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The Worldbuilding Pioneer That You Are

 If you happen to be one of the first author to write about your culture for non-local readers, then you will be the one to decide which elements to use and how those elements in your story should be described. Even if you are writing your story based on historical fiction, worldbuilding is still a critical process you must go through. 

[Click this link to watch the video that mirrors this post.]

You have to decide from scratch about which cultural symbol, architecture, or even practices you need to focus on to keep your story culturally authentic. Why is this important? Because if you want to create a 3-D character, you must create a 3-D space for her. For example, you cannot just show how emotions are expressed, you also have to show what belief and customs this expression is based on. In some culture, a man who says what he means is considered honest, but in another culture it is considered rude. This has nothing at all to do with how advanced, or how developed, or how sophisticated a culture is compared to others.

Without that physical, cultural and spiritual context, it will be very difficult for your reader to empathise with your hero's motivations. The downside to being a pioneer is, you have to guess what kind of detail or idea will draw in readers.

Not being the first means you can apply a system that has been made popular by another writer or storyteller. The popularity itself is already proof that the system works. For example, vampire stories are generally based on Bram Stoker's work which was published in 1897. Bram Stoker's Dracula is not the first vampire story but it is the first popular one. His monster was irresistible, sexy and dangerous, which is still a staple of vampiric literature even now.

Back to worldbuilding: There are three areas that I generally focus on.


1. Real World Information

These are details you get from real world facts, history, official laws and known social etiquettes.

Whether your story is modern, historical or fantasy, you still need to build a backdrop that is based on existing geography and customs. You can skip research and go by feel when you are writing contemporary fiction because you can directly see and experience the details you are writing about. When writing about the past, however, it is good to be aware of newly introduced social practices. For example, nowadays a meal means having food and drinking beverage on the table. I don't remember it being like that when I was growing up. We had soup, and that was good enough for washing down food. Drinking was treated as a separate activity.

Worldbuilding based on facts can be challenging in its own way because you are restricted in how you present your story. For example, I can't make a 19th century Iban head-hunter shoot a gun because it is not something that was invented in the culture. Guns came from foreigners. So if I want my character to use one, I will have to expose him to foreign elements. This can be a lot of work, so it helps to be familiar with alternative options. For example, in my case I can give my character a blow pipe. So instead of of writing about panic caused by a loud bang, it will be panic caused by a man suddenly keeling over from a poison dart.

Measurements are another area you have to contend with. When you are writing historical fiction, you have to figure out how to quietly slip in these modern concept of distance or time into your story. I mean, writing 'See you at three o'clock' is more specific than 'See you after my day meal' but the word 'three o'clock' will disrupt the mood of your story. This may seem like a simple problem but measurement of time and distance will come out a lot in a story. It will save you a lot of trouble if you can come up with a system that works for you right from the start.


2. Metaphysical Information

Sometimes it is unavoidable to explain and tell, especially when a concept of magic or belief is so peculiar that it is unknowable to non-locals. Before you think about weaving the information into your story, you first need to decide which part of the whole do you want to focus on. Take the case of a ghost for example: some culture focus on a chill in the air, some focus on the smell of flowers or incense that are used during funerals, and others are based on seeing or hearing omen animals.

My advice at this point is to read as much fiction as you can on the culture that is most like your own. There are plenty of translated text online. You can also read short stories written by bloggers. This is not so that you can copy them, but it is so that you can decide if those details they described will work for your story.

There is nothing wrong with learning from another writer.

You might be the kind of writer who does not need to go through all this worldbuilding exercise. If you are good at sticking to your original plot, then you can world build as you continue to write, based on what you need for the plot. However, if you are an organic writer like me, the more world building you do, the easier it will be for you to move your story forward. Writers like me tend to write ourselves into a dead-end because we don't have enough information, so worldbuilding is critical for us.


3. Creating Original Backstories

The alternative to using real world facts and belief, is to create new ones with backstories. You can also create new magic based on existing folklore or superstition. This is particularly important when you plan to write something similar to a video game.

One fantastic work I want to recommend for a video game style novel is Soul Land by Tang Jia San Shao (https://bluesilvertranslations.wordpress.com/chapter-list/).  Take note though, the novel was originally written in Chinese, and this blog is an English translation by fans of the series. So there will be some mistakes in grammar and syntax. I personally think that the world building is magnificent.

For the usual novels, you can try to create backstories for your hero or monster by mixing and matching facts or legends with folklore. For example in Bram Stoker's case, he created Dracula out of a historical figure with a reputation that blends well with an existing folklore monster. This is why his horror story can also be read as a tragic romance.

I hope this video has given you some fresh ideas. Start writing, keep writing. Good luck.

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