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World Building Techniques

What this session is not: This session will not help you build a world from scratch determining its entire history, geography, politics, religion, flora, fauna, architecture and so on. If you wish to do that, feel free to dedicate your lifetime to it and don’t forget to have fun drawing maps. What this session is: This session will help you use one or two lines or even one or two words to give the reader the impression that you have built a world from scratch determining its entire history, geography, politics, religion, flora, fauna, architecture and so on. And you won’t even have to draw any maps. What we’re gonna do: This session is split into four unequal parts and will be a combination of an open forum and a group exercise. The four parts we will focus on are:

Objects are your Friends

World Views

Exoticism and Mysticism

And Yet More Techniques A crucial thing to bear in mind:

The reader will always be a tourist in your world. They should have sufficient knowledge to find their way around the main sites of interest (your plot or whatever images you want to show them) but should at no point have the depth of understanding of the characters who actually live in your world. It is up to you as the writer when using these techniques how much you want to explain and how much you want to leave unexplained.

A good rule of thumb is that if the reader needs to know something in detail to understand the plot, a character or simply to complete a mental image of what you’ve created, you should give some explanation. If it is not essential that they understand something fully, it is better to leave it unexplained. Remember, you are trying to give the impression that a world exists outside the confines of the camera lens, you are not actually trying to show them that world.

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Objects are your Friends All objects have properties and histories, be they clothes, pots, pans, computers, cars, tables, chairs, hovels, keys, coins, starships, sea shells or dice. All objects, no matter how humble, have a story to tell…

Attributions “Father!” Rose cried, close to tears. “You were going to sell me for a chocolate biscuit!”

“Be reasonable Rose, it was Spanish chocolate.” “Say your piece then get out!” She stormed into the mirror-panelled study and kicked an ornate De Lacey chair, then slashed at its velvet upholstery with a small blade. “Nice knife.” Grondol sauntered into the room. “Is that Kinsman steel?” What’s this all about? We make assumptions and inferences about the properties of objects by where they’re from, what brand they have on them, who made them or what they are made of. Swiss chocolate, Bose stereos, Van Gogh paintings and silk handkerchiefs are, by convention, considered to be of high quality, regardless of the actual properties of the individual object. Tesco Value baked beans, on the other hand, are considered to be of low quality. By attributing properties to objects you infer to the reader a shared cultural knowledge among your characters, a value system, an economy, trade networks, craftsmanship and the existence of places outside the camera lens. Application Whenever an object is mentioned, whether it is important to the scene or the plot or simply set dressing, attribute it a place of origin, a brand, a creator or simply say what it’s made of, for example a Caladian sword, a Starco quantum accelerator, a Montique wood carving or a sandstone pillar. Things to think about

As ever with world-building techniques, you need to consider how important it is for the reader to know the finer details. You could say ‘he drew his Caladian sword’, which doesn’t tell us whether the sword’s good or bad quality, but it might not matter. If it does matter you could say, ‘he drew a fine Caladian sword’ or ‘he swept out a sword of finest Caladian steel’ or ‘he drew a finer sword than even those forged in Old Caladia’. Or you could simply have another character ask in awe ‘is that a Caladian sword?’

If you are writing something historical, it is well worth looking up manufacturing history relevant to your period. For example, silk manufacture was brought to Europe by the Italian city-states as a consequence of the Crusades but by the 17th century Lyonnaise silk was the bestest.

