Before I get into today’s post, I want to say that I’m SO EXCITED about the new Go Teen Writers book. We will be celebrating this new release in many ways, but the first way is with a cover reveal + cover reveal contest.
HOW IT WORKS:
You must have a public social media account or a public blog to post from. You will receive an email on September 21 (which is three days before the cover reveal) with images of the book cover that you can use “as is” or adapt to create your own image, if you’d rather. That email will also contain the book blurb, hashtags, sample text, and details on pre-order goodies.
COVER REVEAL GIVEAWAY:
We will be running a giveaway for all who participate in sharing the cover, both on cover reveal day (September 24) and on our book release day (December 3). Each time you share the cover online–and as long as you either tag Go Teen Writers or message us a link–you will receive an entry in the cover reveal giveaway. This is a great way of earning extra entries. The giveaway has three prizes:
Grand prize: Four print books! The new Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel print book, plus one book of your choice each from Stephanie, Jill, and Shannon.
And two runners up will each receive: A print copy of the new Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel print book.
Thank you for your help! We appreciate you.
And now… on to today’s post…
Yesterday, my book Storyworld First turned six years old! This particular book started right here on the Go Teen Writers blog as a series of posts on the topic of worldbuilding. You can still access those posts by clicking here.
I titled the book as I did because the storyworld is almost always the first thing I think about when writing a new story. Some people are character first novelists. Some are plot first novelists. I’m a storyworld first novelist.
Another thing to note about the way I look at storyworlds is that I tend to treat them like a character in the book. The world should have attributes that help to define it and let it be seen, felt, smelled, and heard on the page.
I know that for many, worldbuilding can be overwhelming, but the trick is that you don’t have to create everything about your world. You only need to give the reader that illusion. This is sometimes referred to as “smoke and mirrors.” Going into detail on a few things important to the plot gives readers the illusion that you know that much about all the things in your storyworld. Brandon Sanderson talks about this same idea in terms of an iceberg. The part the reader sees in the story is what’s above the water, but if that part is handled well, it gives the impression that there is so much more that exists under the water. And you, as the author, get to decide how much is really down there under the waves.
The point of writing this book was to serve as an idea guide. It was meant to get writers thinking about their world more broadly. I hoped that it would inspire and help with the worldbuilding process. For the past few years now I have been wanting to 1) update this book, and 2) create an audio book version. Neither has happened yet, but I am hopeful that I will get to it eventually. This has been one of my most popular books, and I think an update would help it find a whole new audience of fantasy writers. Plus I have read SO MANY great fantasy novels since writing this book. I’d love to update my examples too.
If you’ve read Storyworld First, what do you think is missing that could be added or expanded on in a second edition? Share in the comments.
If you’ve never read this book and think it might be helpful, I’m giving away a copy today! To enter, answer the question below and enter on the Rafflecopter form. I’m also giving away a copy on my Instagram page, so if you want to enter twice, click here and enter on Instagram too. Good luck, and have fun building your world!
What do you find to be the most challenging part of building a storyworld?
Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Happy six year anniversary! ??. For me I feel like the hardest part is not going to in-depth into the details and every minor twist and turn in the story world, that it becomes super overwhelming and makes you not want to care about your story world. Because I’m a planner at heart and so I would slave over a minor detail that probably won’t matter in the long run but just in case I have to have it prepared. And so with me doing that it doesn’t make story world building fun, even though I know that it is super fun creating your own history and land that no one has ever even dreamed of.
Thanks again for this post!
Oh, Lydia. I SO get this. Yesterday, I spent all of my writing time crafting a work schedule for a character to make sure that I had enough nurses to cover at the hospital. And I didn’t! So I sat at my computer for two hours, trying to make a literal work schedule, and I still haven’t worked it out. And the reality is, if I add a paragraph to my story about nursing schedules, it will overwhelm my readers. Or they won’t care or won’t notice. But I care! LOL I want to know I got it right. But honestly, I think I need to let this detail go and just say that the schedule is working out. Because I’m kind of miserable trying to get this work schedule right. And I could be writing. So, yes! You definitely need to know yourself and your own tendencies so that you can tap yourself on the shoulder and say, “Enough of this. Let’s keep writing.” ♥
Easily the hardest part for me is remember the rules I set myself for magic and keeping those rules consistent! It’s a pain to fix in revisions for sure. (Happy six year anniversary!)
I hear that! Have you tried making a short list of your rules to keep beside your computer? I did that for my Blood of Kings series, and it not only helped me, it reminded me not to only use one or two of the magic types and diversify a little more in the scenes that had magic.
I find the most challenging part of world building for me is believability. Most of my worlds are futuristic, and I want to make where the world is understandable, like that could (in theory) happen some day.
Hmm, I had this problem with my Safe Lands trilogy, Captives (book one), especially. What I did was Google “new inventions” and “technology of the future” and things like that. I found lots of concept art for what people think cars and phones might look like, and those things sparked my imagination. Several readers have written me to say I predicted vaping, which I did not. Vaping was happening back when I wrote my series, I just imagined how it might be if it was much more prevalent in society, and then that sort of happened, which was kind of fun (and also scary!). My favorite thing I created were the sim tattoos, where you could install microchips under the skin, then design simulated tattoos on your device and change them whenever you wanted. Ooh, another example that played into my plot was what I called SimTags. I wanted the government to be able to track people, so they installed chips in everyone, which I got from the idea of putting GPS trackers in pets. All this to say, what helped me was to look at the technology we have right now, then shift it around. It really IS hard work, though, but it can be a lot of fun, too.
