Throughout my writing, two of the biggest challenges I’ve faced have been 1) worldbuilding and 2) knowing my characters.
Worldbuilding
For worldbuilding, the thing that has helped me the most is simply reading. I’ve tried many different checklists, articles, how-to books, and watched hours of YouTube videos. But reading books that handle worldbuilding in good ways, and bad ways, has given me the most value.
For a longtime I resisted digging into worldbuilding because it’s a process I don’t really love. Don’t get me wrong, I do love me a deep and rich world! But, the idea of coming up with social and economic constructs, and especially politics, was a huge turnoff for me. Many people advised me to only go as deep as the story needs, but it still wasn’t resonating. (Or maybe I just wasn’t getting it.)
A Tolkien level world isn’t on the horizon for this gal. But, I have come to appreciate that there is more to a world than politics and trees. The stories I love most weave the world and surroundings in through the actions and experiences of the characters. Which makes sense, since I prefer character-driven stories.
For example . . .
You can taste the smog, feel the grit, and experience the poverty when Inej is scaling her way across the rooftops of Ketterdam in Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. But we never had to endure page after page of description telling us what it was like.
You can see the forest full of trees, hear the wind, smell the moss, and feel the wet clothes clinging to Jude after Carden bullied her into the lake in The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. Again, without a needle by needle description of the environment.
Of course these are just small examples. But they have stuck with me, along with countless others, and give me inspiration for something I aspire to achieve.
Characters
For as much as I love character-driven stories, the irony is not lost on me that I struggled with getting to know my characters.
To some extent, character interviews, how-to books, and again, hours on YouTube did help. K.M. Weiland’s writing on characters and arcs have been beyond helpful with the mechanics and technicalities. (I do highly recommend her website and books on the craft.) But I was still feeling a disconnect.
Then, one of my critique partners, Wayne, mentioned a technique he was using to craft the key memories of his characters, and the insight it was giving him. As is often the way with shared experiences, I tried this and failed haha. However, the beauty of brainstorming is how it ultimately iterates its way into something useful.
For me, figuring out their backstory has been golden. The way I approached it was to pick a relevant point in the past. This point was the seed for everything else to come, that would ultimately lead to the current state of things for my story proper. I’ve been writing my way forward from this point. In fact, most of my current writing is taking place during the 400 years prior to the start of the book.
Where it all began . . .
This starting point in my story happened in 1610, when the elven ruler of Eytherfel and his wife birthed triplets. An event that has never occurred in the history of Eytherfel. Feradeth and Alemar bore the marked heads of white hair, confirming their destiny to be the next twin rulers. However, the unexpected arrival of a third, weaker sibling crowned with jet black hair and named Korali (Black Shadow) for it, set into motion a series of events that would be the undoing of the elves of Eytherfel.
These words are not prose to make their way into a book (at least not at this time). But they cover events and moments in time that shaped each character. Understanding what they went through, the things they’ve done, how they engaged with each other, and reacted in different situations has been enlightening and exciting.
As a writer, what trips you up the most? As a reader, what’s the one thing you love the most when writers “get it right”?
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