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The Humble Coin “Just how much was a hundred Republican florins in Targan sovereigns? And just how much did a crunch of sky ogres know about international exchange rates anyway?” Just my luck! The taverner had slipped me wormgelt, coinage minted by Ducalius the Fat solely to pay for the Alba Scotia Campaign. And we all know how well that turned out. Still, you get what you pay for... What’s this all about? Tokens are used to exchange goods and services in most cultures, be it coins, promissory notes or electronic credit. These tokens are important objects in themselves when it comes to world-building and should always have some form of description when characters use them, even if the description is just the coin’s name. Using this technique you can infer to the reader a government, a mint (reliable or otherwise), mining, manufacturing, economy, trade networks and even crime such as clipping, sweating and counterfeiting. Application Whenever money or the exchange of goods comes into play in your writing, be it buying food in a tavern, closing a deal for an illicit stardrive or trying to get money back from a broker when the South Sea Bubble bursts, make sure to name or describe the token of exchange and, if possible, have your characters have a brief discussion of their perceived value, for example “Clock eggs, eh? I’ll give you three hexes for the lot of them, and I’m a fool to myself.” “Three hexes? I can get three sovs for them at Oldgate Market.” Things to think about

Coins were historically valued for their weight in precious metal so people often checked their coinage using scales. This also meant they could be cut into pieces to divide them up in payment.

Coins tend to be named after the pictures on them crowns, sovereigns, Caesars, shields, their physical appearance, discs, bits, bars, or their weight marks

Quality and debasement of coinage are always issues. In the ancient Mediterranean, the silver drachma of Pericles of Athens was the standard unit of currency for all cultures because it was considered to be reliable.

What something costs in one place is not what it costs in another. The same object will have different value in different places.

Coins do not have to be made of metal. The earliest known coins were obsidian. Glass beads have also been used historically.

Never use horribly clichéd phrases like ‘gold pieces’ or ‘credits’. They’re too vague and do not ring true.

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The Quality of Dirt The chipped chassis of the bugbot was scored with carbon. Its gears whined as it scuttled under my begonias. He pulled on a rusty mail coat and grasped the hilt of his notched sword. He held it before his smoke-smeared face in a final salute. “Vive L’Empereur!” What’s this all about? Dirt is everywhere in our lives all of the time. If you use something, it gets dirty. If you don’t use it, it gets dirty. Describing objects as dirty or more generally in terms of their wear and tear, gives the readers a sense that the objects have seen use outside of the story as well as a sense of the passing of time. Application When describing any object from coins to clothes to whole cities, consider mentioning some form of dirt, for example a tarnished silver candelabra, a grimy wrench, a mouldy bucket, a rusty greave or a dusty book. Things to think about

Technology should not work perfectly all the time. It does not in real life so it should not in your world. Have engines break down, gears lock, software crash and vehicles needing a good hard thump to get working.

When George Lucas made the original Star Wars film he told the designers he wanted to give the appearance of a ‘used universe’. The designers thus went off and smeared most of the sets, droids, clothes and starships with dirt. The first film is a good visual reference for this technique.

Useful adjectives include: grimy, greasy, slimy, dirty, muddy, mouldy, chipped, cracked, seamed, crumpled, clogged, crusted, broken, patched-up, blackened, smudged, tarnished, smeared, dog-eared and scored.

Not everything has to be dirty, of course, only some objects. These will then contrast with the clean ones. William Gibson’s Neuromancer takes it even further by contrasting the dirty streets of the majority of the population with the spotlessly clean and shiny streets of the corporate zones to make a point about his world.

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History as a Gestalt Sweet smoke drifted from the chimneys of the red brick gnomic brewery, wasping over the shining mirrored minarets of Tanta Harbra, down across the kobold quarter where the matchwood slums were being cleared to make way for mountain stone factories, then out onto the rushing water of the River Raven that snaked along the ancient valley it had carved through the rock a million years before. What’s this all about? Modern London is built on an ancient river, has a Roman Wall, a Norman tower, Tudor houses, Victorian parks and 21st century glass skyscrapers. It is an excellent example of how nothing just springs into existence. All cultures and places are a mash up of various other cultures, histories and events, so no world you take your reader to should be uniform. It should always be a mix, because this suggests a place that has a real history. Application When describing places mix up the architecture, for example, the lake shore was cluttered with mouldy timber houses surrounded by a Roman wall overgrown with ferns and elms. On an island in the middle of the lake, an obsidian fortress towered into the sky. You can also add obsolete objects into your writing, for example “It’s all over the TV, the zombies are everywhere. What are we gonna do?” Bill ripped Uncle Tom’s flintlock musket from the wall bracket. “There’s always this!” Things to think about

A good example of history influencing the present is a sword being carried by officers in modern armies, despite being an obsolete weapon. It is carried as a symbol of honour and rank as a result of its history in warfare.

