NewMexicoKid at 21:28, 7 October 2017

2017-10-07T21:28:13Z

NewMexicoKid: Created page with "== Intro == * Get all of your ideas down; as it changes, write that down. * 20 people in attendance == Worldbuilding & Character - Anna Gabrielli (OddSoul) == * [slides..."

2017-10-07T21:26:43Z

Created page with "== Intro == * Get all of your ideas down; as it changes, write that down. * 20 people in attendance == Worldbuilding & Character - Anna Gabrielli (OddSoul) == * [slides..."

New page

== Intro ==

* Get all of your ideas down; as it changes, write that down.
* 20 people in attendance

== Worldbuilding & Character - Anna Gabrielli (OddSoul) ==
* [slides https://drive.google.com/open?id=18dJZOjYPzo_R9hLKAHwdBtvzEAyBEod34gfMuv5iaQk]
* [Scene Settings Activity https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HwROWQtWGf3tQBTmm1_7lAbjklovfM-Ej4A5qDJSrqY]
* [Top Down and Deeper worksheet https://drive.google.com/open?id=1D8DknfnZgjSaMc3ejAb0yKcjiGIRQ_Z0E4FhGv1xvCc]
* [Top Down Worldbuilding Worksheet https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Qmm1CWUHY0_XPVF4R087ehDuQSbGpT3wg7Eu4cvnjXs]
* [Worldbuilding Workshop Sources and Stuff https://drive.google.com/open?id=1otKj5Ki6wBV0zad7i9N9Ap5KqTPYIXz-pkO0S2yIafo]

=== Genres of participants ===

* Fantasy ...
* Mystery .
* Thriller
* Dystopian humorist
* Womens ficiton
* Historical
* thriller SF
* modern day FS
* YA Contemporary Fantasy
* Speculative ficiton
* Memoir
* General
* Horror/adventure

=== Objectives ===

* Providing you with tools to approach your story in different ways

=== Story ===

* Plot
* Character
* Setting - provides a context for the story
* '''Conflict''' is the story glue that ties the other three elements together (they grow and change and play off each other)
** the way the characters interact with the world and each other
** the tension that results

=== Worldbuilding approaches ===

* Build the macro aspects of the world first
** elements are well-integrated and make sense
** BUT it is very time-consuming and it delays story development (worldbuilder's disease)
** when you craft everything, it becomes TOO logical
* Bottom-up - build the character or plot first
** immediately useful for storytelling
** only necessary details
** BUT can develop inconsistencies
** AND it can feel shallow
* Top down and bottom up combination
** immediately useful for storytelling
** maintains overall consistency
** BUT can also be time-consuming

== Top down approach ==

* Differences with developing a real place vs. fantasy places (in your own head)
** real world places require more research
** you can focus the areas of research depending on what your character does and what your story will be
* How do you figure out what to put in, what to leave out when planning your novel? Hard to judge of what goes into 50K words
** put everything in; when you revise it, you can add in other things
** focus on the essential story
* Two aspects
** physical setting - things that exist even without people
*** natural setting aspects: plains, islands, trees, flora/fauna, moons, planets, climate, mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans
*** this affects the cultural things (e.g., islands will have more isolated cultures; different food and clothing if the climate is warm or hot)
** cultural setting - things that exist BECAUSE of people
*** language
*** architecture
*** clothing
*** food
*** customs / traditions
*** religions
*** political institutions
*** governments
*** art
*** social classes
*** gender
*** education
*** age
* Choose 2 or 3 elements that you find fascinating--what do you '''want''' to write about? (will help you stay interested in your story), then build your world around these things.
** mountains
** food
** art
** maybe the mountain region is difficult to live in
** Santa Fe
** gourmet food presented as a piece of art
** compostable art made out of food
** cook who wants to be an artist
** reality tv cooking contest where people have to make mountains out of food
** foraging for food
* Goal: extrapolate as much as possible
** who would inhabit this world? What would they know about the world?
** who would benefit from the structures of the world? Who would struggle? Who would love it? Who would hate it?
** if difficult to find food on the mountain, everyone would struggle; people who enjoy nature might
** How could the system be exploited?
** What kinds of jobs exist?
** Think about the little things and every day things--these are what your character interacts with the most
* Look for sources of conflict
** the character with the most at stake = the main character

=== Go Deeper rather than broader ===

* Show a fewer number of things more deeply rather than a wider number of things.
* These smaller number of things well-explored will feel wider than a large number of shallowly-explained htings
* Focus on how story/character intersects
* Show the implications/ramifications
** how/why
** smaller details will imply the larger world aspects
** this will give a broader sense of the world
* More details can be layered in later if necessary
* Things the character and the reader can experience first hand; the way the character feels about those things will imply the larger picture of the world.
* Not everything needs an explanation or can be explained (it can't)
** there are limitations of science and knowledge; historical stories have been lost or purposely destroyed
* Think about what your character would know about or care about.
* Follow the awesome (what are you interested in)

