Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My Best World-building

Even stories that take place in a contemporary setting have some element of world building in them.  Of course, fantasy and science fiction are the best examples of complex world-building exercises.  But even thrillers like The Hunt for Red October need to have some world building to make the story work.

My best work at world-building is in my story The Path Into Darkness.  It features a complicated "world within the world", a secret history that runs parallel to the rest of the world.
It's a world where magic exists side-by-side with the mundane; although the presence of the magic is hidden by the various forces that can control it.  Some of this activity is to keep "normal people" safe; another part of it is to horde the power for themselves so that they are the only ones who can control it.

Not only is this hidden, secret history complex and involved, so is the methodology of magic as it pertains to that story.  There are several different styles, exemplified by the different approaches of the two main characters -- one is a more "traditional" sorcerer, a la a typical fantasy story, whereas the other blends magical forces into various technological devices making.

The setting of The Path Into Darkness is definitely my most "complete" setting.  I spent quite a lot of time doing research and figuring out exactly what I wanted to do with it; along the way, I blended some mythology, some actual occultism and mysticism, and some of my own ideas together to make a logical, coherent setting that can propel the story forward.

What is your best setting and world building project?

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