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

[dragonscrawl]

Kit's first appearance is during a masquerade. She's more typical noblewoman of her country then, with long skirts that reach the floor, sleeves fuller near the shoulder and narrower toward the wrist, a moderately demure neckline, and a corset (not that she really needs the last very much). Fabrics mostly likely are velvets, satins, or silks, but I haven't thought the details of the costuming for the masquerade through yet. Kit wears her hair long at this point. While nobility, Kit's status as the youngest of four, her looks, and her inclination to mess with things mechanical makes her the "unmarriageable" daughter, and this information makes the rounds among society. Kit's attire, even at the masquerade, reflects this. However, she very quickly ends up dressed in a brightly colored shirt, goggles, a dark vest with places for her to keep her tools, and dark pants. She also cuts her hair short at this point. That's all more practical for her work as an airship engineer, a role she plays for the majority of the novel. Kit, it turns out, is not a typical noblewoman and is not content to be mistress of any household. Indeed, Samuel first mistakes the engineer Kit for a boy, only to discover the truth moments later.

Working this trip instead of traveling for leisure, Kit mostly brings the tools she needs to keep the engines in shape. Indeed, the trip occurs on relatively short notice, and as the chief engineer Kit's time is spent keeping the engines in order. Her spare time typically comes down to rest, as she must be prepared to short herself sleep on even shorter notice should the airship be attacked. Given the option (and the unplanned trip to an airstation the Infinity makes partway through), Kit would bring playing cards along, as she knows there's always at least one game she can play with them if she desires entertainment. She hasn't taken an airship journey on her own leisure for quite some time now, though, so doesn't tend to think about that when packing for a trip anymore. She does pack some spare clothes since grease stains are a job hazard.

Kit's full name is Katherine Adelaide Beasley. One thing I made a point of doing for the Linnondale nobility was ensuring they had three names, versus the two that the middle and lower class do. And although Kit's full name doesn't itself speak volumes about her, her mother's name offers a hint of some of Kit's lineage that she's quick to dismiss. Kit and her mother Lady Lenora Ashworth Beasley, are distant relatives of Linnondale's royal family, the Ashworths. And while Kit prefers "Kit" as a nickname since it suits her less feminine inclinations better, her family continues to call her "Addie", mostly out of habit from days when they tried to get her less interested in things mechanical.

Samuel...is alas, not very communicative. I know he dresses "like a gentleman". For him, this largely means tailored trousers, waistcoat, white shirt, and tailored coat. Samuel's hair is kept neatly trimmed. Samuel's family is high enough in the social ladder that Samuel's accustomed mode of dress is not unlike that of the nobility. Most of the difference would likely lie in fabric quality, but the difference even there would be slim indeed. Indeed, it's entirely due to his family's high social status tied with their merchant house connections that Samuel's got the task he spends the novel trying to complete. However, under his crew's influence, Samuel slowly breaks from that "gentleman" manner of dress in favor of the less restrained style of an airship captain. While he keeps to the tailored trousers and white shirt by the end of the novel, both the tailored coat and waistcoat are discarded. His hair also loses some of the carefully maintained look.

George was lower middle class, I believe, prior to joining Linnondale's military. He left that after a leg injury, but spent just enough time there to push his social status up a little. However, his life has since revolved more around airships and their culture/society. George thus doesn't worry much about his groundside social class these days, since his knowledge and training centers around a job found only aboard airships. Still, his military past is sometimes evident in the way he dresses, mostly through the cut and style of his attire. George largely wears a shirt and trousers, and keeps a cane nearby at all times to help him deal with the limp his leg injury left him with.