Halloo, Folks!

Guess what! Over the next four weeks, I will be bringing you my first blog series!

In this series, we will be covering several different aspects of world-building and why they are important for your story. The different topics we will be covering are:

• Language
• Geography/Resources
• Religion
• Cultures/Traditions

What is world-building?

Merriam Webster defines world-building as “the art of creating a new fictional world.” Though this phrase is most often used in the context of fiction writing, this wasn’t always the purpose. Actually, the first use of the saying was found in the early 1800s, though it was in the context of geology. Literal world-building there I guess. Toward the late 1800s and early 1900s, the meaning changed to describe the imaginative world of artists and poets. In the latter half of the 1900s, the phrase took on a more similar meaning to what we use today, that of creating an entirely new world.

Now, be sure that you don’t confuse world-building with that of setting. They are, in fact, horses of entirely different colors. World-building would be the creation of a wholly new world, while the setting might be a single city in that world, more simply the backdrop in which the story takes place: time, location, weather, etc.

When you go about your daily routine, whatever that might be, you interact with the world around you in a myriad of ways. There are many unwritten rules that you were taught as a young child that you adhere to in your interactions with others. Traditions and examples also dictate how we go about our lives.

Take Christmas for example. All around the world, numerous countries celebrate Christmas, but they all do it in different ways. In Austria, Krampus, a half-goat half-man being, punishes naughty children. Barbeques are common during Christmas in Australia. Hiding a pickle, or a pickle ornament, in a Christmas tree is a tradition of unknown origins in the United States. These are just a small, small sample of the different ways people around the world celebrate this one holiday.

It is information like that that will take your story to an entirely different level. By giving your readers a clear grasp of how your characters interact with the world around them, you will be pulling your readers further into the story. They will be more immersed than ever. Not to mention, it adds that touch of realism that many people crave.

So, sit back and enjoy this series as we journey together through the wonders of world-building.

With Blessings,

Nicolle

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/what-is-world-building