How much time for Worldbuilding??

crich70 · 06-21-2011, 10:58 PM

Hi everyone. I was reading one of my ebooks about writing this evening and in that book there is a chapter on Worldbuilding. While it is obvious that Science Fiction and Fantasy books require a good deal of it the book pointed out that all books have some degree of Worldbuilding behind them (to keep details straight, etc.). I was wondering what others here think of that idea and how much time they dedicate to the actual Worldbuilding process before they sit down to actually write the book or story.

Todd Young · 06-21-2011, 11:06 PM

I simply keep a style sheet with all the facts on it that I need to remember. I start writing and keep going. I don't spend a lot of time planning before I start. I think about it as I go.

Native · 06-23-2011, 01:40 PM

I didn't give world-building much thought until I wanted to turn some short fiction into chapters of a larger work. I found it ironic that even though the stories are based on my own community, it was still difficult to insert them into a sensible world. More irony - most of my time was spent building a structure that's meant to be invisible behind the fantasy anyway. It's easy to see why so many authors build a series around one world.

NVash · 06-23-2011, 05:13 PM

Maybe Im lazy. I write my stories present day in the present world. I wouldnt mind trying to create my own World, especially one of fantasy, but every single time I even consider it I find that most ideas Id like to incorporate have already been done and really, I dont want to rip anyone off. For instance, Id love to have ogres, fairies and maybe even gnomes in a story. Thats been done a million times over. Create a new name for them? Why, everyone knows what you mean already.

EileenG · 06-23-2011, 05:42 PM

I tend to do my world building as I go. I started with a vague feeling that my other planet should be hot, and of course, my aliens have wings and fly, so a lot of the world building evolved from trying to imagine the shape of a society where people could fly, and never went swimming. As it got more detailed, I had to keep notes on how things worked, and the structure of the society.

dadioflex · 06-24-2011, 08:38 AM

Even stories set in the present day in your own back yard require a certain amount of world-building or at least scene-setting. I remember one of my early attempts at establishing background. It was a little clumsy.

"Giuseppe peered from the shadows of the alley, checking that the street was empty. Should one of Herr Hitler's packs of brown-shirted thugs happen upon him, he was fearful they would mistake his dark Italian complexion and classical Roman nose for one of Berlin's beleaguered Jewish residents.

The city was very different to the free-wheeling place he had moved to as a young man. In order to pay the large costs of World War I, Germany had suspended the convertibility of its currency into gold when that war broke out. Unlike France, which imposed its first income tax to pay for the war, the German Kaiser and Parliament decided without opposition to fund the war entirely by borrowing a decision criticised by financial experts like Hjalmar Schacht even before hyperinflation broke out. The result was that the exchange rate of the Mark against the US dollar fell steadily throughout the war to 8.91 Marks per dollar. The Treaty of Versailles, however, accelerated the decline in the value of the Mark, so that by the end of 1919 more than 47 paper Marks were required to buy one US dollar. It is sometimes argued that Germany had to inflate its currency to pay the war reparations required under the Treaty of Versailles, but this is misleading, because the Reparations Commission required payment to be in gold marks or in foreign currency, not in the rapidly depreciating paper mark."

DArenson · 06-24-2011, 12:55 PM

I usually start with a basic concept. I'll draw a crude map, create some history, some basic mythology, some of the culture. Nothing too complex. Then I add more as I go along, as the story dictates.

Jeff Rivera · 06-25-2011, 07:43 PM

I think World Building depends on the type of novel and how much time the author feels comfortable putting in. As long as the world is realistic and you're satisfied you shouldn't dwell too much on time.

straygator · 06-25-2011, 10:31 PM

For the novel I'm working on now, set on a tropical island, I started with a rough-sketched map that's still on the wall in front of me. Details change as I write the actual story - "Oh, that house can't be there or he would have seen it as he biked up the coast" sorts of stuff, so there are plenty of erasures and scribbling on it these days. I spend most of my time/energy on the characters and the stories they're creating, and revise (or discover, maybe) the landscape details as I go. I suppose I'll be through 'world building' about the same time I finish the final draft.

crich70 · 06-25-2011, 11:35 PM

Seems like there are about as many opinions on how much WorldBuilding is needed as there are writers.

I wrote a book for NaNoWriMo in 2009 with just a vague idea of my story world. It was fun but I still have to go back to the book, edit it and do some re-writing to make it anywhere near publishable. I guess I'm more the 'have to have a bit of things worked out ahead of time' sort. That is somewhere between the extremes of 'no idea where I am and just start writing' and the "I have to have everything major nailed down before I put pen to paper"types.

06-21-2011, 10:58 PM	#1
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	How much time for Worldbuilding?? Hi everyone. I was reading one of my ebooks about writing this evening and in that book there is a chapter on Worldbuilding. While it is obvious that Science Fiction and Fantasy books require a good deal of it the book pointed out that all books have some degree of Worldbuilding behind them (to keep details straight, etc.). I was wondering what others here think of that idea and how much time they dedicate to the actual Worldbuilding process before they sit down to actually write the book or story.

