Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books for teens in lots of weird genres like, fantasy (Blood of Kings trilogy), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). Find Jill on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or on her author website.
This post now part of the book Storyworld First: Creating A Unique Fantasy World For Your Novel by Jill Williamson.
So, take a look at that world. What kinds of current-day problems have you already set up? Is there a threat to your world? A threat to a certain people? Is war brewing? Does your story’s conflict involve the land in some way?
In By Darkness Hid, Darkness is spreading. And that’s a pretty serious problem. In Captives, the people in the Safe Lands are dying from a virus, and they have to do something to save themselves. In Replication, Martyr just wants to see the sky before he expires, but Dr. Kane is also in serious trouble. His needs and Martyr’s needs clash in a big way. In The New Recruit, Spencer thought he was just going on some lame mission trip with a bunch of churchers, but he inadvertently brought himself to the attention of some very bad people who’ve been looking for him for a long time. And now he’s on the run.
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| Edmund meets the queen and makes a choice |
In the Lord of the Rings, Sauron wants the ring and a hobbit happened to be in the way. All this was brewing long before the story started. And the ring came to his uncle in a different book! In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the witch has been doing bad things long before the Pevensies arrive. In Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort has been biding his time, building his strength. In Cinder, the political situation is not good. Emperor Kai must decide to marry the evil Queen or see his people die. What’s a good emperor to do, anyway?
The conflicts in all of these books were set up as part of the storyworld before the actual story begins. Then the main characters are brought into a place where things are happening, and they must choose how they will interact with the people and situations they come into contact with.
So take some time to think through all that you’ve brainstormed and ask yourself what is happening in your world today as a result of the terrain, government, magic, religions, technology, and the history? What kind of a scene does all of that create for your character to enter into?