A fun/frustrating hallmark of fantasy is the chance to invent a new language. Of course, there’s a complete range of invention.

There are the J. K. Rowlings of the world who only need to invent the occasional interesting word, like quidditch or muggle. Then there are the J. R. R. Tolkiens who invent entire languages, like Elven. (He was a linguist, but still.)

The rest of us probably fall somewhere in between. We invent translations of words for our foreign characters, or words to describe new items or concepts.

Personally, I’m a fan of Tamora Pierce’s work. Her words roll off the tongue, and make sense in story context. A favorite of mine is “azigazi,” a Trader word meaning something like mirage.

Also, you know how some people teach their dogs commands in German so other people can’t control them? In her latest book, Bloodhound, this same concept appears in training the Provost’s Guard dogs, although they obviously don’t use German. I’m totally training my next dog in Kyprish!

Do you invent language in your stories? Share your favorite word!

Concluding this week’s crash course on worldbuilding, I offer you the core of fantasy: the magic system.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to creating a magic system, especially if you’re being more creative than normal. But it all boils down to deciding what magic can and cannot do.

Like I said, endless possibilities.

If you don’t know where to start, draw on your favorite stories for inspiration. Harry Potter’s world uses wands and latin-based spells. In the Lord of the Rings, there were a limited number of wizards in the world. In Narnia, magic is everywhere, and accessible in many different ways.

I can’t go through every type of magic system. First of all, it takes too long. Second, there’s too much you can do with it! All I can really do is make sure you think about all sorts of things you might not have considered by asking questions. Ready? Ok, let’s go:

Magic
What are the limits on magic (remember the Genie from Aladdin? Can’t raise people from the dead, can’t make anyone fall in love)? How do wizards call on magic (wand/staff, willpower, etc.)? What types of spells can be done? Is there any illegal magic (raising people from the dead again, etc.)? What’s the price of magic (lose some of your life force, etc.)? Does magic come from the gods? If there are different types of magic, what is each’s strengths and weaknesses? Are spells easy to cast (Harry Potter) or do they require a ritual (basic sacrifice to devil)? What kind of ritual? How long does it take to cast a spell (D&D’s stupid 10-minute casting time)? Is the world filled with magic, or is magic scarce? Are there magic items? Is there a way to strengthen spells (blood, etc.)?

Wizards
How many wizards are in your world? How do people treat them (respect/admire, mistrust, hate, etc.)? Are people born with magic or can it be learned? How long does it take to train in magic? What happens if someone runs out of magic (temporarily, as in ran out of spells, and/or permanently, as in no more magic ever)? Are there jobs in magic (potion-maker, etc.)? Are there ways to travel by magic (Floo Powder, Knight Bus, broomstick, etc.)? Ways to communicate by magic (two-way mirrors, etc.)? Does magic co-exist with or replace technology? Any Laws of Magic (both physical and political)? What happens if you break them? Is there a wizard hierarchy or government?

Species
What kind of races inhabit your world (elves, dwarves, etc.)? Where do they live? Do they have any special talents as a species? Advantages/Weaknesses? How do they interact with humans? With each other (Legolas v. Gimli!)? Do you have magical creatures (unicorns, dragons, etc.)? Where do they live? How do they interact with humans? Do their body parts have any magical significance (Harry Potter’s dragon’s blood, etc.)? How do humans treat them? Which are considered dangerous? Which are kept as pets?

You’re on a roll, keep going with your own questions!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s crash course on worldbuilding – and maybe learned something along the way!












And yes, I am more awesome than Lockhart.

Religion plays an important role in Fragment of the Moon and other fantasies, so I thought this would be a good second chapter to our crash course on worldbuilding, using the religion of my Southern Lands as an example.

First, you have to decide what kind of religion your world will have. Will there be multiple gods and/or goddesses? Or just one god? Or some great unknown power? Most fantasy writers (including me) go with the first option, and create their own pantheon. And since that’s the most complex, that’s what I’ll be discussing for the rest of the post.

One of the most common methods for making a pantheon is to either use or adapt the Greek/Roman or Norse systems, especially if you’re a fan of Dungeons & Dragons. If you want more information on these pantheons or would like to look at some of the world’s other religions, take a look at Godchecker. They have information on over 3,700 gods, goddesses, spirits, demons, and saints. I used it to find some fitting powers for one of my goddesses.

Since I originally designed my religion for an ancient society, I went with a nature theme, starting with elements and working my way up (I know, SO overdone). Obviously, that’s only one way. Do whatever you want!

Now, the problem I have with the European pantheons is their reliance on dichotomies, especially in the realm of morals. Good vs. Evil, War vs. Peace, Love vs. Hate, etc. It’s too black and white to be super interesting to me. So instead of the “classic” elements, I went with the Chinese elements.

Their relationships are more complex than the Pokemon-esque “Water beats Fire beats Earth beats Air” which, to my case, allows me to translate this frame into a moral system that is more complicated than dichotomies. In my pantheon, there’s a Goddess of War and a God Who Loves War (And Is Arguably More Ruthless than the Goddess of War).

What you should take away from this: find ways to tweak traditional systems to make them your own.