== Activity: Top down worldbuilding -- going deeper - guided brainstorming ==

* an island
* dragons on the island
* dragons are to be feared but also reverenced
** dragons are gods
* dragons have taken people
** why? to be their servants or slaves
** maybe they take representatives (sacrificed) - strongest, prettiest, smartest
* not allowed to kill the dragons
* advanced society takes advantage of the less advanced people
* slaves work with the dragons, have intimate knowledge and understand/respect dragons more than the common people
* Where are the resources?
** fresh food; people -> above
** engineering, metals, chemicals -> below
* climate is more hostile above ground
* Below-ground is safer but no fresh food
* Upper class is below
* dragons are picky eaters; they need people to prepare food for them
** dragons are herbivores (vegetarians)
* uprising from those above the ground
* culinary schools down below
* chief of the tribe up above benefits from the fear of the dragons
** people with the missing kids don't like the status quo
* dragons like the status quo
** farming dragons in the end
* People who don't like living underground aren't happy
* inciting incident
** chief's child disappears--rigs the selection so that she was chosen
*** she got to know one of the dragons (mutual respect)
* complication
** someone up above who loves the chief's daughter wants to lead a raid on the dragons to rescue her
** someone down below has come to love the chief's daughter (after she arrives)
* group 1
** people who live on a river (crafts aren't powerful enough for the oceans)
*** an ocean
** land people have a more expansive world with easier resources than the river people
** two moons: river people honor one; land people honor the other
** boats are very important to them (an art form that is familial)
** house boats created over time (take pride)
** river people: believe that it is safe to leave the river when their moon is full.
** river is in a ravine (cliffs to get to resources on the land they need for their boats)
** if river people explore when not a full moon, they can be enslaved (but they don't know what happen to the river people who disappear); they are then considered dead to the river people.
** fishing is one of the most important productions
** an astrologer helps to track the moons; there will be periods of time when both moons are full (dangerous)
* group 2
** we, too, have a river
** Riverwalk in Naperville
** years ago was a quiet place for nature; now there are restaurants, kayaks, tourists and crime
** find a dead body in the Riverwalk
** person is a worker in the Naper Settlement, a blacksmith
** there are people who love enjoying the Riverwalk; there are others who live 10 minutes away but stay away because of tourists
** expanding and tearing down the library; protests
* group 3
** Victorian England
** Language and Art (Dickens, Austen)
** fog
** cityscape
** class
** conflict: out of class and what would happen if Jane Austen got stuck in the slums of the city
** why would she be stuck there as an upper class lady?
** having to write letters and not having phones or electricity
** conflict between Austen's Victorian world and Dicken's Victorian world

=== Bottom Up ===

* Going from something smaller and building the larger world around the smaller details
* Build character first
** Questionnaires
** Profiles?
* You can put characters into different situations, generating a lot of stories
** having a strong character really helps
* There are many character building tools, asking questions about trivial things
* I like building characters on the bigger things
** what they are afraid of (you can make them face that fear)
** what they love (you can put this at risk)
** what they are afraid of
** what situations make them feel least at ease
** biggest vulnerability
** what makes the character feel real is how they interact with other characters (knowing how other characters see that character) -- other characters seeing how that person is
** characters can be different people around other people or in differrent settings
** what places do characters go to when they want to feel at ease
** where do they spend most of their time
** what do their spaces look like
* When you have a basis for a character's fear, you can ask HOW and WHY
** what kind of world would make a character feel that way
* We are all products of our environment and our experiences; they affect how a character sees the world
* Does the character fit in or stand out in the world?
** what makes them uncomfortable?
* What places are important to the character? Who might be present there?
** everyday places
** emotionally charged places: love/hate/avoid
** developmental places: milestones, memorable vacations, etc.
* You can write a character in a prequel to your novel; this can help instantiate them.
* Do some freewriting on the character in your head (doesn't have to be interesting). What do they notice or feel about the world.

=== Scene Settings Add up ===

* Brainstorm scene settings
** what makes sense for your character (what places would your character ''want'' to go) and story
** what does the character need? What are the character's goals?
** use the emotional impact on a character to brainstorm scenes
** go with the obvious and convenient place ONLY when you have to (better to choose something unique)
** details give clues to a greater sense of the world. E.g., a scene in a character's house, the type of decor, small details will build a sense of the whole house and the character's reactions to that. E.g., express a character's dissonance with a house if they have a bad relationship with a parent in that home.
* Look for conflict and complications between a character and their environment
** how can the world make things harder for the character
** obstacles, people who might provide tension with the character
** how comfortable does the character feel in that place?

