Notes from the Author: The Importance of World Building
Hey y'all let's see what's up today! Today I wanted to talk about the importance of world building for all of my aspiring author's out there. This is something that I have the most fun with because it's usually a really educational process that also allows you to be creative and also explore this world that you're creating for your story.
Why Focus on World Building?
We've all read stories where the world the characters live in just seem really flat and two dimensional, or even downright offensive to other cultures and minorities. Both of these are obviously not ideal, especially if its not something done with malicious intent. World building is something that can help with that because it sort of forces you to actually sit down and think about the world that you're creating and the people that you're putting in it.
In my personal experience, pulling from folklore of other countries, I have been trying to sort of interlock actual culturally significant things into my world and character designs as well. I think this is incredibly important to show thanks to the cultures that I'm using folklore from, as I wouldn't have such a strong base to build on for my characters if they never shared their stories.
Research Resources
Now you may be wondering how to make your world non-offensive or if you're like me and using things from other cultures you may be wondering how to paint these things in a good light. It can be incredibly difficult, however it can be done. I'm going to list some things that I use for my own creation process just to give you a good starting point:
📚 Travel Websites: These can at least give you some highlights for things like popular places and food, as well as things like festivals and events for other countries. It isn't my personal first choice, but it is always an option.
📚 Books: There are plenty of books about other countries and even how to learn another language. This is something I recommend a little more than the internet because it can't be edited, however it is important to note that sometimes there may be some outdated information in books especially if you buy them second hand, so be sure to cross reference.
📚 Learn From a Local: This is something that I recommend more than anything else, and because we live in a time where social media is so prominent and we can connect to people all over the world for free it's what I most highly recommend! There are many online channels and accounts on social media like YouTube and TikTok that have a platform entirely dedicated to showing you what life is like in other countries and they tend to show everything from day to day life, festivals, and even recipes for how to make local food.
Be Open to Critiques
As a creator, the biggest thing that I feel has improved my work is listening to the critiques of people from the cultures that I reference. While I may be doing my own research, there may be questions I forget to ask or things that I'm simply not aware of that may be offensive, so when I get critiques on that I make sure to take notes and make the necessary improvements right away. It's not something that I take offense to because I know that learning is a part of the process and critiques are how you learn.
If you aren't pulling from other cultures, I still advise maybe getting a friend or some family to critique your work. It is important to get people's opinions on what you're putting out there, and peer review is a good way to do that. I love letting my friends review my work and hearing their thoughts on it so I can make changes if necessary.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions
This is the biggest thing that I can advise you on for world building. Even if you aren't pulling from other cultures, ask a friend to peer review your work. Ask questions to people and get information. The largest part of world building is getting those little details, it may be something so small only people who pay close attention will pick it up but it could completely offset how your audience reacts to your work and that's incredibly important.
We live in a time in which media literacy is decreasing by the day, and asking questions can really save you a massive headache or save you from losing your entire platform. It could also save you from making some... questionable choices in the world building process (like a certain incredibly popular wizard novel series).
Closing
However you go about world building remember that it's up to you to do your due diligence and make sure that all of your bases are covered. I personally use the prompts that Campfire has, as it provokes me to really think about the information and it has allowed me to build a really in-depth world for my characters. It's also important to remember to have fun with it, just don't purposefully insult anyone. If you want to see more from me feel free to click the link below where you can find my other socials. Y'all take care, and thanks for stopping by!
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