We have been talking about a lot of world-building lately. We see it as a very vital part of writing, especially when it comes to creating your own world. The detail behind your creation should resonate with your reader, and describe a place they will be sucked into. Some of our authors at HRM gave us a look into their ways of building and we thought it would be nice to share with a writer who hasn’t quite gotten the grasp of piecing together their fictional world.
I have my system (basically pages and pages of journal entries attempting to consider every element of the society as it goes across books), but a streamlined version would probably be a bit more coherent. 😉
I have a notebook for each novel/series and write all of my little world intricacies down. Most of the world-building I layer in after the first draft. Touch, sights, social differences, currency, sayings, speech patterns, etc. I try and make the world-building almost unnoticeable.
I use a single Scrivener project for a whole series, so all my notes are in there. Before I start writing, I gather up enough to make me feel like I know the place well enough to live in it for a few books, and then add/revise as I go along. Everything from the magic system to what they eat. Also maps. So many maps.
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