The How and the Why of World Building
/I recently re-listened to an interview I did before the release of my second audio drama episode, The Hunt. The interview opened with a question about my worldbuilding process. Every time I think about this, a new essential element of the exercise falls into place. I’ve written about the need for “walls” in world building, and while those walls stand strong, there is something even more fundamental.
Following the Rabbit
When it comes to world building, you need a process that will lead you down the rabbit hole. You need to get lost in it, because if your world isn’t big enough or complicated enough to get lost in, you’ve got work to do.
Asking the questions
For every character, situation or place in your world, there are questions to ask:
Who is this?
Where do they live?
What country are they in?
Has that country always been there?
Is it divided or as one?
What’s the politics of the region?
How does your character align politically?
For every question you ask yourself about your world, you will get a richer perspective on the place you’re writing about, and how “place” affects and shapes your character and your narrative.
I had a recent exchange with a writer on facebook, where I said that “place and world” are key elements in character development. They denied it absolutely. Then, in another comment, they praised the depth of the characters in Arcane: League of Legends.
I pointed out that the cities of Zaun and Piltover play a key role in shaping the characters, along with the history and politics at play between those two places. They acknowledged the point immediately.
Characters drive the story, and context builds characters.
The How and the Why
For every place in your story, there’s a “how it came to be” and “why it is the way it is”.
In the interview I follow the rabbit hole backwards and forwards, using Dex Island as an anchor point:
Dex Island is a new nation.
How did it come to exist?
President Nathaniel Dex founded it when he relocated his company, Dex Industries.
Why did he relocate?
When his country, Fenros, was going to be invaded and all domestic assets brought under the control of the new regime, he cut a deal with the invading power in return for an unoccupied island and independence.
How did he cut the deal?
Dex Industry manufactures weapons, and knowing that Fenros would fall, he provided weapons to the invading forces in return for freedom.
Why?
Because he’s a traitorous a-hole. No, seriously - his personality is dominated by many psychopathic traits. He felt no loyalty to his country and only thought of furthering his own interests.
How does Dex Island stand on the world stage?
The established nations haven’t accepted them as a country in their own right, but none can work out who they belong to, especially as Fenros no longer exists.
…and so on.
The further down the rabbit hole you go, the better. Nathaniel Dex is both a visionary and a very unpleasant character. Arguably only someone with those traits could have made the decision he did. But it comes to more than that. He is now dispossessed, and Dex Industries is cast adrift without national anchor. The success of his decision affects the Psychology of Dex Island as a whole and only serves to strengthen his sense of self-worth and entitlement.
The context that arises from the answers to those questions is what makes up your world, and it’s the depth that lurks behind every character.
So go get lost. Step out of your imaginary door and get swept away and keep asking questions as you explore. Because you can bet that if things go well, someone will ask you those same questions in an interview!