I LOVED the Safe Lands trilogy! Thank you for the advice, I agree that has hard as it is, it’s tons of fun. 🙂
I think that the most challenging part is creating a world that makes sense and doesn’t have huge holes in it. There’s just so much to do, and sometimes you want to give up, or you completely forget one aspect of creating a world.
I’m actually really good with world building. Seriously, once I start I go crazy and make it into something overly complicated. I think a hard part for me, though, is that when I write the world, I don’t think I do a good job getting it described right on paper.
Also, I signed my website/blog up for the cover reveal Monday. Just wanted to make sure you got it. Congrats on the sixth year anniversary!
That takes practice, Issabelle. I always make my worldbuilding stronger in the editing stage. I will go through my manuscript over an over. This time I’m looking to add and tweak physical descriptions of my world. Next time I’m looking to make sure I’ve incorporated my magic consistently. Then I’ll do a pass for technology, or creatures, or the weather, or whatever is on my worldbuilding list. And I’m not adding much. Just looking to build consistency. I don’t know if we have you signed up or not. The email connected to your comment is not on the list. Message me at jill@jillwilliamson.com if you want to double check.
Thank you. I now have a good idea on how to help my world building. I sent you an email at the address to double check. Thank you again.
The hardest part for me is the history of my world. Like, I know about the whole “5-Arrows” war thing, and I know they signed a peace treaty and such, BUT…
WHY are Oni and Jinns (Children born with so-called, “dark magic”) considered dangerous?
WHY does Patan hate Silava so much?
WHEN did the rulers agree to enslave and lock up Oni and Jinns?
WHERE did the Uxani prisons come from?
Blah blah blah de blah… sorry if you don’t understand a word I just said. ?
Although keeping the rules of the Oni and Jinns straight is very difficult for me as well.
It sounds like you’re asking yourself all the right questions, you just need to figure out the answers. For me, oftentimes, asking myself more questions will lead me to the answers. Just keep asking Why and How until you figure it out. Sometimes it helps to get friends to brainstorm with you. 🙂
So exciting!! On both counts! Can’t wait for the new book!
Thank you! 🙂
For me the most challenging part is adding people. General stuff (especially magic, flora, and fauna) are easy for me, as is making maps (my favorite part). But then people actually have to live in the world. And I have to figure out how they interact with their environment.
That’s so interesting, Rebecca. But it also makes sense, especially if you’ve never lived in the woods or in a place like your characters live in. What has helped me with this type of thing is to find mentor texts. So, if I have a character who is a healer, I’ll Google “novels about ancient healers” or “medieval doctors” or things like that until I find a few that sound interesting. Then I’ll read them and see what I can learn from those authors. You can also read historical fiction and learn too. I learn a lot of cool things from historical fiction about Vikings. Then I can adapt any ideas that fit my world and story. Or go off on another search and learn more about something I learned about from a novel. It’s not fast, that’s for sure. But it can be really fun.
Making maps is one of the hardest parts for me, as I am far from artistic and skilled in that area. And sticking with the map is tricky too. Like, in chapter one it took so-and-so thirty minutes to get from A to B, and in chapter 6 someone does the same thing in two days. :[] Not a consistent!
That happens to me too, Camille. I either end up changing the map or the story in the rewrite stage to make it consistent.
I’m not much of a fantasy author but I would like to learn more about world building.
Congratulations on your six year anniversary! For me, the most challenging part is making the story feel believable and also adding depth.
I think the main problem with my worldbuilding is showing the culture of the story’s world realistically, especially a so much different culture than the one you know and live in. Plus you want to portray it respectfully if you’re basing a lot of it off a real-life culture that you know little about.
That can be super tricky, Miranda.
Yay! So awesome!! Hardest part for me is probably adding depth, I always feel like my storyworld is…bluh. ?
I haven’t thought much about my story world yet. I am writing contemporary fiction and always forget that 2020 America is a story world, too. 🙂
Ha ha. You are so right! And what a weird storyworld 2020 is too. 😉
Well I’m worldbuilding right now and I’m running into some difficulties with government. I suppose I can see why so many fantasy novels have a monarchy–it’s fairly easy to write!
I don’t really enjoy doing research for accuracy, but I do enjoy researching for ideas. So now I’m finally getting to some books that have been sitting on my shelf for too long to help me with research. I think it’s helpful to have a real world culture to base at least part of your world around. For my WIP that is Ancient Greece and Rome and the Incas (very odd I know!)
I’m with you, Bethany. I like to parallel my governments off governments from our ancient world. It is a good place to start, anyway.
I think the most challenging part of worldbuilding for me is probably figuring out what I will need in my story. I tend to try and figure out every single detail of my world, while in all reality I won’t actually be using most of what I brainstorm for the story itself.
So exciting! I think that one of the most difficult parts of worldbuilding is deciding whether or not to create new languages and deciding how to create a realistic government.
This book sounds awesome! I’ve wanted to read it but haven’t had the chance yet. Congrats on the anniversary!