A good example of cultural mash-up is modern Christmas traditions. They have numerous influences from different places, cultures and centuries, including the Roman feast of Saturnalia, the Torah, the Christian Bible, Nordic tree traditions, Coca-Cola advertising and many others.

Avoid uniformity in your world as this will not ring true (unless of course uniformity is a major plot point). Buildings should not all look the same, people should not all dress the same and they should not all have the same possessions.

Fashion is cyclic, styles will go round and round.

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World Views The dialogue or interior monologue of a character in your world should always arise out of and reflect their world view. That is, the physical environment in which they live together with the social, economic, political, cultural and religious factors associated with it, will affect to some degree how they perceive each situation they face and therefore how they speak and act. The character should be a part of the world, not separate from it. However not every character in a world will think the same way. Although some techniques for how to get across world view follow, it is often more complex than just a few lines here and there. So we need to think about some things first… Things to think about

Jack Sheppard was a notorious thief and gaol breaker in 18th century London who was idolised by millions. In modern times this would not be the case, but as the wealthy people who made the law in Sheppard’s time were notoriously corrupt, the fact he kept escaping their gaols made him seem heroic. People’s adoration of him therefore came out of their world view.

Frank Herbert’s novel Dune features a tribe called the Fremen who live on a barren desert world. The Fremen value water above all else and wear stillsuits, all-encompassing suits which recycle every drop of sweat and urine and distil it so they can drink it again. When a Fremen dies their tribe desiccates the body, adding its water to the underground tanks that sustain their settlements. Their environment shapes their world view and their world view shapes the way they treat their dead.

Avoid everybody having the same world view. People disagree on things all the time and the characters in your world should, even if their general view is the same. Just because one character in a village is for the king, does not mean his neighbour cannot be for Parliament, but they might both disagree with the need for a war to sort it all out. Just because one village believes that the wizard will be a great help against the demon on the hill, does not mean that the next village won’t lynch said wizard for mucking about with magic, just like that pesky demon fellow on the hill.

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Dune gives a good example of differing world views affecting perception of the same situation. In the story Paul Atreides, a deposed nobleman from one of the ruling families of the universe, is fleeing for his life on the desert planet Dune when he comes across a Fremen group led by Stilgar. The Fremen mistake him for their long promised messiah and make plans to begin a jihad that will paint the universe red in Paul’s name. Paul, who is far more knowledgeable of the universe than the isolated Fremen, knows that the messiah prophecy was planted among the Fremen by missionaries of the galactic religion as it is in many cultures. This is to protect the interests of the galactic religion and ensure a steady income stream. The less travelled Fremen refuse to listen to Paul’s protestations that he is not the messiah and they should not massacre trillions in his name. However Stilgar, who proclaimed Paul the messiah to his fellow Fremen in the first place, comes to accept that Paul is not the messiah, but knows that belief he is the messiah will lead Stilgar’s people out of the desert world and across the universe, which is what Stilgar really wants. The messiah prophecy is just a means to an end. Thus the same event is perceived differently by Paul, Stilgar and the Fremen in general, but their perceptions always arise out of their world views.

Avoid the Planet of Hats. This is a trope best illustrated by series like Star Trek where the Enterprise crew come across a planet, meet half a dozen people and it turns out, or is assumed, that everyone on the planet is exactly like those half dozen. If an alien landed in France, he would get a very different experience than if he were to land in the Congo, or in Japan, or in the middle of the Atlantic. Having a variety of hats will help your world seem more real.

