Good Morning! I know I’m a little late, and I want to thank Heather for her invitation and patience. In my other life, I work as a legal assistant and briefs were due. Which is probably why I write in the paranormal sub-genre. After all, I can’t send anyone to an alternate dimension filled with demons in real life. ;)
However, the one aspect I truly enjoy is the world building. In my opinion, to have a great story world the reader will remember, the author must be part artist, part engineer, part mad scientist. Elements need to be built and structured with the greatest attention to detail, and then painted with the visionary’s palette.
My stories generally involve an alternate dimension. I love playing in alternate dimension worlds, because they give me the freedom to let my twisted mind journey down roads it would otherwise never travel. (BTW, my son tagged me with twisted. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but it does seem to match my writing.)
But, for some real fun, take someplace very normal and mundane, like Knoxville, TN where I live. It’s a medium sized city in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains where UT football reigns supreme. But, looking at it through my skewed vision, I know that it’s also close to Oak Ridge, the once “Secret City” of WWII where a large part of the Manhattan Project was developed. There’s also a really creepy state prison nearby, and all those wonderful mountains, where even an experienced hiker can get lost for weeks. All of those elements are prime fodder for a dark urban fantasy, science fiction or futuristic story.
So, if you’re considering a paranormal, or urban fantasy, or science fiction story, remember to look around you for elements which only require a little nudge toward the dark side to give you a good starting point for your story.
Jessie
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Jessie Verino writes sci-fiction/fantasy romances. Most of her stories are set in some alternate dimension or alternate reality. She loves world building and sometimes has to rein herself in from doing lots of research and world building to do the actual writing! You can visit Jessie at: http://www.jessieverino.net/
{ 5 comments }
Jessie,
No worries! WWR and the blog is a casual, family-type place. We’re really not on a strict schedule! ;-)
I’m just glad you made it. I visited your site and love it! Took me a minute to realize you’re a .net now instead of .com.
I like world building. The thing with paranormals/fantasy (or really any fiction) is that you can make anything work as long as you explain it right. I love that you can make someone float in the sky as a mode of transportation as long as it fits the story.
Good post!
Heather R.
Hey Jessie!
I do agree that some of the coolest concepts come from something that’s just “twisted” enough from the real world to make it both relevant, plausible, and really creepy since the elements are right there in reality too. I live in New York City and I’m toying with a contemporary paranormal that deals with my real-life-city but with characters that can see what the rest of the city can’t; a whole lotta paranormal goin’ on. And I wouldn’t doubt it in this city. Or in any, for that matter. :) Cheers!
I agree, Jessie. I’m a fan of the strange. I’m not that into gore, but weird seems to be just twisted enough for me. :-)
Cool idea about someone floating and explaining it simply as the way it is, Heather. It makes me think of this commercial I’ve seen on TV. Where you see all these people starting to fly around as if it were just the next thing in our evolution. I believe it was on the SciFi channel, though I’m not positive. Could have been another one.
I’m in the process of reviewing a really cool book right now that deals with vampires, demons, hunters, and just the weirdest devil prophecy. But the world is so much like our own, but with a taste of something futuristic. It’s awesome the way the world is twisted around to show us what it might be like some day or in another universe or parallel world. Or perhaps what’s hidden behind the dark of our own?
I thought I would make it back sooner, but life got in the way.
Leanna, if I lived in New York, with all its underground labyrinths and rooftops, I’d never get any real work done. Even now, I’m wondering what could be hiding in a low cloud, just hovering over the skyscraper and waiting to infiltrate the city. See, you can’t give a twisted writer ideas.
Alyson, I like the weird, too. Hitchcock movies were always my favorites. some of them had gore, but the older ones were more…thought provoking. I like a good fight, but I’m more the A-Team style – lots of bullets, but no hits.
Strangely enough though, I usually start with a character, and then toss them into another world. I’m partial to fish out of water stories. So, in Spellbound, I put Solange in a world of curses, in Lord Night, I put Shannon in an alternate dimension, and in Sensual Energy, I put both characters in an alternate dimension. It’s fun to watch them find their way.
Jessie
Enjoyed your blog, Jessie. I find the notion of world building to be both enthralling and scary but I love your suggestion about looking at the world around you. That could be interesting!
Carolynn