Most often, my world building comes through the process of writing. As such the information I have about my world largely comes from what I have needed to know for a story, whether it is part of the main series or a side story.
In talking with other people it occurs to me that that is not necessarily how world building works for other people. It actually made for some rather interesting conversations when someone would ask me what it is like to live in this area, or that area, and I would say I don’t know. I hadn’t needed to know that information prior to that moment because I hadn’t written anything in those places.
Honestly, those times could be a bit frustrating because they had a tendency to come off as though my method of world building was somehow inferior to starting from the ground up with where everything is and what everyone does and how the world works. It felt like I was being told I was doing something wrong by not doing it that way.
The thing is, not all worlds start from scratch. Some worlds spring to life with characters and a story, and the rest of the world becomes clear through the development of the story. I learn about the world as I discover new elements of it. I’ve always enjoyed the moments when I’m writing, and I have the thought, Oh, apparently they do [this thing], that’s actually kind of spiffy. And then I get to use that new bit of information to add a bit more depth to the story, one tidbit at a time.
Obviously some pieces of world building work better with a bit more active planning, but when it comes to elements of culture or society, sometimes the answers find you when you least expect them. It occurs to me, this may be another side to the whole Planning vs Pantsing arrangement, just applied to world building instead of plot/story.
How do you approach worldbuilding? Do you prefer to start from the ground up? Or do you prefer to discover things as you go?
~ Theresa
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