Worldbuilding for Storytellers: Part II

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Welcome back to Worldbuilding 101!  If you’re just joining us, we are on Part 2 of a 3 part series on worldbuilding.  Catch up by looking over Part 1 first (especially if you don’t understand why I refer to painting below). In the spirit of transparency, this post originally appeared on the now defunct blog, RoosterWords.

Worldbuilding: Bane or Benign Exercise?

Writers love their worlds, especially those in fantasy and science fiction.  We have to- we live in them for long periods, soaking in the essence and different flavors we have derived of our own obsessive volition.  All of us must build these worlds, carefully, with great attention to the details.  For some writers, this is the best part of the writing process…creating something out of nothing, ignoring all laws of science, alchemy, and common sense.  For others, worldbuilding is the representation of long-running nightmares.  Where do you fit in?

The Middle: Characterization

There is no escaping it; your story must have characters.  On top of that, your characters need, well, character.  There’s nothing worse than a great tale spun with a boring protagonist or antagonist.  Truly great stories imbue a certain amount of characterization into the setting as well.  That is a lot of character.
In continuing the painting you have already started, the broad strokes should already be in place. Now comes the time to use those fine brushes, adding emotion and circumstance to your canvas. Grab your brushes; we're going to add another layer of paint to your masterpiece. Here's how to do it:

3dregenerator at http://tf3dm.com/3d-model/earth-transparent-17615.htm

1.     What Conflicts the Protagonist? Your protagonist is going to need a lot of conflict to keep him moving through the story.  Sometimes it should be small, a decision or debate that moves them in a specific direction.  Others should be large, especially the Crisis which, eventually, your protagonist must face.

2.     What Conflicts the Antagonist?  Yes, you must have feelings for the “bad guy” in the story as well.  Anybody who is all evil (or all good for that matter) is boorish and will turn the reader off.  Develop reasons for your antagonist to move through your world, even if it is on the coat-tails of his opposite.

3.     Give Each Setting a Government: Even if your world is full of anarchy, there is somebody in power in each of your settings.  If the entire world is under one type of government…that makes things easier.  If not, then be sure YOU know what’s going on in each important stop along the journey. 

4.     Flesh-Out Supporting Characters: There is the possibility of creating a story with the protagonist being completely alone for a majority of the story.  The closest I have seen is Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend (granted, I know the movie adaptation starring Will Smith better).  Despite the longevity of loneliness his main character suffers, other characters do still interrupt his solitude.  The point is, without beings to interact with, the protagonist will have little reason to travel your world.

5.     Personality Quirks are King: If you’re like me, you may have trouble giving all these characters quirks that make them different from each other.  If so, check out these sites to help you find just the right twitch to fit each personality in your story-

·       Dungeons & Dragons Wiki: A huge list of traits created by Wizards of the Coast for the 3.5 version of their tabletop treasure.  The site is a Wiki project; which has permission from Wizards to display the content on their page.

·       This List of Personality Traits is great because it gives you positive and negative traits side-by-side.

·       Inspiration of Writers’ Character Trait Chart and Personality Components:  This site actually gives you a chart to record specifics about your character.  I use a similar approach when developing my peoples; based on suggestions found here.

It’s Important Because:

Making your world believable, even a fantastical or futuristic one, involves creating characters your readers can relate to.  Without that, the story dulls and suspension of disbelief becomes impossible.  We want to read your story, really we do.  So make the most of our trust and deliver great characterization; and that will keep us coming back for more!

Do you agree with my 5 characterization methods?  Would you add more or do anything different?  I’ve got plenty of space for comments below, tell me what you think.

James Neal loves to worldbuild.  The main reason he added D&D to his list of trait sites is because of the sheer amount of time he has spent giving fake people real personalities within the game.  He is not ashamed...of anything.  Get to know him on Facebook, or Twitter @BloodandBlade.