Izzit the last day of world-building month, already?

I guess I’ve been taking this past week easy. Oh well…

Then today will be all about random worldbuilding topics.

Milkfin: The most common freshwater fish. Looks like a black and white koi. (see? random! lol)

Okay, let’s try this a different way.

A chain reaction. Like a game of dominoes! I’ll start by explaining something, and if I mention something new in there, I’ll go on to explain that, too. Let’s see how far that gets me before I run out of new terms in my explanations or get sick of it.  :P

What to start with? Hm… How about the ancient rules? Read the rest of this entry »

So I finally completed something I feel is … well … good. Maybe hopefully really good. Maybe hopefully publishy good.
After I wrote it, I thought, “Wow. Where the heck did THIS come from?”
The first draft rolled off my fingertips while I was at work, of all places. As I wrote, I felt as if I was in (as I described to Steph no.1) a ‘writerly trance’.
What came out of that trance amazed me. I was like, “Wow. That was a pretty amazing faeries-whispering-in-my-ear experience. And I get a free story out of it, too? Sweet!”

It didn’t have a title yet, though. And it was definitely a first draft. (Steph came up with some good titles, actually. And I went with En Prise.)

My first critiques were along the lines of, “This was an enjoyable read and is a brilliant idea, BUT the flow could use a little work. And this part came on too fast. And here’s some important tips to consider when writing in first person.” Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a system in Kassara that tries to ensure everyone has a single, unique name (no ’surnames’). There are few enough people in Lura that it’s still possible.

Many people strive for harmony (especially the Northern Alliance) because they feel if people start sharing the same names or start adding additional names, it will bring the world one step closer to chaos, thus one step closer to a repeat of the day of discord.

So if a family has a baby, they must send a message to ‘Sky Haven’ with their requested name.

The elected officials at Sky Haven check their records to ensure that name doesn’t belong to anyone living. If that’s true, they create an ‘ID card’ for that child to use when crossing any city gates. That card will be traded in every five years throughout their life for a new card. The machine that creates the cards is large, lumbering, unique, and takes an almost unfathomable amount of energy to run. Their unusually high altitude in the mountains (closer to the arc lightning) helps them generate that power. Sky Haven uses the gates system and ID cards, attempting to keep track of the people of Kassara. Read the rest of this entry »

A theory:

Is there any such thing as ‘bad’ worldbuilding? I’ve read that the only bad worldbuilding is when it hurts the progress of a story. But what about when somebody starts adding pointless stuff after their story is already done, stopping them from writing another story? Or what if they start adding stuff so obscure, they’ll never ever use it? What if they get so obsessed with worldbuilding, they can’t have a square kilometer of land without some kind of attraction/description attached to it?

I suspect everything we create for our stories—every single thing we worldbuild—should have something to do with at least two other already existing things in our story, or be accompanied by two very good reasons. That should help tighten the vision while keeping focus on the plot, and simultaneously activate the ’synergy between rules’ to make the world seem more ‘alive’, as I was talking about here. (Yes, even my crimson moon has two reasons for existing. lol.)

So we have to make tough choices. Like, I wasn’t going to include dragons at all. Until something in my head ‘clicked’ and a set of mystic dragons worked very well as the fitting puzzle-piece for a particular part of the story. Read the rest of this entry »

• Linguistics

There is a language called ‘Pangeac’. It was developed as a universal language during the Exhaustive Reconstruction in order to help make the gargantuan task of rebuilding the world easier.

Following that time period, the people split off into five separate countries, which had developed cultural slangs, separate pronunciations, and incorporated words from older languages until there were noticeably different dialects.

As certain as wars were to come, so, too, did new languages. Back then, it was considered high treason to teach a local language to an outsider or to learn a foreign language. Which is one of the many reasons the gates system was developed. (The gates system makes sure everyone is identifiable by a card they carry, and they must present it every time they enter a major city.)

So everybody, basically, is bilingual. They speak their local language and a form of Pangeac.

People who move from one area to another can usually pick up on a third. For instance, the main character speaks Bastokian and Pangeac. He has lived in Aydomar, but not long enough to learn more than the basics of Aydomarian.)

There is Aydomarian, Shiir (or freespeech), Isbokan, Bastokian, and Estrianu. (I plan to “con-lang” ((the art of constructing an original language)) all of these, AS NEEDED, so far as phraseology goes ((and it’s easier than it sounds, thanks to Holly Lisle’s Create-a-Language Clinic)). But I do not plan to make any fully-working languages unless I’m really, really, REALLY bored.)

Smaller towns all have their own dialects. And smaller groups sometimes have added pseudo/meta-languages (For instance, the MC can speak in ‘thieves cant’).

Gargues-pula has a completely separate language structure. (Luckily, it’s not visited during the first book. xD)

Prev: Bio-schlock | Next: Courtly etiquette/Three things

Next, we have biology. (I’ll admit it’s not my best subject.)