Given that religious systems’ practical applications are to guide the morals of its people, this is an extremely important facet of creating your religion. Remember two days ago, when I asked you to figure out what your society prized? This is where you create a religion that rewards it.

Example: Vikings prized bravery. The reward for dying in battle? Valhalla.

Other details to consider: how do people pray to the gods? Or do they leave it to the priests? Why do they pray to them (luck, advice, help, etc.)? Is there a priesthood, or is there another type of organization dedicated to the gods? How do you join the priesthood? What do priests do? What do the gods sanctify (birth, marriage, death, etc.)? Do the gods have any direct control on the world (can show themselves to certain people, can trigger events, etc.)? Are there other beings associated with the gods (angels, etc.)? What do people believe about the afterlife? Is entry to the afterlife automatic or is there a judgment (weighing heart against a feather, etc)?

Oh my gods, think of the rest yourself!

Welcome to A Single Bell’s week-long crash-course in worldbuilding! Over the next few days I’ll be giving you advice and questions to consider when building your world’s society, technology, religion, and magic system (saved the best for last!).

Deciding your world’s society and technology might very well be the easiest worldbuilding you do. (It is for me, anyway.) For some people, these two aspects go hand in hand – and since I studied anthropology, I can’t resist the chance to take a few jabs at Lewis Henry Morgan.

For the uninitiated, Morgan is infamous for his theories on social evolutionism. He claims that every society follows a natural progression to civilization, and has the audacity to decide what qualifies as civilization and what is decidedly lower. The spectrum is divided into three main stages: savagery, barbarism, and civilization. A society’s place on this spectrum is determined largely by its level of technology. For example, only civilized societies have writing systems – never mind that the Incans held a vast empire without one. And if you couldn’t work metal, he’d be darned if you were going to be any higher than a savage! I’d tell you to prove him wrong if it wasn’t so ridiculous. After all, he’s assuming that every society is going to go through the same progression as did Europe. It’s a big world out there, Mr. Morgan; we can’t all live in the rat-and-sewage dumps that were Medieval cities.

But wouldn’t that be original? An ancient society, armed only with stone weapons, possessing the power of flight with machi – oh wait, Disney already did that with Atlantis.

But you see what I mean. It doesn’t always have to be swords and catapults with knights and castles. In this crummy economy, you have to learn to Mix and Match!

RR Train, Great Britain, courtesy of Flickr

So, what kind of technology does your world have? Is it your run-of-the-mill Sword & Sorcery medieval realm? Or are you going to throw in some gunpowder? Maybe a magic train or two (it’s not like Harry Potter has a monopoly on them)? Maybe you want to do Steampunk? Or a world that exists within our own, which uses the same technology? Is technology (a.k.a. Science) banned by religion (a.k.a. the Church)? Does it replace it?

Now we’re getting into the realm of society. You can have your kings and your emperors. You can have a world run by merchants or no one at all (especially useful in post-Apocalyptic worlds). What’s marriage like? Gender roles? How old do you have to be before you’re considered an adult? What responsibilities do adults have? Has society changed (hopefully)? How? Any great events (civil wars, reigns of terror, etc.)? Is your world peaceful or militaristic? Who are its friends and enemies on the global stage? Is there a class system (don’t say of course, this is a relatively new concept)? A caste system? Are the lower classes educated? Only to a certain degree? What does your society value (intellect, bravery, faith, etc.)? How does it reward exemplary people?

I think that’s a good start. Once you’ve answered all (or any) of these questions, try to come up with more of your own. It’s all about the details.

Remember: worldbuilding is like set design. When you watch a movie, everything is perfectly detailed (compare the differences in design between Rohan and Gondor, for example). Maybe you don’t see all of the details that were created, but if they weren’t there, you’d notice.

My novel’s had a busy two weeks! Not only did I find a villain and create an appendix, but the word count jumped up to 11%!

My villain is hardcore. At least, I like to think so. My original villain was just going to be your generic demon king [see above]. I hate “take over the world” schemes but couldn’t think of anything better – until I did! He’s got a whole history with my main character, and pretty much hates her guts for reasons I won’t go into (needless to say, it involves death and destruction of everything he held dear) and has sworn revenge. Not just her death, that would be too simple. He wants to make her suffer just as she made him suffered. Revenge is also an old scheme, but I think it’ll work out well.

I made a non-scale map of the novel’s setting, the City of the Gods. I used Gimp, which couldn’t make circles, so…yeah. I’m still proud of it though. Not quite sure what to do with the orange dots (the “Centers”). Lauren suggested ruins or gardens. I like the ruins idea, but everything in between the dots is forest or field, so gardens didn’t make sense. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

I’ve got a plan for the progress bar, too. I wasn’t quite sure what to put as my word count goal, so I just used NaNoWriMo’s (50,000). But once I finish the first quarter of my novel (which I will know thanks to my Snowflake, which builds novels by quarters), I will recalibrate it. That should be more accurate, hopefully.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try and bump that progress bar up a few more percents!

P.S. If you look at My Del.icio.us, you’ll get an idea of what I’m going to talk about next week!