I’m baaack – after some time off to celebrate my 41st wedding anniversary with my wife. She deserves something special. She’s put up with me for 41 years.
I’m not sure how I came to start my blog with the local weather report, but here goes. Central PA is experiencing rain and temperatures in the high 40s. So who really cares, right? Okay, let’s move on to why we’re here. Today’s topic is sci-fi and fantasy.
Before we begin, I’d be the first to tell you, sci-fi is not my genre. The closest I come to it is the book, The Voice, where Peter McClanahan takes a trip into the future to hunt down yesterday’s killer. I’m fascinated with time travel, but that’s as far as my sci-fi or fantasy writing goes.
Here’s the thing. If you’re going to build a fantasy world, it has to be believable. Consider:
Was your world always the way it is now? If not, what changed it. How was the world before? What caused the change in your fantasy world?
How much of your world do you need to show to support the story?
What about the lay of the land? Mountains? Deserts? Forests? It’s your world to create. Just make it believable. Don’t get carried away. Just add enough to give the big picture.
How about the weather? Does the weather play a part in the reshaping of your world? If so, how?
Where are the borders? Maybe they exist here on earth, or on another planet, or somewhere in deep space.
What do your characters have for resources? These can be things known to us now or something from your imaginary world.
In presenting your new world, please show us, not tell us. And we don’t want to just see it and hear it. Let us smell it, touch it, taste it. Bring your magic to life.
Okay, some things to think about. Now, get busy and see what you can do, and as always, I’d love for you to leave your thoughts in the comments below. Until next week . . .
WFK
My Very Own Writing Coach 