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Common Phrases “A man's flesh is his own; his water belongs to the tribe.” “The past is an empty sled, and promises melt like summer snow.” What’s this all about? All languages have common phrases that are used again and again. In English a huge number of these originated from the Royal Navy. This is because Britain is surrounded by water. Its environment dictates it needs a navy which then has an influence on the language of its people. Below are some of these sayings. All at sea: Bewildered As the crow flies: Shortest travelling distance between two points Between the devil and the deep blue sea: A dilemma; a choice between two equally difficult circumstances Bitter end: To the last, no matter the struggle Chewing the fat: Talking informally; talking at length Fag end: Last; worst Flogging a dead horse: Doing something for no apparent gain; act to no effect Gone by the board: Discarded; abandoned; lost Hard and fast: Fixed; defined; inflexible Leading light: Someone outstanding in their field; an example to others; an inspiration Learn the ropes: Gain a skill Loose cannon: Someone who is unpredictable Money for old rope: Financial gain for very little Put through the hoop: Undergo an ordeal; rigorously test Sail close to the wind: Take a risk; get to the limit of what is considered acceptable Square meal: Generous, nutritious meal Take the wind out of someone’s sails: Deflate; frustrate; get the better of Toe the line: Conform to laws, rules or doctrines

Group Exercise We are going to consider the above sayings and between us come up with equivalent sayings for the culture described below. The pictures should help.

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The Treeg Peoples

The Treeg live in Treganus, a land of sweeping plains and sporadic forests, bordered by ancient mountain ranges.

Snow and ice cover the land for all but one month of the year.

The Treeg use trained dogs to herd reindeer across the plains and forests, finding them fresh grazing.

The Treeg eat the reindeers’ flesh and offal, use its fat for cooking and heating, its skins for clothing and tents and its bones for making tools such as needles and toys. Sinews are used for thread and bindings.

Wood is used for tent poles and making sleds.

The still warm liver of a freshly slaughtered reindeer is a delicacy.

The Treeg travel on sleds pulled by reindeer.

The Treeg occasionally hunt mammoths, but they are considered dangerous, as they have a tendency to stampede.

The Treeg are wary of the ice wolves, who like to lie in wait in forests to ambush the reindeer.

The Treeg occasionally trade with the Habanax peoples on the other side of the mountains, mostly for metal goods like cooking pots, but they do not trust them.

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Slang and Colloquialisms (or How to Swear Like a Trooper)

“Control, this is Dredd. I’ve got a futsie turned leaper gonna make a mess of Dudley Simpson overzoom unless I get an h-wagon fast!” What’s this all about? People use slang and colloquialisms all the time but they vary from area to area. Consider the slang and colloquialisms of English speakers in the real world and they will not only vary between countries but also between regions of the same country. Using this technique suggests to the reader a dialect and thus a distinct culture, as well as making speech patterns more naturalistic. Application When your characters are speaking, try to include some slang or colloquialisms in their speech. These can be from the real world, for example “I’ve been in the nick, ain’t I?” “Howay the lads!” “Hey buddy, she ain’t no dude.” “I’m gonna shank you, you swine!” or made up “I’ve been in the pens, ain’t I?”, ”Thromveer the lads!”, “Hey stick, she ain’t no longtrouser.” “I’m gonna stike you, you snout!” or even a mix of the two “I’m gonna shank you, you snout!” Things to think about

English users tend to either abbreviate things by using part of the word, for example uni, car, pub, or add an ‘ee’ sound to the end of words, for example chummy, flatty, chippy, matey, bookie.

Swear words have harsh sounds so make sure they are short and end abruptly. Porridge gave us naff, scrote and nerk while Red Dwarf gave us smeg.

Having been in publication for nearly 40 years, Judge Dredd has built up a huge lexicon for its future urban nightmare, including both legal and illegal expletives such as drokk, drokker, stomm, spug, grud as well as large amounts of slang such as birdie (a lie detector), dunk (a pickpocket), jimping (judge impersonation), juve (young person) and perp (perpetrator (of crime)). A weblink is provided as it’s a useful place to get ideas.

