Category: Project August
Creating a Story World, Day 31: Unexplained Phenomena
| August 31, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
Many people have offered explanations about why vessels disappear in the Bermuda Triangle. Some say that something funky happens to compasses there. Others assert hurricanes, sabotage, or plain old human error cause the disappearance of ships. But nobody really knows for certain.
No matter how much work you do to create your story world, there will always be some things that you just can’t explain. What kind of unexplained phenomena exist in your world? How long have they been in occurrence? What are some of the theories about what’s happening?
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Creating a Story World, Day 23: Reliable Reporters
| August 23, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
My favorite place to watch the news is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I love that guy. I guess I also use other sources too, like the internet and, on occasion an honest to goodness, old-fashioned newspaper.
What are the news sources in your story world? Who are the reporters? What are their angles? What are the really reliable sources? What are the tabloid quality sources? How accessible is information?
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Creating a Story World, Day 22: Education
| August 22, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
How are people in your story world educated? Is education important? Are people taught by apprenticeship? Formal institutions? Reading? Watching reenactments of history? What are the basic things that everybody learns (you know, we have the 3 r’s)?
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Creating a Story World, Days 20/21: Mythology Madness
| August 20, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
One of my absolute favorite stories is that of Bilbo Baggins. What I love about it is that there’s always more to learn about the world of Middle Earth. Tolkein has provided maps, descriptions of the people in his world, mythology, history, and of course a great story.
So, let’s focus on the mythology for a second. On day 2 of Project August, we did a history lesson. Now we’re going to switch gears and write some mythology. What are the legendary tales of your story world? Is there an Odysseus? A Thor?
Don’t forget, mythology can paint largely metaphorical pictures about humanity or provide a fantastical explanation for why things are the way they are. Let yourself get carried away with this prompt.
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Creating a Story World, Day 19: Love
| August 19, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
I’m getting married in about two months…. I think about wedding stuff all the time these days. Thus, the inspiration for this prompt.
How do people express their commitment to their partner(s) in your story world? Do they have weddings like we do? Or is there another ceremony? Is there any acknowledgement at all? How important is it for people to be officially committed? Who performs the ceremonies?
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Creating a Story World, Day 18: The Authorities
| August 18, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
On days 6, 7, & 8 of Project August, we identified some of the rules of the universe and rules of magic. So, it only follows that if there are rules, there must be some sort of enforcement agency, right?
Who are the authorities in your story world? What different levels of authority are there (think, local police, CIA, FBI)? Who is at the head of these organizations? How effective are they? Are they corrupt or on the level? What happens if somebody breaks the rules?
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Creating a Story World, Day 17: Faith
| August 17, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
Faith is an interesting thing. It makes people behave in strange ways sometimes. I waffled a little bit about putting this in as part of your world-building activities. Faith is such a touchy, taboo subject. However, faith is such a prominent part of existence. People are always looking for a higher meaning. If you neglect this area of interest, you might be missing out on an important piece of your story world.
So:
What are the major faiths in your world? What are the basics of them? Who believes in them? Who are the major figures of each faith? Do all the faiths coexist peaceably? Have they in the past?
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Creating a Story World, Day 16: Transportation
| August 16, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
There are all kinds of cool ways to get around: spaceship, car, train, boat. In paranormal fiction, you can add a whole new dimension of interesting. One of my favorite examples comes from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. One of the ways to travel is to open a Way. It is basically cutting a hole in the fabric of the air and walking through it into the Nevernever, a shadow world of our own that houses all manner of creatures good and bad. If you know the right Way, you can travel pretty efficiently all around the world. Of course, you have to be careful of ending up in the wrong neighborhoods….
What are some cool modes of transportation in your story world? Who has access to them? How do they work? Are there any particular dangers associated with them?
For some fun inspiration from Animals Being Dicks, see: http://tumblr.com/x2w3detkxz
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Creating a Story World, Day 15: Delicacies
| August 15, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
I have been catching up on season 3 of True Blood recently. At one point, Russell, the King of Mississippi, “invites” Bill to come over for dinner and a little business meeting. Russell’s partner, Talbot, is very happy to accommodate guests. He takes it upon himself to prepare excellent delicacies for dinner. The vampires drink the blood of humans who have been prepared in special ways (only eaten oranges for 3 days or somesuch).
Every culture or community can have delicacies. What are the delectable edibles in your story world? Why are they so rare? How are they prepared?
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Creating a Story World, Day 13/14: Customs
| August 13, 2011 | Posted by ljquillyn under Project August, Prompts, worldbuilding |
Every culture has its own interesting customs. Think about our customs: dressing up on Halloween, eating cake on our birthdays, buying a Christmas tree and leaving out cookies and milk for Santa. Many of these are rooted in some history.
What are the customs in your world? What is the history behind them? When did they start? How have they evolved?
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