A Short Treatise on Building Immersive Fictitious Worlds by RML I do not claim any authority on world building, nor do I wish to appear pretentious by presenting my point of view. There are many ways to approach this engaging and fascinating hobby - alone or as part of a group - and it is my sincerest hope that those who are interested are able to benefit from what follows. == INTRODUCTION == World-building is the practice of creatively composing a large-scope setting in which a piece of fiction takes place. It can range from the very simplest and vaguest, i.e. a town or locality, to the extremely detailed and complex. Whichever suits the scale of the piece of fiction may be adequate, but for the purposes of this essay, I will discuss the very complex. This treatise may indeed be skewed toward a particular genre of settings, as I only hope to discuss that with which I have the most experience. The average fictional world tends to have a variety of races, though this is not always the case. Because I have the most experience with settings of multiple races, I will discuss them primarily. Those which contain only humans, or some such analogue, may or may not be simpler depending on the amount of detail that the author chooses to refine. == RACE AND ETHNICITY == An important distinction must be made for clarity, and that is between race and ethnicity. It is difficult to draw analogy between Earth in which we live and the concept of race in a fictional setting. On Earth, race is a biologically superficial construct - we are all human, and though our appearances may differ minutely, they are of relatively little consequence on our overall functionality. The author, however, may wish to establish races within a world which are very biologically distinct, and it is in this case when race is a legitimate differentiator between separate populations. Ethnicity is, even in this case, a categorization that is more specific than race. Ethnicity is an abstract combination of cultural factors, customs, behaviors, and traditions that is difficult to objectively define. The idea is that ethnicity is not necessarily biologically derived. While certain cultural practices may derive from the physical construction of a race, they can be considered exceptions if they do not differ among various ethnic groups in a single race. This brings me to the first common mistake that I see among world-builders. Again, my authority to judge these worlds only stems from my own pretension. Populations within a race which are separated extensively by geographic and/or linguistic barriers will develop distinct ethnicities. It is the tendency of the world-builder to separate populations merely by race, treating each race as a large but unified ethnicity. The ability to summarize the cultural tendencies of an entire race easily in a sentence or two may be an indicator that the race lacks ethnic distinctions. For example, to say, "Race X is a race of industrious tinkerers," indicates an ethnic trait and not a racial one. If an entire race is limited to a small population endemic to a certain area, this sort of description may be applicable. Sweeping generalizations do not do well to make a world immersive. Conflict is created between different ethnicities holding different customs. Conflict is the essence of good storytelling. == DEFINING CULTURE AND HISTORY == Culture tends to reflect a population's basest needs, wants, and fears. In order for it to express a certain cultural trait, it must have reason to do so. For example: An agricultural society is often plagued by unpredictable drought. Religious authorities in the earliest settlements attributed the drought to divine wrath. As a culture, the society now has a terrible fear of drought, and will express that fear in the form of ritual. The practice begins as a ceremonial offering to appease the angered deity. Over time, the ceremony becomes more and more elaborate, incorporating costume, song, and dance. Over time, the society successfully irrigates the land from a nearby river, however the ceremony to ward off the drought has become a holiday in which offerings of food are presented. Even though the original context of the practice is no longer relevant, it persists through the expression of a deeply ingrained fear. Another example: A society is very warlike, training even its elderly, children, and women to fight. This practice began from the necessity of preventing slave revolts, as the society's economy is grounded entirely in slave labor. For each free citizen on the population, there are four slaves, making the risk of an uprising real and horrifying. While these are very simplified examples, they can be applied to anything outstanding about a culture's practices. The author might stimulate this sort of reasoning by asking: why does the culture do this the way that it does? Why do they dress and behave the way that they do? What do they collectively fear the most? This posits another common mistake by world-builders. Bizarre and eccentric cultural traditions do not appear for no reason. == MAKING THE WORLD LUCID == While an encyclopedia is a great supporting piece of reference material for a fictitious world, it is not particularly effective for introducing an audience. Encyclopedia is a post-immersion reference to satisfy the further curiosities of those drawn in by more candid and entertaining sources of information. The single most effective way to present a world to an audience is through anecdote. Concentrate on a number of localized incidents, using overarching historical events as backdrops. Not every story needs to be consequential to the fate of your world. Introduce the intricacies as if the reader, viewer, player, or listener is experiencing them. This abides to the age old maxim of the writer: Show, don't tell. When writing on a world, never neglect to detail its most intimate nuances. These are oft overlooked by authors. Consider at least implying detail about the following aspects of a given ethnicity amidst telling the story of its characters: Music No culture is without it. Music is easy to describe, yet it tells much about how a society plays, works, celebrates, and laments. Instrumentation (or lack thereof) can also be an interesting thing to note. What does high-society music sound like? What about folk music? Cuisine Cuisine is affected at first by necessity. As with the examples proposed above, traditions form from necessity even after the base need has been wholly satisfied. What is around? What is rare? What is cheap and what is expensive? What kind of alcohol do people drink? Sports Sports can be an important outlet for societal aggression. Sports tend to reflect a society's tendencies through the filter of (usually) good-natured competition. What kinds of sports and games do they play? Brutal and violent? Fast and complex? How competitive or laid back are they? Language, Idioms, and Slang Language is an immensely crucial aspect of ethnicity and culture. Do not ignore the quirks and sayings that betray the collective subconscious of a society. How do they curse? How do they sound when they speak a foreign language poorly? How do their figures of speech reflect what they value and fear? Sex, Gender, and Fashion Gender roles affect society - even if they are strikingly absent. How to men behave and dress? Why? How do women? Is sex considered private, or is it openly regarded? Gestures Gestures are a subtle differentiator between ethnicities, and can add color to an interaction between characters of different origins. How to they wave and salute? What is an offensive gesture to make and why? == CONCLUSION == My goal in writing this is to stimulate thought in prospective writers, and also to inspire and challenge them to expand their horizons to create fun and intriguing things. I do not mean for this to be primarily a criticism, but rather a proposal. Thank you for reading! $0.02 was paid by RML to everyone.