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Communication and Misinformation “I hear you were attacked by a highwayman, Mr Slug,” said the magistrate. “Please, elucidate.” Slug scratched his chin. “What’s that mean?” “Explain, Mr Slug, if you would be so kind.” “Oh right, sir, yes. Well, it was terrible. A highwayman says you, twenty highwaymen says I! And they was huge fellas, like trolls or ogres, only bigger. I did my best against them, killed a score I did, but there was too many and in the end I was lucky to get out of there with my life, so I was.” What’s this all about? In the real world, nobody knows everything. Real people are not encyclopaedias and nor should your characters be. Then there are those who tend to lie or exaggerate. Then there is the language barrier, not to mention the pre-telecoms problem of passing on information no faster than the speed of ship or horse, or the modern understanding that communication across the vastness of space is immensely slow. Communication and information should not be a given in your world. Putting barriers in the way will make your world seem more real and suggest multiple cultures and networks and vary your characters. Application Have at least one character lie, exaggerate or bluster, even if that character is a fairly small part, for example, “You want to know the way to the Overdeep? I know the way, course I do, but I’m sworn not to tell. Fairy Mama told me to keep my trap shut or she’d eat my children. Sorry, can’t help.” Also be sure to name check communication problems whenever they might occur, for example, “Take this message to the Queen. I know it won’t reach her in time but if we die here, at least she’ll know that we tried.” And make information unreliable whenever you can afford to without destroying your plot. The treasure map should rarely be accurate, at least not in every detail. Landscapes change all the time… Things to think about

Historically communication was at the speed of horse. That was the fastest any message could ever go across land. Across water it was by boat. Birds were sometimes used for communication but that was much less reliable and risked information ending up in the wrong hands.

In many cultures word of mouth was the traditional way of telling stories and maintaining religions and histories. Inevitably tales would change between tellings and tellers, even if by just a few words. Just because a character says those old cave were used by wreckers to store loot, doesn’t mean they actually were. It could be that they were used by woodpeckers to store their flutes…

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Life is Hard “I would not abandon a lady in the wild, but as you yourself freely attest, you are not a lady. You may pay a handsome tax for the right to wear that dress but you are still as much a commoner as I. Therefore I owe you no allegiance, nor good will. So be true in your thinking, do you want me to take you to York or shall I abandon you here? The choice is yours.” What’s this all about? The basics of life are eating, drinking, clothing, shelter and warmth. No matter whether you’re in a magical realm of dragons and vampires, the deepest, darkest reaches of the galactic rim or on the highways of 17th century China, these things remain a constant need for everyone. This is why vast amounts of human trade, society, technology and culture are built around these five essentials. These essentials can provide focal points for your story, the search for food, the importance of warm clothing in the snow, but even if they do not, paying them lip service in your work gives the impression your characters are living, breathing people, as well as inferring farming, building, manufacturing, cultures and trade networks. Application Characters should never be given something to eat and drink, or put on their clothes, or find shelter and a fire for the night. Try instead: Wooden plates of veined cheese and crusty bread were dropped onto the rickety table and they supped hungrily. Then they threw on their finest silk breeches and shirts of Bosquan linen, listened to the old troubadors lilting lyre while drinking too much mulled ale, then retired to their beds beneath roof beams crawling with green mice and let the warmth of a sea-coal blaze sooth them to sleep. Things to think about

Fire is one of the greatest human discoveries not only because it brings warmth, but also because cooked food takes much less energy to digest than raw food. This is a big key to human social and technological development.

Clothing has been important throughout history as a symbol of status and fashion, denoting class, caste, profession or affiliation. Clothing should never just be clothing.

In the medieval period the rise of the merchant class made them richer than most lords and monarchs. Naturally they wanted to dress like the nobility but the law forbade it. They came to an agreement with their overlords that they could wear the fine clothes in exchange for a heavy tax. Thus merchants began to dress like the aristocracy, but were still considered commoners and peasants by the aristos, who didn’t much like it.

