Fantasy World

[Bardos]

What do you need to create a fantasy world (aside from imagenation:P)? What a fantasy world must have to be realistic and... fantastic, of course? How much of its history you need to know? Do you need to know the world's inportant personalities from the beggining? A good map, a simple piece of paper, or... no map at all??

[wolfshead]

This is only personal opinion, of course, but I think a good grounding in all the world mythologies is a help. When i first became interested in fantasy and wanted to write it, I read all the norse myths, Arthurian legends,Welsh, Irish and Scottish myths and legends, books on British fairylore, the german 'Nibelunenlied', the Finnish Kalevala, the Sumerian 'Epic of Gilgamesh', Beowulf, the epic of Roland, and, of course, as many fantasy novels as I could get hold of. Later on, I studied paganism, wicca and 'earth mysteries', as well a British history (esp. medieval) and prehistory (I even took an anthropology course.)If I am using a setting in a fantasy piece that contains a gloomy barrow or ruined clifftop castle, i find it quite good fun to find an inspiring real-life place and describe it. ( I am lucky enough to live in the UK when barrows and castles abound!) The ruined castle of Dunstanburgh in northumbria is one I've 'used' in a short story.
I am a big fan of maps, esp. for long, complicated novels. It's good fun creating them too!

[KATS]

I agree with Wolfshead. I have so much detail in my worlds it’s almost sickening. But it’s one of my favorite parts of writing the story. I know a lot of people do not have a lot of detail, nor do they necessarily need it. I happen to be a bit neurotic so I tend to take it farther than necessary.

Just a note on studying “paganism, wicca and 'earth mysteries'”. Ever try to explain to very Christian parents why you have those books? By the way, I’ve been looking for a good book on symbols and their historic meanings. Anyone have any suggestions? Perhaps a site that gives some good background on symbols. I have a book but it just give a brief history of each symbol, though it does have quite a few symbols.

[Bardos]

Check this out

http://www.celtic-art.net/index2.htm

Its pretty interesting.

[Umesha Chalanie]

Hey Kats - I take it you had to go through the whole explaining to Christian parents about interests in areas like what you mentioned? My mate goes to a Catholic school - they found a book of Wicca in his bag, and he's in danger of getting expelled. How did you explain to your parents, and any advice for him?

[KATS]

No advice. All I said was they were for research and my mom didn’t really say anything. She just gave me religious books and started making little comments about church. Kinda annoying, but no big deal really. Hehe Of course by then I was living on my own.

Actually even reading and/or writing about fantasy is against some religions. I went to a Christian boarding academy and they would confiscate any books that even looked like it might be fantasy. I can’t imagine if they found a “How to be a Witch” book.

By the way Bardos, thanks for the site. Pretty cool.

[wolfshead]

I grew up in a Catholic household too. My mother went ballistic when I borrowed a book of white witch's spell from the library as a teenager, and she threw away my frazetta poster of a mailed dark rider holding a big axe because she thought it was 'evil'. Managed to convince her not all fantasy was bad because tolkien was a catholic too1 Gradually she got used to it all, and never batted an eyelid at the books in my bookshelf. I also think she got less religious as she got older too1!

[Bardos]

So you corruped your mother, eh?! Don't get me wrong -only a joke- and I hate priests (don't get me wrong again, if you like them! ).
...I have "corrupted" my mother also...

[adellana]

I did the whole fantasy witch thing too, and I was soooo serious about it my mom never really found out but my sister found the books and started getting into it too. the only problem is, she was much less discreet. I guess I was blesed with an understanding family, but just kinda let it ride. People either get over it, or else you lie your ass off.
Also, I like the points about building a good fantasy world. Reading from current mythology is always a great idea, and the best ideas come from it...after all, human nature can only change so much, no matter what world (or can it?)

[Lady_Linda]

*spontanous comment*

How awful to go to such a school! What happens if you'd go to a chatolic school and decided to covert to Islam or Buddism or something? (Can you really be expelled for that?!)

I'm glad I'm not going to school in the USA... (No offence people

~Linda~

(This was kinda off topic, about words I think that the more details you've got the better, but don't use them all - not at once at least

[Umesha Chalanie]

Hey Lady_Linda - it's an Aussie school.

And sorry Bardos, didn't answer any of your question back there, so I will now.

You don't need to know every detail about history, unless you plan on retelling/rewriting it. General info. of it is good, though, because you can get a better insight in the workings of the 'medieval' world - the era which most fantasies are in.

A map is also good, it helps create better imagery, and if you're creating a completely new fantasy world, then description, description, description. But not too much description.

[Lady_Linda]

Ok :0)

~L~

[wastra]

World Building is pretty important for writing a believeable and 3 dimensional work of fantasy. Unlike other writing styles where hte reader can fall back on his knowledge of the real world to fill in the gaps, the fantasy reader has to be given at least enough of the facts to make the world seem real- this is a challenge other genres do not face, and one of the most underrated of skills of good fantasy writers.

A map is a good idea if your story encompasses a good deal of travel or incorporates large geographical areas. It helps flesh out the details in terms of relative distance and time of travel. It isn't necessary to publish the map, but it is vital to have it to refer to in your own writings.

Finally, I agree that a good grasp of real history (both political and mythological) is indispensable to a world-creator. It is always better to know "why" things are the way they are in your world in order to make the reader understand it.
Take this example:
Joe Smith has created a worl in which there are 4 ancient kingdoms, one ruled by and inhabited by humans, another elves, another dwarves, the last gnomes. That's fine, but the world is only two dimensional without further development.

"Why" are there kingdoms of different races rather than all races living intermingled?

What events transpired to bring the world to its current politcal stage? Why are certain races friendly towards each other, while some hate? Why have they never been ablew to overcome their differences?

There's a difference between "just making something up because it sounds cool" and creating a world that is believeable and 3 dimensional. If you understand how our world came into being hte way it is, and how certain religious, political, and social situations came into being in reality, you can use that knowledge to make the reader 'believe' situations in your own fatasy world. Such complex political and social realtionships don't just materialize out of thin air, they develope as a long, deep, complex relationship of events and consequences- having at least the idea of how they came into being in your own head will make your writing that much more believeable.

[KATS]

Wastra: I agree completely and couldn’t have explained it better.

[Strange Angel]

You want detailed worlds? How about this?
http://www.fool-cola.com/Worlds_Main.html

Coincidentally, one of the worlds I'll be writing about will be called 'Wolf's Head,' a world I actually thought up while camping last summer. It will be a heavily forested planet where predators are so dominant and aggressive that humans have to live in heavily fortified settlements and have learned to accept high rates of population loss to predators.