We all have a story to tell that seems to be just aching to get out.  For some of us, this need may be quenched by doing a little private journaling or public blogging, but for others of us, well, it’s gonna take a little more than that.  But putting pen to page (or fingers to keyboard) takes some preparation, particularly if your story requires some “bending” of the standardized, accepted version of what reality is.  If this percolating tale of yours happens to fall into a particular genre of fiction writing, such as sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc., world building is essential before you ever even think about writing down your introductory paragraph. 

When a person picks up a novel and begins to read, something very important must happen in order for them to continue turning page after page: the reader must suspend their disbelief.  We have all heard this term time and again, referring to the reader’s need to believe in the characters and their situations in order for the story to stop being just words on pages and to really come to life, but when you are delving into places and eras and lifeforms that have never existed, the job of overcoming disbelief becomes ever more important.  So the task of world building must take center stage, and your job is to be as thorough in creating your fictitious setting as possible.

Location, Location, Location 

Where does your story take place?  This question should probably be answered first and foremost, because it will determine the depth of the world building you have ahead of you.  If you are in Jersey in the present day, and there just happens to be creatures of the night to be dealt with, your job here may not be so difficult.  If you are in the outter reaches of Galaxy Zambula, preparing to land on and populate a planet made entirely of chocolate pudding, then that’s a whole other ball of wax.  If your location is entirely fictitious, then you have a lot to work out: appearance, flora, fauna, the cultures…in short, everything.  Actually drawing maps so that you have a reference to work from later can be super helpful.

Laying Down the Law

For once in your life, you get to determine all of the rules of reality, and the people you create have to live by these rules.  Believability is key, though.  Just as in real life, we have limits placed on what can and cannot be, so must it be in your world.  There must be limits, and there must be consequences for wandering outside of those limits.  Not only does this help your world be believable, but it also helps the entertainment value.  What fun would a story be if any character could do anything they wanted?  Where would the conflict be?  And who would buy that?  These don’t even need to be extreme examples of limit setting either.  Example: In reality, I have a cool cell phone.  In that same reality, that cool cell phone’s battery runs down way too fast, and I pay over a hundred dollars a month for the privilege of having this cool phone that sometimes drops calls when I go up or down a hill.  In my story’s reality, the same kinds of things should hold true.  Maybe your character has some awesome lazer gun with batteries that run down all of the time too.  Just imagine the possibilities.  Keep a notebook or a digital recorder with you at all times, because once you start thinking about these kinds of details, you never know when inspiration will hit.

Damn That Gravity!!

There are some facts that cannot simply be ignored.  As gravity will always be an issue for those of us living on Earth, a story set on Earth cannot easily ignore the rules of gravity.  Bending, twisting and tweaking scientific principles is cool, but keep it plausible.  “Because I said so” is not an explanation that will hold with your readers, and again, you’re shooting for believability in a world that is unbelievable, so give your readers a reason to buy it. 

The Devil is in the Details

Be consistent - not some of the time or most of the time, but ALL of the time.  If you know anyone who is really in to sci-fi, you know how good they are at finding mistakes and inconsistencies.  For this reason, I beg of you, keep track of the details that make your world what it is.  If chapter one has a planet with two moons, and chapter five only mentions one moon, your readers will notice and you will lose face.   Keep notes, and refer to them often when you are finally down to the business of writing the story.

Many Ways to Skin a Cat

There is no direct formula for world building.  Individual stories require unique details, and how deep you will need to go will really be dictated by the story itself.  There are so many levels of world building, I thought I would give just a few examples off the top of my head to show you how truly unique each case is.

Star Wars:  Talk about going deep.  Planets, modes of transporation, life forms, languages, intergalactic governmental relations…this one had it all and is an excellent example of thorough world building. 

Harry Potter:  On its face, this one should have been easier to build: it takes place on our very own planet in our very own day and age, yet Rowling created histories going back generations, magical vocabulary, magical laws, magical creatures, herbology, moving staircases, and on and on and on - and all of it has to be able to exist under the very noses of us muggles with plausible explanation.

20th Century Ghosts (Joe Hill): One of the short stories from this anthology, whose name I forget, involves an ordinary kid making friends with a kid who is made of rubber.  He is an inflatable kid, and because of such, he had to write with crayons (because a poke from a pen or pencil could end his very life), had to write notes instead of speak (because his mouth was just painted on), and feared his best friend’s family dog (because the poor beast couldn’t tell the difference between the friend and a chew toy).  Though the story is not necessarily complex, Hill put a lot of effort into raising it’s plausibility by dreaming up things a boy and his rubber friend would do and say to each other that would make perfect sense given the circumstances.

Metamorphosis (Kafka): This is an example of much less intensive world building, but truly effective writing.  The time, setting and location are all perfectly standard, yet we have a man who has turned into a giant bug.  Kafka brings his readers into this unreality by slowly taking the bug from having human behaviors to losing all sense of his humanity entirely.  By slowly introducing the vivid insect-like behaviors over a period of time within the story, the reader can completely buy into the concept, as unreal as it is and always will be.

