Story Plan Checklist: Setting part 2

[ladyseishou]

Setting exists so that the character has someplace to stand,
something that can help define him, something he can pick up and throw,
if necessary, or eat, or give to his girlfriend.

- John Gardner



And more about the the "where" for our story...

Yesterday we took a brief look at the physical description for our story. Today, we're going to consider the more social aspects of our worlds - what is sometimes called Human Geography.

Working from my thumbnail setting description from yesterday:

One of my protagonist owns a tavern, the only tavern in a small, border town. It is early morning (the tavern is empty) and he sees and hears that a wooden barrel of ale he has tapped is emptier than he would like when two local boys come in with news that several strangers have arrived in town.

There are many details about my world here that imply a larger social structure:

Political: a small town that has been established on or near the border of two countries

Economic: commerce (a tavern)

Cultural: food and drink (ale), family groups (boys)

Technology: wooden barrel for storage

These observations are all from my main character's POV. From these notes, I will expand the descriptions as the story develops.

A very important cultural aspect that I have not addressed specifically in my setting sketch is the naming of things. Fine beginner's advice is offered by Holly Lisle:

...it does pay to know what the dialects or languages would be like, how the grammar works, and what sounds the native speaker can and cannot comfortably form in casual conversation. This will allow you to hint at accents, suggest alien grammars, and whisper of far away places and foreign climes...

Here are several websites that Nano Writers may find helpful as they create the social aspects of their worlds:

How Much of My World Do I Build by Holly Lisle (mentioned before but deserving of another if just for the advice she offers for naming your characters)

A Naming Language - "Inventing a language for naming people and places" (good overview of a complex topic)

Words Maketh the Culture

What's In A Name?

I also like the advice offered by John Scalzi:

I try to build my worlds at least two questions deep — that is, you make your creations robust enough to stand up to a general question and then a more specific followup question.

As an example:

Question (to my main character): what kind of drink can I buy in your tavern?

Answer: A good, honest ale.

Follow up question: (after tasting the copper-amber drink) Earthy, sweet. What am I tasting here?

Answer: A winter brew. Six-spike barley. Potato. Wheat if it's been a good year. (smiles) Mostly potato.


So how about you, Nano Writer? Post something about your world and we'll ask your character about it... can you pass the two-question test?

Comments

[ladyseishou]

Sounds like you have a good understanding for your characters and their place in your world! I could easily imagine that shapshifters might be seen as a threat to society (how would you ever know who you were talking to?) where "superheroes" might be perceived as helpful, even necessary (fight crime and all that) for a society.

So as a followup question for you: how do your shapeshifters fit into your world? Are they visibly tagged? How are they identified (at birth? genetically?)

BTW, I really like your setting descriptions!

[the_wanlorn]

Well, they're really just your typical boring urban fantasy shapeshifters. The general public idea is that they're animalistic and lack control and thus are dangerous. The problem being, of course, that some shifters just never learn to control their shifting and when emotions are running high, they start to (literally) turn into an animal. Which feeds into the stereotypes. And some people who can control themselves most of the time can't during the full moon.

So there are signs like "No 'shifters need apply" and shit. I don't know, I haven't really thought about this part much because it's difficult and can very quickly go from great to faily. And, of course, my refusal to really think about how it'll all work means it's more likely to be hugely faily, but whatever.

And thanks! I really want the setting to be lovecraftian, but the story not to be, if that makes sense? Because I don't think I can juggle urban fantasy + a mystery + horror all at the same time. So I've been spending my time mostly writing background stories, like about the well on the Foggarty property that starts to scream when the temperature drops below zero, or that spring back in '72 when things crawled out of the sea. And about how the sea takes everything back.

Everything.

[ladyseishou]

The more you know about your world, the deeper you can pull your reader inside. So background stories are a good thing.

And there's no such thing as "fail" for a first draft, right? All rough drafts are crap (to paraphrase Hemingway) and Everything's Fair Game! But you might think about what it is about your shapeshifters and their place in society that you are avoiding. Certainly if it's a sore point, leave it alone for now. It may be that it's not part of the story you need or want to tell. And it may all come to you sometime during November.