There are two kinds of creatures in Lura:
1. Transient (mystical/magical/spectral) creatures
2. Living creatures

The animals found on Lura are much smarter than the ones we have on Earth. Most have a pack mentality. They are highly intelligent; able to communicate with each other, build, and attack in a very organized fashion. This makes travelling extremely dangerous.

If there is a large, organized group of animals, they usually have a spectral creature as a leader, which will have some kind of proper name and usually be the source of many colorful local stories; sometimes even worshipped as gods. They do not die until they are slain. And when they do, they don’t leave behind even a trace of a body. They just disperse like a ghost. Wardings work against them.

• animals

The dharchu are medium-sized living creatures with four muscular legs, their hooves extending in a claw-like fashion. They have round bodies, half of which are covered by very short armored wings they hold close to their body for protection — as if it were a second ribcage. While the wings are useless for flying, they can help the dharchu glide far when they leap and also aid their swimming. They are green and brown, mostly covered in scales with some patches of fur. Their tails are long, muscular, and very curly, which, coupled with their wings, allow them to swim very quickly. Their faces have a peaceful, solemn, humanesque form. They have long snouts and maws with sharp teeth, and protruding whiskers that are thick as beards. It is said the dharchu can leap over sea-faring vessels.

• birds

Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Donna for pointing out a really cool tongue-in-cheek fantasy novel survey.
If you are writing a fantasy novel, you might find it fun to at least give it a read through.

(The Filmmaker’s Exam is equally amusing, btw.)

I guess you are supposed to be able to answer ‘No’ to every question, or abandon your project forever. LOL.

One of my nobler goals while deciding on the plot of Five Rings was to avoid or attempt to reinvent most of the common clichés out there, hoping to breathe new life into a largely unoriginal genre.

Let’s see how I did: Read the rest of this entry »

• historical use of divination
• modern use of divination

Because most of this is stuff I’ve already touched on, I’m going to take this section on in one fell swoop.

I guess the most important thing to know is there are plenty of ‘fortune tellers’ in Lura just as there are many nameless people out there who claim to be awakened mystics.

(The nameless are people who pretty much live off of others on the major city streets ((homeless)). In Lura, if you fail to make a name for yourself by the time you are an adult, you lose your name - as decided by the Naming Committee.)

Reading the night sky is a dying art — most of the stars are mapped (though anomalies are still considered good/bad omens).

Astronomists are primarily concerned with how the five rings react with each other, how and from where apparitions manifest, and just exactly what it is that the seven rays users see and experience in the fourth ring.

Divining rods work, but intuition is usually inaccurate. Seven rays mystics know that one of the three barriers in the fourth ring is ‘Time’. Humans can only hope to see a little bit ahead of the barrier of ‘present time’. Most animals can see much farther into the future (For instance, when a killer tidal wave is going to roll in on a shoreline, the animals ‘know’ about it hours/days ahead of time and leave the area early). Some demons and gods can also see into the future, according to Lurian beliefs. So human prophecy is very rare, and usually vague or way off from the truth.

Prev: Moving on… | Next: Not a meme! Also not worldbuilding…

Art

• literature
• music
• painting/drawing
• poetry
• sculpture
• theater
• use of art in society

Literature:
Most non-fiction in Lura is set on pursuit of those ever-important fifth rings. Jigo jisho journals are also heavily circulated, thanks to the printing press being recently invented. My timeline actually includes several publications, who wrote them, and what they meant to Lura.
Fiction is popular as well. There is no television, after all. :P

Music:
There is a counter-culture of youths in Shiira called the ‘third culture’. They have been popularizing music in the desert region, marrying their traditional heavy drum beats with modern strings and vocals called ‘nine echoes’. The music is usually performed within the cavernous acoustics of the ninth satrapy. The current most popular third culture band is called ‘Vocal Void’. Read the rest of this entry »

What I find most amusing about this video snippet is how Pat talks about how his fans named his world — since he didn’t. Wait ’til you hear what they named it, then what he attempts to counter-name it during the course of the interview. ;D

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aEyNx04s8U]

Most importantly, he says a thing or two about world building that I found highly relatable (and a little bit inspirational) and I hope you will too.

Prev: The year in review | Next: Moving on…

This has nothing to do with worldbuilding month, but yesterday, my wife reminded me it’s officially been a year since I decided to become a writer. This seems like a very cakey occassion (hint hint, honey)!

I thought it would be nice to make a list of what I’ve accomplished so I can reflect back on it and try to aim higher next year:

1. Overcame my fears of writing.
2. Read several books on how to write.
3. Read several fantasy books.
4. Laid out the groundwork for a high fantasy trilogy.
5. Created this blog; one that has become part of a community I really, really enjoy. :D
6. Became an active member of the fmwriters community.
7. Participated in a dialogue writing workshop.
8. Joined my first critique circle (although I may leave … I haven’t been able to give it much attention).
9. Exchanged countless critiques.
10. Completed two short stories, submitted one to a small local contest (that I unfortunately never heard back from.)
11. Completed many poems, submitted one for publication in an e-zine (that I also unfortunately never heard back from.)

