Like characters, settings are made of, you guessed it, questions. Somewhat early on when I was drafting what would become the Dreams of QaiMaj series, I discovered a gem of a resource on SFWA’s website, this amazing article by Patricia C Wrede. It is basically a very long list of questions. I mean, lots of questions. Click over to the link and click on just one of the headings, then come right back. Without. Getting. Lost.
See how many darn questions there are?
My favorite part is that she introduces the list saying that it’s “not intended to be exhaustive.” Like, we’re going to add questions to this already insanely long list! It may not be exhaustive but just looking at it makes me exhausted.
Long and exhausting or not, this list made me a fantasy writer. It took me from “fumbling around in the dark” to “capable of visualizing a complete fantasy world.” It made me see setting in ways I’d never seen it before. I took this list, copied it into my own word doc, and answered every single question on it for the story world of QaiMaj. And because I have several varied cultures operating in QaiMaj, and even different time frames to consider, I had to answer most questions two or three times.
And, yeah, it was exhausting. But it completely revealed to me how little I knew about my story world, and how much I needed to determine. It made the world real to me, a photograph rather than a caricature.
If you are struggling to actualize your story world, I highly recommending making an attempt to answer every question on that list.
But, if that list seems daunting and just looking at it is giving you hives, I have a gift for you, my writerly friend: In the next post, I’m going to reveal my summary of these questions. I took thirty pages of questions and knocked them down to just three. It’s nowhere near as comprehensive as Wrede’s list, but it is a great place to start if you want to start asking questions about your story world.
Tomorrow: 101 TIWIK #34: Worldbuilding II: 50 Crucial Questions
This post is part of a series of 101 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Wrote My First Book. Start reading the series at the beginning.
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