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Occupations “Here’s to all whipjacks, doxies, cutpurses, footpads, highwaymen, strange abrams, rufflers, hookers, pailliards, swaddlers, Irish toyles, swigmen, jarkmen, bawdy baskets, dommerars, clapper dogeons, patricoes, curtails and outliers. Cheers from the Upright Man!” What’s this all about? There are thousands of trades, occupations and professions throughout the history of the human race. Some are now obsolete (saltpetre man), or have been taken over by machinery (fuller) while others endure to this day (farmer) or are fairly recent inventions (web developer). Including them in your writing suggests an economy, trade networks, trade guilds and a level of technology. After all if a world has masons we know they must build some stuff in stone. Application Mention occupations whenever you can, for example when characters are walking down streets they might see a beggar or a costermonger, when they are in the countryside they might come across peddlers or minstrels. And be specific when mentioning an occupation. Do not use a general term like weaponsmith, use bowyer, stringer, fletcher, sharpener or grindsman. Do not say they sell clothes, say they are a cobbler, clothier, mercer, milliner, hatter, glover, taylor or draper. The more precise the occupation, the more texture it adds to the world. Things to think about

Occupations do not need to be real, they can be things that sound like they exist, like variator or cantoner. They can also be made up names for existing jobs, such as electro-tech.

For large periods of European history individual trades have been protected by monopolies granted to liveried companies. These companies allowed no crossover in trades. A bowyer made the bow, a stringer made the string and a fletcher made the arrows. A bowyer would never make arrows, that would be an outrage.

For useful stuff on trades check out Suggested Reading below or simply check out the phone book. A large number of English surnames are occupations, especially those ending in ‘er’, for example: butcher, baker, mercer, spencer, milliner, draper, skinner, rucker, spinner, porter, chandler.

Wright, smith and maker all essentially mean the same thing. These words can be added to any object to make an occupation, for example arkwright, silversmith or cabinet maker. You can also add them to any exotic or made up word to give the impression of something truly unusual, for example “This cloud wright tells me he always wanted to be a scornsmith, but then he was drunk as a troonmaker.”

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Socio-Economic Suggestion “What about the Tower Market? They’ll have cinnamon.” “I wouldn’t trust any of those spicers. They cut their black pepper with ash.” “Do they?” “It’s well known. The market wardens arrested a couple last month. Gave them a right good pasting.” “You’d be alright with cinnamon though.” “Nah, they’d cut it with cassia.” “I wouldn’t mind cassia.” “You sound like a Tarrish gutterscour.” “Oi, watch it!” What’s this all about? All societies set values on commodities based on supply and demand. Low supply and high demand make a substance valuable. High supply and low demand make it cheap. But what one society values is not necessarily what another values. By having throwaway lines about social and/or economic situations, you can give the impression of a whole society and economy going on outside of the camera lens. Application Try to have characters throw in lines about social or economic traditions, gossip or worries that give just enough information to make them ring true, for example “We can’t risk going to Al Aqib. The tritons have a monopoly on the coral trade ever since they bought off the Guild of Thirteen. And you know how tritons guard their monopolies.” or “I’m bored. It’s been the most boring summer since that time the Aspect Circus got ambushed in the Greystone Dales and the Vagabond Gang stole all their legs. They went bust soon after.” Things to think about

When the English built the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1608 they built a foundry that could make glass. Completely unprepared for the harsh realities of winter in the Virginian swampland, the starving colonists swapped glass beads and rods that they made with the Algonquin natives for food and furs.

Historically some substances have been considered so important that wars have been fought over them, for example salt, gold, sugar and oil. However what each individual culture values varies. A desert culture, for example, would have little interest in gold, water would be the substance they value most.

One of the most important items of value is knowledge. Knowledge is highly saleable and that’s why there are wealthy priests, architects, lawyers and so on.

Don’t forget the taxman. He certainly won’t forget you!

