A way with worlds: 41 - Playing God

Except for people that may share whatever biases or fixations a writer playing god has, people usually are annoyed by stories with an obvious "authorial control." Readers know - often consciously, sometimes intuitively, but they know.

In general, I find that they resent it.

Readers who read a story that is manipulated as opposed to imagined, feel manipulated as well. Surprise is gone, the author is in control, the author's biases not their wild ideas have reign. Plots can be terribly obvious or sudden and pointless, as the author's desire for control squashes real imagination.

Playing god keeps away the readers - and those it attracts may only be interested as they share your specific biases.

THE THREAT TO WORLDBUILDING:
Those of us who build worlds are in a peculiar kind of danger from "godthink." Those using existing worlds acknowledge that they are creations of others, they can appreciate the mystery of another mind. Worldbuilders however may be so aware of their creations and their unique role in cultivating them, we may think nothing of playing god. The mystery of that made by the imagination of others isn't the same as the mystery of what comes from our own minds.

Because our worlds are things we know the most about, we may not realize when we damage them. Others who do not know our worlds as well as us can't catch damage in time.

We may also treat our worlds as property. This, I find, is a great flaw and a creator of "godthink," and a danger to worldmakers. We assume our creations are property, like a hammer or a car, something to be used - and that brings in the above-mentioned problems.

We worldbuilders and universe-creators are custodians, really. We have marvelous dreams that we can grow or cultivate, like a forest, like a child. To try and force our dreams to be one shape or another negates what they are - and when you wreck a universe for the sake of playing god, you've made the world just a bit less interesting and yourself just a bit less of an artist.

SUMMARY:
Playing god doesn't do anything for you or your readers. Get off the throne, put down the tablets, give the seraphim their pink slips and enjoy writing.

A Way with Worlds is hosted at:

• fanfiction.net

• lit.org

• sffworld.com

• Woman-to-Woman

The complete works are archived at the Way With Worlds archive.
A German translation is in the works at Christian Spliess's Page