The art (?) of world building
My dad is not a fantasy fan. In fact, Dad has read exactly two fantasy novels in his life—mine. I know he read them because I wrote them and for no other reason, which is sweet; but he’s also my greatest fan. He loves to tell anyone who will listen about how much he loves my books and how amazing they are, which is his right as my dad; but whenever he tells these stories, at some point, he always says something along the lines of “I kept thinking, ‘How did Kris ever come up with this?’” He still tells me how amazed he is that I thought up these stories and the realms and creatures of MithTerra—something I never gave much thought to. To be honest, world building wasn’t something that I thought a lot about, but I understand it’s importance in a story. So, how do you create real stories that speak to an audience, that are believable—especially when it’s a totally fictional world full of orc, elves, wereling, dwarves, goblin—species that don’t exist in our real world?
You start with what is real and believable to you because if you can’t believe it, if you can’t see yourself and/or others in your story, how can you possibly expect others to do that? MithTerra works, Middle Earth works, Westeros works, because they are innately human. They are broken, dark, kind, beautiful. Everything humanity is. That’s what makes a world believable even if none of the creatures or realms ever existed in reality. The link to our humanity. We can see ourselves in the story. Have seen someone like that character. Experienced a similar situation. It makes sense to us.
I’ve already expressed how Tolkien inspired me to start my stories by trying to write myself into Middle Earth, but my world building comes from many sources. I am a voracious reader of not only Tolkien but a plethora of other authors as well. Not all fantasy. Other than C. S. Lewis, Tolkien is really my only fantasy author. Wait, I did read a Fablehaven book once a long time ago that I though was pretty good and I did love A Wrinkle in Time. But mainly, I have read nonfiction…a LOT of nonfiction on a wide range of subjects—WWII, various presidents, the Holocaust, Tecumseh, American history—as well as enough mythology (and not just Greek and Roman) to get me an honorary doctorate on the subject. All of this stories helped me create my world and my characters, not to mention my own life experience.
My family and friends and even a few former students are evident in the characters of my books. That’s what helps make them “real” to me. I see myself and others I know within their depths. So, when you create whatever you create, fill it with your reality, your knowledge, your stories and experiences. That will make it real to others. That will make it believable and have people nodding, laughing, and relating to your work. It’s all about making it human.