010, 10:46 AM	#3
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	That seems like an awful lot of work. Create a playground for the characters to play in before you create a world to write the actual story in? Why not just use the world you wrote for them to play in? It seems more like a programming tool than a writing one, to be honest. As a writer, I', with Vintage.

09-18-2010, 12:21 PM	#4
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Well, even with people who write "from the hip" use one form or another of a builder world. Like I said in the definition, it's a place where you build ideas, try out story lines, etc, before they go into the real book. You may not have a cut and dried version like mine, but you very likely have one and simply don't realize it. Mine is always playing out in the back of my mind. My subconscious typically takes control of it and chews on a wide range of ideas (Being ADD has its advantages in a system like this! hehe) in the world until it comes up with something it likes which it then forwards to my conscious mind to use. Think of it like a foundation, or a "well of ideas" from which your inspiration springs. Your builder world doesn't need to be quite as complex as mind (my builder world has gotten to be somewhat of a monster, but I like it that way! ), but I bet if you really thought about it, you'd see that you do have one, even if it's rather tiny. Also, builder worlds are useful for creating and fleshing out a character before you ever start writing. Since characters are the core driving force of most stories, the more you know about a character you'll be writing about before you do it, the easier it is to write the world in which they exist and will interact. That's just something to think about.

09-22-2010, 11:11 AM	#5
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	My Onuissance Cells stories were formulated around a "builder world," the stories intended to showcase various elements of that world. Most series, especially for episodic TV and such, are essentially created that way: Develop your setting first, then create stories to fit. It's a different kind of writing, sort of approaching stories from another direction, but it's just as useful and valid as starting with the story, and building your characters and setting to fit that.

09-22-2010, 12:53 PM	#6
JoeKeppler New Author Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Device: Kindle	You know, Steven, I think I've been doing that for years now and just never knew that there was existing terminology associated with it. So thank you for introducing me to the right verbage! I write about what I know and what I've had the most experience in, which is home building... and at any given time and place in this country and all over the world, there are hundreds of absolutely mind blowing stories of confrontations, deceit, physical harm and other equally crazy things going on at once. And because I "fictionalize" the events and experiences that I've had within this world for so many years, I'd say yes, I've developed and am now working on several story-lines that came to me when putting my mind in the overall world of home building. There's just so much going on and there are so many thrilling ideas to mine, that yes, I'd say I've built a separate "builder world" (in this case, almost literally) that I've used to cultivate different story ideas. Thanks for sharing!

09-23-2010, 10:24 PM	#9
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Good points. As for the star wars reference, I think that the prequels could be more builder world based because the world was already firmly established and cannonized by that point. In the first three films they were still building the world, therefore the movies had to pivot around the characters instead.

09-23-2010, 10:43 PM	#10
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	It sounds a bit like the idea of the M.I.C.E. quotient. M.ilieu- The setting I.dea- the what if story C.haracter- The character based story E.vent- The event is the most important thing story Which one of them it is is based on which of the four gets the most time. If you don't have a really detailed setting for example because you are showing a character running round then it's a character driven story, if you concentrate mostly on an event that occurs then it's an event story and etc.

09-24-2010, 11:41 PM	#12
DaringNovelist Addict Posts: 197 Karma: 1010202 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: iPod Touch	Of course I use "builder worlds." (I call 'em dream worlds since they often come from dreams.) And I have to say I intentionally violate the rules of real sf world building when I do it. I wrote a blog post about it this summer: http://daringnovelist.blogspot.com/2...fantasize.html I myself often prefer my strange builder worlds to the elaborate and sensible (and logical) worlds of regular sf and fantasy. And, of course, I'm perverse enough to want to use them in mainstream fiction. (sigh.) In that blog post, I report a typical conversation I have with myself all the time: Creative Me: It's a heist story that's set in a place that's something like Texas only it's in the the middle of Europe. Sensible Me: Why not just have it set in Texas? Creative Me: Then where would the yodelling bi-atheletes in lederhosen come from? Sensible Me: Well, then why not place it in Europe? Creative Me: Then where would the cowboys come from? Sensible Me: They have cows in Switzerland. Creative Me: Do they wear chaps? Do they have cattle drives from Zurich to Geneva? Do they have shootouts at high noon with six-guns? Sensible Me: Um, not as far as I know. Look why not make it an urban fantasy? Have a dragon drive from Zurich to Geneva? Creative Me: That would be ridiculous. Sensible Me: And the yodelling bi-athletes are...? Creative Me: ...subject the laws of physics. This is a heist story! Dragons and spaceships would have unfair powers that would change the balance of how everything works. I don't want to change the world, I just want to rearrange it! Someday I'll write a book about Texerland. Camille

09-27-2010, 10:25 AM	#13
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Be sure to let us know when that story comes out.

09-27-2010, 12:23 PM	#14
bthrowsnaill Dreamer Posts: 112 Karma: 501282 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Device: kindle	Has the working definition of "builder world" drifted a bit during this discussion? The original post defines a builder world as "an imaginary place created by an author which is used to test out ideas and story elements, but will never be written about." That last phrase is the one that's throwing me off. I think that many authors develop their characters and worlds and then run a mental simulation to see what events emerge. But it sounds like Steven Lake creates settings that diverge from the actual story settings and plop the characters into these worlds to see how they react (eq: like dropping your Sci-Fi hero into "High School Musical", or something equally bizarre?)

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09-27-2010, 02:08 PM	#15
bobavey Bob Avey Posts: 117 Karma: 501082 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Broken Arrow, OK Device: none	After reading the post, my first inclination was to say "I'm a writer and I've never used anything like that -- but after giving the idea more thought, I think most writers probably create and use Builder Worlds. If they're like me, however, the Builder Worlds exist only in their heads, and they probably aren't aware of the existence, until someone brings it up. Something like that.