DoubleBlind

March Behind the Scenes: Worldbuilding

Added 2024-03-31 21:15:58 +0000 UTC

At Game On Expo, we did our first panel together on creating a LitRPG universe. We had a great time answering questions and covering some of what makes Everyone's a Catgirl! tick.

A couple of people had more questions on how we built Nyarlea and integrated the LitRPG aspects inside of it. So this month's behind-the-scenes will go into more detail about worldbuilding!

First off, it's important to note that this is our method of worldbuilding, not the only method of worldbuilding. There's no wrong way to write or theory craft, so try everything you can and find what works best for you!

Second, some writers prefer to write their characters first. While that can work, we personally find that it's easier to create characters within a world when you have an idea of how that world works. Otherwise, your characters and world may clash when you start writing the story.

Details can always change on both the characters and the world. Volume 1 of Catgirls has a document with 7 pages of change notes on systems, world rules, and details that were shifted to smooth out Nyarlea.

Now let's talk about the details we like to flesh out first and foremost.

Topography

This can ALWAYS change later, but it's great to have a small semblance of what your world looks like.

Note: You can work on Topography and Culture/Religion in tandem because one tends to feed off of the other and vice versa.

One way that some writers like to create a world map, is by taking a handful of rice or sand and sprinkling it around on a piece of paper.

The higher the pile of rice, the more mountainous the region is. You can use it to help create islands, extra formations, and to decide what the edges of your continents will look like.

For reference, Ni Island started as a very small, one-city continent. We realized when Iggy (the rockstar catgirl) came to perform that just having Junonia alone didn't make sense. Especially because it was right after we gave Shi Island so many cities and landscapes for them to travel across.

At that point, "Junonia" didn't have a name. It was just "The village on Ni Island." It had to change.

Identifying a few pieces of topography on your map is important because it can help you determine things like:

Climate
Job opportunities and trades (mining, fishing, hunting)
Flora and fauna (spices and crops)
Building types and materials
Potentially races, if you want to do several ethnicities based on their regions

Don't spend a ton of time on this part. Don't draw a million little rivers and points of interest (waymarks), these are aspects your character(s) can discover with you later. Just build a general idea of your starting area, and then move on to the next piece.

Culture and Religion

For culture, you're looking to dive into:

Dialect and idioms: These are typically based on ways of living and how people interact with each other. Slang is all derivative of lifestyles. An example in catgirls is: "Would you get off my tail?" or "I'm up to my ears in work."
Jobs and trade: This is where you'll find the overlap with topography and you can flesh it out more. What jobs are actually available to your characters? It's good to come up with a few ideas of trading, but you can create more as you write your story and discover where your characters are from and what they like to do. Ichi Island gained all of its trading information after we got there.
Art: This is just as important to establish as everything else. It can be woven inside of religion (stained glass, paintings of deities, hymns), and it can include your character's hobbies and recreation (music, reading, painting).

Let's spend a moment on Language. We talked about this in the panel after a question on "fantastical vs. mundane language" came up. You are absolutely free to reinvent the wheel on words like "sugar" and "salt" and "pepper" and "coffee." But be warned that keeping tabs on all of this can get taxing for both the writer and the reader. My recommendation is to write everything out in your native tongue first, then go back and decide where you'd like to make alterations.

Creating a language is its own challenge, and I'd recommend the book The Art of Language Invention by David J. Peterson for those seeking more information on it.

For Religion, the first piece to decide is if there IS a religion or not. Multiple religions? Depending on the topography and how many races there are, there could be several different religions with monotheistic or polytheistic beliefs. How will this play into the day-to-day life?

This is another part to be careful not to get too caught up on. You can create more rituals, texts, and practices as you write and uncover the world with your characters. Start by deciding whether or not any of your deities (or deity) still exist or have existed, or if people are worshiping a memory.

We knew Saoirse would be an enormous component in Nyarlea and Ni Island presented the perfect opportunity to ease readers (and Matt) into her existence. But as we move closer to Nyarlothep and Cannoli's move to the church, we can finally explore more of Saoirse's hymns, texts, and decrees.

Magic & Technology

Depending on the story, this could be the most complicated part to develop. The good news is, both of these can be dictated by Culture, Religion, and Geography. Questions like:

If Magic exists, does the world's religion allow it?
How technologically advanced is your world? Plumbing? Electricity? Nuclear power?
How do technology and magic interact? Be careful of the overlap! Necessity is the mother of invention. If you can provide the function with one (say magic), there's usually no reason to do the same function with the other (technology).
Are people receptive to new technology and ideas? Or is the culture/religion restrictive on what you're allowed to do? For example: Birth control is a hot topic for readers with Nyarlea, and that can never exist because of Saoirse. It's considered such a grievous sin to prevent pregnancy that it would never cross 99% of catgirl's minds.
How is technology powered? Does the geography allow for coal? Wind? Water? Fire? etc.

Leaders and Government

There are many ways to rule a people, and this will directly affect your culture and religion.

Research different cultures and varying eras of government and rule to see what you like best. Try not to worry about what "fits," because you can make anything work if you frame it correctly.

A few options to start:

Democracy
Monarchy
Oligarchy
Dictatorship
Communism
Autocracy

You can also use any number of these as a "base" and then add or subtract your own rules to create a personalized spin on it.

When you're finished, decide how your government interacts with your religion. Is there a separation of church and state? Do they work closely together? Does one have more power than the other?

We decided that the Queen of Nyarlea would be guided by Saoirse's decrees and rules, and she's seen as the highest spokesperson for the goddess. On the Bell coins, it says "May Saoirse Guide the Queen of Nyarlea" to reflect that.

Brief History

Great News! You've already done this part by now! If you've created a map, bulleted your points in Culture, Religion, Magic, Technology, and Government, you should have a basic history for your world!

Even better news is that if you've made it this far, stop worldbuilding now. It's time to move on to your characters. You can ALWAYS go back to make adjustments while you're writing and/or after your story is over.

There's a common misconception that writers plan out every detail in advance. In general, this is not the case. Brandon Sanderson mentioned in one of his YouTube interviews that he rewrote the interactions between Kaladin and Dalinar a number of times. What's awesome is that all of your readers will think that you got your book right the first time. Every time. They will never know how many drafts you had to go through or how many changes had to happen in your manuscript.

Your story is awesome. There will always be an audience for it. If you like it, that means someone else does, too. Don't stop writing!