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Politico-Religious Intimation “There wasn’t always a war on, you know? You young elves forget there was a time before the war. I was an envoy under the old Protectorate to the Pirate King of Staltarg, or the Knight Emperor as he calls himself these days.” What’s this all about? No culture exists in isolation. It is always affected by the cultures around it, be they the next city-state, the empire across the water or those pesky alien invaders from Mars. Inevitably cultures clash, politically and/or religiously, which often amounts to the same thing. This creates wars and atrocities, as well as treaties and trade agreements as well as prejudices and assumptions (with all their consequences). Just because you are in one place, doesn’t mean there are not others. By having throwaway lines about political and/or religious situations, you can give the impression of politics and religion going on outside of the camera lens. Application Try to have characters throw in lines about political or religious traditions, gossip or worries that give just enough information to make them ring true, for example “Her back hurt. It had long ago been scarred by the lashes of the Holy Arbiters of the Second Instrumentality. The Theocrat Imperator did not take kindly to acts of robbery on his mountain highways and Lily had barely escaped a hanging with a spell in the Penal Legion. And then barely escaped a spell in the Penal Legion with her life.” Things to think about

Some useful vocab for these throwaway lines are anything that suggests political or religious organisation: federation, confederacy, union, protectorate, palatinate, empire, instrumentality, monarchy, oligarchy, company, corporation, principality, duchy, alliance, rebellion, resistance, order, church, parish, bishopric, papacy.

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Exoticism and Mysticism Other worlds should be different to ours, otherwise what’s the point in setting a story there? There are many ways to make your world different, although created worlds are often close imitations of the real world, for example Tolkien’s Middle Earth is basically early medieval Europe with a few creatures from Nordic myth chucked in. But what if you want to make the world seem a bit more alien without actually alienating the reader? I’m glad you asked that…

The Altered Familiar I opened my eyes. I lay upon a close-cropped scarlet sward beneath twin moons hurtling madly through a black velvet sky. And distantly I spied a banth, the ferocious Barsoomian lion, its eight mighty legs stalking its hulking body upon a small, helpless figure prostrate upon the lawn. What’s this all about? We have become blasé about Earth. We know that rocks are normally grey or brown or somewhere in between. The sky is blue and occasionally pink or orange. Mammals have two or four legs. The biggest creature is the blue whale. But that’s all just one planet in one small blink of time’s eye. Things could be very different on another world, but if they are too different your reader may find it difficult to follow. A simple way of bringing them along with you while still suggesting something alien is simply to alter something familiar. Application Select a feature of the landscape or an animal from Earth. Now change the colour, or the size or the number of limbs or its shape. What about a two-headed turtle? A purple sky? Green rocks? A jellyfish the size of a planet? The possibilities are endless. Things to think about

When altering organic species it is helpful to think about how evolution works. When Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote A Princess of Mars, he determined that most Martian life had evolved from eight-legged species and therefore the majority of animals on Mars have eight legs (except for the foxy human princesses that need rescuing and romancing of course!). This lends his Martian bestiary an internal consistency.

There are around a hundred known and theorised elements. Ultimately though, as elements are manufactured by suns (and could be manufactured by magic depending on your writing) there is no reason why rocks can’t be purple, grass can’t be silver and planets can’t talk.

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Magic Tricks Many ages ago in the Sea of Trees In the time before twilight began When ghost spiders danced the dawning breeze And celestial the meadows ran What’s this all about? If you are looking to get some magic into your work, or even just the suggestion of magic (which often feels more magical than when the magic is explicit) then it is useful to have a bank of terms which make objects and places sound mystical, mysterious and exotic. A crucial thing to remember is that the words you use don’t have to make sense when put together, in fact the less sense they make when seen next to each other on the page, the more exotic and mysterious they will appear to the reader. They are also likely to fire your imagination as you try and work out what on Earth they are!

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Application Pick two or more words from any of the columns below and put them together in any order, for example diamond meadows, gossamer rose, storm sapphire. You may wish to add ‘of’ or ‘of the’ between the words for a better sound, for example oceans of the sun, cloud forest of the winter serpent. Remember, what you’re looking for is not logic, but poetry! If it sounds right, go with it. If it doesn’t, skip it.

