By: Brandon

      To create a whole new world is no easy feat. There is a lot the author must consider to make a world believable by the reader. The physics and reality of the world we live in today is what people see as normal. Therefore, if an author tries to deviate from that set image of what is the standard, the reader starts to question his motives.. The biggest question I try to answer when making my setting for stories is “could I see this happening”. There is some optimism and imagination required if you are creating new laws of physics or time travel but the key point is to make it believable. Explain how the world got this divine power. I try to make my stories follow the laws of physics that we know in the real world today. However, “magic” has become a popular and accepted new addition to what is believable in stories. Using some kind of outside force to give characters or creatures unnatural abilities is a nice edition if you’re going for that kind of fiction story.

      When I start to build my worlds I seek out inspiration. I play a video game, google search keywords, look through a comic or book with images (personally I love using Dungeons & Dragons books because most of my stories are medieval/fantasy themed) . This usually sparks some kind of grand plan in my head and I then start to describe the places I see in writing using bullet points. However, if an immediate spark doesn’t occur, I try another technique. Picture yourself standing in a blank, white, eternal space. Now picture how you want the character to feel, what you want to see with their eyes, or just let your brain start building. Often times if you put yourself in a blank room with the intention of creating a physical world, your brain can’t help but put something together. Now that you have a very basic, or maybe even a vivid image of a starting point, build, build, build. What is your character’s first task or scene? Try to picture where you would be or where you would go if you had to do what this character did. Once you have your starting point it should come much easier after. However, if you get stuck, just look back at the resources I mentioned to get the train moving again. After some time you’ll have a growing world that’s easy to expand for your characters to explore.