Not bad - lots of milestones.

You just never know how far you are going to go with something or how much you’ll like it until you give it a try.
Here I am, still pluggin’ away. My interest hasn’t waned at all. This is a good feeling. ^_^

Still not published yet, but I’m not gonna give up that easily.
The quest to the EotB continues!

P.S.-> Oh yeah … 12. Participated in Eliza’s World Building Month!

Prev: Shiirati architecture | Next: Patrick Rothfuss interview vid

Okay so a Magic system, check.

World, universe, and physics, check.

Religions with zany philosophies at odds with each other, check!

What’s next?

Well, Eliza was good enough to give us worldbuilders a list of topics to consider. How awesome is that? I figure I can just work my way down. This is the way it starts->

• Architecture
• Art
  • literature
  • music
  • painting/drawing
  • poetry
  • sculpture
  • theater
  • use of art in society

Since a lot of the answers vary from city to city, for the questions that are more specific, I’m going to try and focus on one just one city- Shiira, the desert city.

(Something to understand about Shiira is the northern direction is considered bad luck. Many years ago, two northern kings warred over control of their territory. Now there’s all kinds of superstitious quirks, such as not furnishing a chair on the northern side of tables.)

Architecture:

Shiira is divided into 9 satropies, which are like provinces. Read the rest of this entry »

Mysticism:
Roughly 80% of the people of Kassara are mystics. Nearly everyone goes through a catechism for the religion at an early age.
Mystics are expected to pray at shrines and keep ‘jigo jisho’, but probably only 30% of the followers actually do.
-The prayer shrines are abundant wherever there is civilization. They are pools of water with a shrine maiden present, who is an ‘awakened’ water elemental.
-Jigo jisho is a personal journal mystics keep of their spiritual progression.

Mystics believe in what cannot be seen; they are adherent that some things in life cannot be explained with empirical data alone. Mystics and scientists work together regularly to attempt to explain the true nature of Lura. The fact that apparitions are a commonality is definitely a huge factor contributing to why the religion has gained so many followers.

The ideology of the five rings is embraced by mystics. They believe in the ‘convergience’, which is the idea that all realities intersect at the third ring. They believe they cannot communicate with the Light of Creation directly (which they believe is a manifestation of the fifth ring), and must worship through intermediary gods and goddesses instead.

However, most mystics aren’t entirely convinced the awakened really have powers. It is easy to be skeptical since awakeneds are so rare, and some people are worried their religion is using parlour tricks to keep their followers in line.

None-the-less, the wards to keep evil spirits away seem to work. Read the rest of this entry »

The only truly governing religion is ’superstition’ in Lura, but it has manifested itself in many ways.

Atheism:
There are no true atheists (as we know them) in Lura. With religion simply defined as ‘a belief’, if you tried to claim yourself as one, it would be seen as a joke in Lura. Not believing in something there is, by definition, ‘a belief’.

The existance of god-like beings is almost universally accepted.

Fatalism:
Fatalists believe everything that has ever been or ever will be is written by the ‘Pensman’. He writes high above us on the parchment of space. The stars in the sky are seen as ‘bleed-throughs’; us underneath the parchment. Hence ‘written in the stars’. Their religion is rather bleak; their minds riddled with pessimistic sayings such as “The world is a catacomb”, and they do not believe in an afterlife. Rather, they share the belief: how you felt before you were born is the same way you will feel after death.
“Do you remember what it was like before you were born?”

You do not and will not remember it, so what happens in life is all that matters. They hold you always do exactly as good as you could have—given the circumstances—in any given situation. For instance, if you are lazy, it is due to surrounding circumstances and the will of the Pensman—you simply could not have been ‘not lazy’ during that time period due to fate.

Their religion channels energy from Anima Mundi.

Prev: The World of Lura | Next: Is there religion in Lura? -part two-

To kick off world building month, I thought it would be best to introduce you to the planet itself.

Should planets really be named? An interesting debate. There’s one main reason I decided to name mine:
If you don’t name your planet, your fans will. For example, Robert Jordan didn’t name his world for Wheel of Time, so readers dubbed it Randland (’Rand’ is the name of the main character). That way, fans could more easily communicate when discussing the ins and outs of Jordan’s creation.
…I don’t think I want the Five Rings world to be referred to as ‘Cirellioland’, so I decided to name my world ‘Lura’.

Lura has a solar system and single, central, normal-sized star much like Earth’s called Sol. No one is sure how many planets there are within the solar system, but astrologists actively study the nearby celestial bodies and stars. (Of course, it’s hard to know much about the universe when even the lands within the surrounding oceans are unexplored.)

If I’m following my five rings system (which I am, of course :P), any planets that can sustain life should be between the second and third ring. Lura is just such a planet, so its elemental makeup is much like Earth’s. 
But there are a few key differences: Read the rest of this entry »