Hi! As an aspiring fantasy author who would like my first book to be as well written as possible, I've done a fair bit of research on what makes a fantasy book stand out, and one of many recurring themes is a really well built, well thought out world. Often The Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire are mentioned in this context. Clearly your story has to be occurring in some kind of environment unless you are going to write a particularly metaphysical kind of novel, but I was wondering, what makes a really good, believable world? I've got the point about having an economy that could actually work and a system of magic that has limitations placed on it. I understand that I'm inviting some really loooong answers...
Hello there, a fellow fantasy writer here :)
In agent rejections from my first draft I have been complimented on my world building skills. I'd advise that you spend some time thinking about the natural geology of your main location, what natural resources do they have? How has this affected the development of their culture? What other cultures are there, what influence do they have? Trade routes. Are they religious? What are their beliefs? What social norms and values do they have? What law and currency do they have, where any momentous historical events part of this development? What legends and heroes do they have? What fears and resentments?
And since that first draft I think the most critical lesson I have learned is to make sure all that world building serves a purpose in the story. Don't just revel in your imagination (as fun as that is and valuable in developing style/world/wip), have it there for a *reason*...
And yes that reason can simply be that it's cool...as long as your readers agree, and they are sparse.
All best :)
I agree with Kate - when you introduce readers to your world it works well as an organic process, where you find out about different elements as the characters move through the story. Of course you will have ideas of what is in your world before you begin, and as the story unfolds you may find even more ideas coming through. I don't think you have to explain every nuance - sometimes when we try too hard the story can get caught up in the details. World building is great fun, because you're the one in charge - the key I think is to make it believable and keep it consistent.
As I go about my normal life I don't endlessly stop to explain currency, the political system or human biology (to name but a few things) to my acquaintances. When I'm reading, I think the best world building occurs when someone from the real world stumbles into the fantasy world and naturally needs certain things to be explained, gradually as she or he comes across them (Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Valkyrie Cain, etc).
That way the reader finds out a little bit about the world at a time, and it's not at the expense of action/plot or finding out about the characters.
So, my advice is to pay just as much attention to your ideas for character(s) and plot. As you work through your ideas, just like a visitor to your new world, you will have to work out how things have to work in the world. Make a note of them to make sure your world stays consistent. I think consistency is part of what makes a believable world.
Hope that helps.