Ethereal Above Us Jewellery Weaponry Landscape Beast Other Exotica

Ghost Moon Ring Sword Meadows Dragon Bone

Spectral Star Amulet Spear Mountains Spider Skull

Wraith Planet Emerald Shield Plateau Scorpion Child

Spirit Sky Sapphire Axe Forest Lion Silk

Revenant Rainbow Ruby Dagger Wood Tiger Velvet

Mist Cloud Diamond Knife Jungle Wolf Damask

Wisp Storm Amber Bow Trees Serpent Heliotrope

Gossamer Wind Necklace Arrow Plains Beatle Rose

Witch Rain Bracelet Scimitar Steppes Hawk Summer

Eldritch Snow Chain Flintlock City Eagle Winter

Shadow Constellation Crown Musket River Panther Spring

Summer Pendant Ocean Unicorn Autumn

Winter Locket Brook Clock

Spring Crystal Dale Chateau

Autumn Fell Whisper

Sun Grove Runes

Celestial Hill Ballroom

Waterfall Violin

Flame

Things to think about

For something really exotic, try mixing in something manmade with the above words, for example mechanical clouds, a damask tower or a custard ballroom.

The easiest way to take away a sense of magic is to call something ‘magic’, for example He held aloft a magic sword. It’s dull and it takes away the mystery. Magic should always be presented as mysterious, a bit dangerous, a bit anarchic and ultimately unknowable. It’s not science, it’s magic. It subverts the natural laws and you dabble with it at your own peril!

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And Yet More Techniques… There are of course many more world-building techniques than just those presented here. Below I list a few others you might want to think about. Entertainment

I almost included this in Life is Hard above, but it didn’t quite fit. Make sure there is some form of entertainment referenced in your world, for example ‘Trade’s been poor since the Aspect Circus left town’ or ‘I like the theatre but father forbids it. He’s worried I might elope with a debauched thespian and bring shame on the family. That’s why I’ve decided to shoot the silly old duffer.’

Entertainment is common to all cultures and history can be plundered for ideas: gladiatorial games, animal racing, dice and games of chance, cards, chess and other tabletop games, singing, music, theatre, circuses, freak shows, bear baiting, cock fights and so on.

Titles and Formal Address

The European system of aristocracy with Dukes, Barons and Counts is based on the old French system. Changing the names of these ranks can give an impression of a familiar but different society, for example Jed, Jedara and Jeddak.

Similarly formal address, such as Your Majesty for the British monarch, Your Grace for Dukes and Bishops and My Lord for other ranks, can be changed, for example Your Infallibility, Your Fortitude and My Chieftain

The same idea can be used for military ranks with Generals, Captains and Lieutenants becoming, for example, Odwars, Dwars and Padwars.

Naming Patterns

When making up names for alien or fantastical characters it is helpful to follow some sort of pattern as this makes them sound more realistic. Try to use the same suffixes or prefixes for names, for example Garox, Ovox and Tregulox or Engar, Enov and Entregul.

When naming the places where things come from, try adding ‘an’, ‘ian’ or ‘ese’ to the word, for example Janthan, Hubran, Caladian, Balian, Theronese or Crokese.

Collective nouns

If you have fantastical creatures in your writing, make up a collective noun for them. The noun really can be virtually anything: a crunch of sky ogres, a welter of ice worms, a sickle of dragons or a potpourri of vampires!

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Suggested Reading

For ideas on occupations, consider A Dictionary of Old Trades, Titles and Occupations by Colin Waters and The Worst Jobs in History by Tony Robinson (which is also a TV series)

For some great historical material you can pirate for ideas for your own world consider Hudson’s English History: A Compendium by Roger Hudson and Cox’s Fragmenta: Historical Miscellany edited by Simon Murphy. Both are compilations of a wide variety of historical documents and newspaper clippings which should have ideas leaping off the page at you.

All the above are available on Amazon.

For ideas for slang and colloquialisms, visit: http://www.angelfire.com/comics/megacitytours/speak.html

For a full list of Royal Navy sayings and what their original meanings were, go to: http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/navalsayings