My Final Words of Advice

Details, plausibility, suspension of disbelief…aurgh!!  Alright, you know the big points now.  They are in your head and I’ve said what I needed to say.  Now, the number one most important thing to do when world building?

HAVE FUN!

If you aren’t having any fun, then your readers aren’t having any fun, and what fun is that?

Until next time -

GhOsTwRiTeR KiM

Cap’n Logan’s Take 

Marvel is having a good year. First, Iron Man was a surprising powerhouse, and now a second attempt at a Hulk movie that was every bit as good in plot, action, and acting as Iron Man. I’m impressed that without an X-Men or a Spider-Man, Marvel might be having their best summer to date. I’m also happy that they’re finally establishing some continuity between their films, leaving no question that these two movies are in the same universe, with many more to follow.

I found it immediately interesting that although The Incredible Hulk is a revamp, and definately not a sequel to Hulk, it very logically follows that film in plot. In fact, I really think the only thing that prevents a viewer from seeing these movies as being in the same universe is the presence of two different Abominations. It was a lot of fun, and frankly a relief, to get past the Hulk’s origin and just tell a new story. The other movie spent far too long on the origin, while this one just shows highlights behind the opening credits. Bruce Banner gets hit with a gamma bomb because he tries his experiment on himself– that’s really all you need to know, and no reason to drag it out for an hour.

I was quite surprised by Liv Tyler’s performance. I usually don’t like her at all, but I could feel the past chemestry between her and Banner immediately. And unlike most comic book film romances, this one worked well because it was already established. The film didn’t have to take time trying to build the relationship because it was already there, and that allowed it to spend its time dealing with bigger issues, namely the General’s obsession with finding the Hulk and using him as a weapon and Banner’s preoccupation with getting rid of the Hulk.

This time, Hulk looks very realistic. He’s not bright green, he doesn’t keep changing size every time Banner changes, and there’s great attention to detail, especially in his facial expressions. It doesn’t usually look too CG and because he looks more human, he’s actually much scarier.

This movie’s Abomination, a soldier who wants what Banner has and will do anything to himself to get it, is more interesting than in the other movie, but it’s also my only real complaint. I would have appreciated more motivation for this character. Why is he so obsessed with becoming a super soldier? What in his background gets him to this point? I don’t think his explanation of wishing he had a body that was ten years younger to go with his expertise was really enough.

Look for some neat callbacks to the old Hulk television series and comics, including a reference to purple pants and Bruce Banner’s alias of David B. at the end. This is also Stan Lee’s coolest cameo to date– he actually gets to be a vital part of the plot this time!

What really makes it great is the progression. Bruce Banner is not the same man at the end that he was at the beginning. The film gets him from trying to get rid of the Hulk to learning how to control it. It isn’t just a monster movie. As it moves along, it becomes a superhero movie, and you’re left looking forward to seeing the Hulk as a real superhero when the Avengers movie is released. It’s not the most intellectual comic book film but it does have a few things to say about the dangers of playing God and how scary people can be when they ignore the quality of life. Overall, it’s a fun ride that manages to tell a story that’s more than the Hulk hitting things and being chased around a lot.

Vince’s Take

This movie is so intricately woven to be heart pounding that missing more than a second of it will surely result in instant regret. Even though I enjoyed the first movie, the difference between The Hulk and The Incredible Hulk is in the obvious word. Only one is truly incredible.

In a plot line where Bruce Banner is the major focus, the Hulk must be handled as a monster. The creative team behind this movie did just that. The first time Banner Hulks-out we don’t actually get a clear shot of the Hulk. It adds suspense and fear. In this movie, we actually feel like Banner has something to worry about. For those of you who worry about him being too much of a monstrosity, the Hulk is also treated as a tragic figure, but it is entirely possible to make him tragic while also monstrous. Some of the classic references in this film point directly to other monster-movies with tragic figures. The first time we get a clear shot of Hulkie in all of his glorious green greatness they use music reminiscent of Frankenstein, while in some scenes between the Hulk and Betty Ross there’s a distinct King Kong feel.

There are a few down falls. Unfortunately, some parts of the movie do come across a bit corny, but they’re small enough that it’s ultimately forgivable. Also, the Betty Ross character is mostly one dimensional and pretty naive for a cellular biologist. She’s a really nice person with daddy issues who cares greatly for Bruce; beyond that we don’t get much. I found myself missing Sam Elliot, but William Hurt did wonderfully as ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross. But none of that takes away from enjoyable this movie really is.

For the comic fans there are elements of Peter David’s Hulk stories lifted directly from the comics, with plenty of references to satisfy your inner geek. There are even moments when the composition of the shot resembles some of the Hulk comic covers.

I absolutely adored this movie, and highly recommend it.