Basic decisions on setting
Let's use epic fantasy as the basis for our setting then - bizarre and beautiful magic, fantastical and mythological creatures, and swords and weaponry all set in a world of our own creation. For spice, we'll toss in some steampunk technology (as per an offline chat with Plague). That will be a great juxtaposition for the smoother workings of magic, and it will give us some of the gritty feel that's been so popular in novels today.
I've been intrigued lately by the breakdown of social order in dystopic societies, so I'd like to add that in. It's an element that's typically found in science fiction and cyberpunk, but I think it will translate well into fantasy. It gives us some built-in conflict that will turn into plot threads later on, and it will also make our novel very timely, playing on the undercurrents of social and political unrest here in the U.S. right now (due to the recession, unemployment, the health care bill, the bipartisan stalemates in Congress, etc.).
So our world has:
- A wide variety of mythological and/or magical races
- A high level of magic
- Steam technology vying for dominance over the older, better established (and probably safer) magic
- Great gaps in economic status between the rich and the poor
- Anarchic factions within the populace
- An antiquated government struggling (and failing) to maintain order, or one that has recently collapsed
- A high level of crime and violence in the streets
- Survivalist mentalities, particularly in the poor
Putting these ideas together raises a ton of questions (see below). We can pursue the answers to any of those questions to further develop our setting, design conflicts for our plot, develop characters, themes, etc. Please pick one or two questions that interest you, either your own or any of the ones listed below, and run with it, posting your answer(s) in the comments. Or if you already have ideas for characters, plot, or themes, please post them.
Sample questions
(Only pick one or two to save your sanity!)
Races
What races exist in our world? Humans? Faeries? Dragons? Dwarves? Gnomes? Should we use the creatures found in folklore? The folklore of what culture(s)? How closely should we stick to that folklore? Should we make up our own races?
What races dominate our world? What race dominates the main culture in which our story takes place? How mixed is our society? Are there many different races living together, only a few, or does our main culture consist of only one race? How do the races interact? Hostilities? Alliances? Are some races subservient to others? How did they get that way? Is the ruling class a different race than the rest of the populace?
Magic
How does magic work in our world? What are the laws by which it operates? Can each person only work certain types of magic? Who is able to work magic? What does it take to use magic? How common is magic and/or magical items amongst the populace? How does the government/rulers view magic? How do the common folk? Are certain types of magic outlawed? Why? What's the punishment for breaking that law?
Steam technology
How does it work? Who has access to it? What are some commonly used machines? Rare, new, and/or frightening machines? Are there any steampunk-style cyborgs? Are they cyborgs by choice? How is steam technology used? Which factions support steam technology? Which don't? What does all of this mean for the layperson? The government? How do magic and steam technology interact? Are there machines that use both?
Government
What type of government does our main culture have? Dictatorship, totalitarian (ruled by one party), theocracy (the rulers' claim to power is religious), monarchy, parliamentary, republic, anarchy (no government; e.g., the government collapsed after a civil war and now rival factions are fighting for control), or something else entirely?
Economy
Capitalist, socialist, communist? A combination? Something completely new and different? Or has the economy collapsed? How does this affect the common folk? The rich?
Social order
Caste? Social class? Racial divides? Gender divides? Are people divided by profession? How did there become such a large divide between the rich and the poor? Is there a middle class? What's changing about the social order right now? Who is fighting to better their status, what are they fighting for, and how are they fighting (peaceful, violent...)? Is a certain race, gender, class, caste, etc. being oppressed or is seen as a scapegoat? Why? Does anyone oppose this treatment?
World events
How does the social unrest and/or crumbling government affect the people? Is another race or culture taking advantage of the dishevel in order to attack and/or take power?
Side notes
- Can anyone recommend some steampunk novels for me? I'd like to read some more.
- Check out the article I just published: Improve your mood in 30 seconds.
Racially, I think the Human, Elf, Dwarf trifecta has become morose. I'm thinking Human as a base so its relatable, but add an element that is uncommon, gnomes perhaps, tying into the steampunk aspect maybe? Yeah, you never really hear much about Gnomes anymore.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the steam aspect, maybe there's conflict between the magic users and the steambuilders, and as a hook make the two mutually inclusive. ie the magic powers the steam machines, or the source of magic comes from the steam, or somehow the two feed each other and could not exist independently
I agree with Plague, the human, elf, dwarf thing has been done to death. Human and gnome is good, but I think to add some extra flavor, toss in the enigmatic faerie folk and make them meddlesome in trying to bring down the steamwork technology.
ReplyDeleteA republic is rarely used in the fantasy genre, so that might be interesting to try. I think the monarchy thing has been done to death, so I'd like to see something else entirely.
I like the idea of having the economy mimic our present day situation, where there is a huge gap between rich and poor. But I think that the rich in the story should be the ones to hold the steam technology, withholding it's wonders from the poor. Maybe the steam technology is beneficial in some aspect to making life easier.
Also, I agree with Plague that the magic users and steambuilders are at odds, but are mutually inclusive. It's a hook that could play on for quite some time.
What if you had an internal social and cultural conflict wherein the Magic is the way being shown the door by the steamers and being pushed underground so that there is an entire substrata of the poor who are stealing and converting steam products with Magic, for their own use? You could have the steam technology be the reliable new (and wealthier) product that is tyrannizing the lower class, magical folk.
ReplyDeleteI like Plagues idea about the Gnomes, though. It's about time those lil' fellers get a book of their own.
Oh yeah, and i don't know if you write on a Mac or a PC but there's this wonderful little program i have been using on the Mac called Scrivener that is a gem for keeping track of things while writing a novel. They said that they will have a windows version by month end. I've been using it for writing for a while now and i can honestly say it's one of the best things ever for keeping everything in one place. (and they aren't even paying me for saying it.)
ReplyDelete