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06-21-2011, 11:06 PM	#2
Todd Young Addict Posts: 243 Karma: 1004164 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Kindle 2	I simply keep a style sheet with all the facts on it that I need to remember. I start writing and keep going. I don't spend a lot of time planning before I start. I think about it as I go.

06-23-2011, 01:40 PM	#3
Native Cozy Bumpkin Stories Posts: 66 Karma: 351904 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Sprague River, Oregon Device: none	I didn't give world-building much thought until I wanted to turn some short fiction into chapters of a larger work. I found it ironic that even though the stories are based on my own community, it was still difficult to insert them into a sensible world. More irony - most of my time was spent building a structure that's meant to be invisible behind the fantasy anyway. It's easy to see why so many authors build a series around one world.

06-23-2011, 05:13 PM	#4
NVash Wandering Vagabond Posts: 282 Karma: 350000 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: iPod Touch	Maybe Im lazy. I write my stories present day in the present world. I wouldnt mind trying to create my own World, especially one of fantasy, but every single time I even consider it I find that most ideas Id like to incorporate have already been done and really, I dont want to rip anyone off. For instance, Id love to have ogres, fairies and maybe even gnomes in a story. Thats been done a million times over. Create a new name for them? Why, everyone knows what you mean already.

06-23-2011, 05:42 PM	#5
EileenG Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 7462052 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Dublin Device: My phone	I tend to do my world building as I go. I started with a vague feeling that my other planet should be hot, and of course, my aliens have wings and fly, so a lot of the world building evolved from trying to imagine the shape of a society where people could fly, and never went swimming. As it got more detailed, I had to keep notes on how things worked, and the structure of the society.

06-24-2011, 08:38 AM	#6
dadioflex Dyslexic Count Posts: 526 Karma: 5041991 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Palm TX, Advent Vega, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle	Even stories set in the present day in your own back yard require a certain amount of world-building or at least scene-setting. I remember one of my early attempts at establishing background. It was a little clumsy. "Giuseppe peered from the shadows of the alley, checking that the street was empty. Should one of Herr Hitler's packs of brown-shirted thugs happen upon him, he was fearful they would mistake his dark Italian complexion and classical Roman nose for one of Berlin's beleaguered Jewish residents. The city was very different to the free-wheeling place he had moved to as a young man. In order to pay the large costs of World War I, Germany had suspended the convertibility of its currency into gold when that war broke out. Unlike France, which imposed its first income tax to pay for the war, the German Kaiser and Parliament decided without opposition to fund the war entirely by borrowing a decision criticised by financial experts like Hjalmar Schacht even before hyperinflation broke out. The result was that the exchange rate of the Mark against the US dollar fell steadily throughout the war to 8.91 Marks per dollar. The Treaty of Versailles, however, accelerated the decline in the value of the Mark, so that by the end of 1919 more than 47 paper Marks were required to buy one US dollar. It is sometimes argued that Germany had to inflate its currency to pay the war reparations required under the Treaty of Versailles, but this is misleading, because the Reparations Commission required payment to be in gold marks or in foreign currency, not in the rapidly depreciating paper mark."

06-24-2011, 12:55 PM	#7
DArenson ebookworm Posts: 268 Karma: 100026 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo, Kindle	I usually start with a basic concept. I'll draw a crude map, create some history, some basic mythology, some of the culture. Nothing too complex. Then I add more as I go along, as the story dictates.

06-25-2011, 07:43 PM	#8
Jeff Rivera Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: none	I think World Building depends on the type of novel and how much time the author feels comfortable putting in. As long as the world is realistic and you're satisfied you shouldn't dwell too much on time.

06-25-2011, 10:31 PM	#9
straygator Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 33904 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cayman Islands Device: Kindle	For the novel I'm working on now, set on a tropical island, I started with a rough-sketched map that's still on the wall in front of me. Details change as I write the actual story - "Oh, that house can't be there or he would have seen it as he biked up the coast" sorts of stuff, so there are plenty of erasures and scribbling on it these days. I spend most of my time/energy on the characters and the stories they're creating, and revise (or discover, maybe) the landscape details as I go. I suppose I'll be through 'world building' about the same time I finish the final draft.

06-25-2011, 11:35 PM	#10
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Seems like there are about as many opinions on how much WorldBuilding is needed as there are writers. I wrote a book for NaNoWriMo in 2009 with just a vague idea of my story world. It was fun but I still have to go back to the book, edit it and do some re-writing to make it anywhere near publishable. I guess I'm more the 'have to have a bit of things worked out ahead of time' sort. That is somewhere between the extremes of 'no idea where I am and just start writing' and the "I have to have everything major nailed down before I put pen to paper"types.

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