=== Activity: Building up from scene settings ===

* Make the scene unique (e.g., based on time of day, season)
* What kinds of people might exist in that setting
* Something from the character's past that would make this more personal
* Kingdom, character has to flee (parents killed); ultimately, she wants to return
* at the very beginning
* she and her twin brother are two years old; parents still alive
* open the kingdom to the world around them (trade), inviting others
* then a group wants to take over the kingdom (kill the king)
** they instill fear in the kingdom
** marries the queen then kills her
** royal guard saves the kids, give them new identities (5)
* the kids see the mom killed
* in the castle, the guy has married their mom
* normal day after that
* two of them have to go to sleep (in their bedroom)
* midnight
* Leader of queen's guard comes into the room and say they have to leave
* as they are sneaking out, the mom was the one who commanded her guard to do this
* they see their mom talking with the group of bad men; the husband killed the queen with a kitchen knife
* he wants sexual relations with her but she refuses
* palace
* kids are in the palace wall (cracks in the mortar) in the brick
* dark back there
* head of the guard claps hands over the mouths of the kids
* kids are trained to not reveal any sounds; or sister claps a hand over her brother mouth
* they thought it was a rat
* the princess had earlier taken her brother through this tunnel for fun
* group 4
** main characters are a brother and sister (5-7)
** parents are king and queen in a kingdom
** king and queen open up the kingdom for trading and cultural exchanges
** a group of people from another country enter with bad intentions
** kill the king in secret
** leader forces queen to marry him
** he wants her, but gets frustrated and wants to kill her
** the kids go to sleep one night, around midnight, the leader of the palace guard was sent by the queen to get the two kids out of the kingdom
** the kids are being escorted out of the castle, taking a secret tunnel the brother and sister played in
** they see their mom with the leader; he gets frustrated and kills her
** two kids see their mom die
** they have to leave, dealing with the grief and shock that happened where they had happy memories
* group 2
** detective who hangs out at the Empire bar, the roof
** bartender keeps Old Style on tap, only beer he likes
** it is upstairs, November (quite cold)
** he's the only one there, there are Christmas decorations (aggravating, it is Nov beginning)
** distracted by the sound of a dish breaking in the kitchen
* group 4
** young lady in Victorian England, visiting from somewhere else
** late in the day in the market, England fog rolls in, she is separated from her family
** falls into the Thames (filled with sewage)
** rescued by a group of 12 year old boys (thinking they would get a reward)
** she has no money to offer them; they take off; she follows them back to where they live (tent city)
** other women there see she is dressed better; they take her clothes and give her their clothes
** she is stuck there--doesn't know how to get back (but she comes from a completely different level of society)
* group 1:
** superheroes
** two part room: new superheroes are brought in; tested on one side of a glass wall
** one is hanging mistletoe in the observation area
** they bring in a new superhero
** they give him a serum to calm him down, breaks wall, reptile man (best superhero) is slowed because of the cold
** kids escaped
** hates Christmas, goes to the mall to kill Santa
** feels a bit out of place in the Mall
** he notices that Santa's elf is a lost love of his. She manages to talk him down.
** "you used to work at the footlocker, I work at the ..."
** "Thank God we've connected again"
** go to the winter formal (she in her Elf outfit, he covered with broken glass)
** he discovers she is actually an elf but pretended to be human so she could go to high school

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 == Worldbuilding &amp; Character - Anna Gabrielli (OddSoul) ==
-* [slides https://drive.google.com/open?id=18dJZOjYPzo_R9hLKAHwdBtvzEAyBEod34gfMuv5iaQk]
+* [https://drive.google.com/open?id=18dJZOjYPzo_R9hLKAHwdBtvzEAyBEod34gfMuv5iaQk slides]
-* [Scene Settings Activity https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HwROWQtWGf3tQBTmm1_7lAbjklovfM-Ej4A5qDJSrqY]
+* [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HwROWQtWGf3tQBTmm1_7lAbjklovfM-Ej4A5qDJSrqY Scene Settings Activity]
-* [Top Down and Deeper worksheet https://drive.google.com/open?id=1D8DknfnZgjSaMc3ejAb0yKcjiGIRQ_Z0E4FhGv1xvCc]
+* [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1D8DknfnZgjSaMc3ejAb0yKcjiGIRQ_Z0E4FhGv1xvCc Top Down and Deeper worksheet ]
-* [Top Down Worldbuilding Worksheet https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Qmm1CWUHY0_XPVF4R087ehDuQSbGpT3wg7Eu4cvnjXs]
+* [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Qmm1CWUHY0_XPVF4R087ehDuQSbGpT3wg7Eu4cvnjXs Top Down Worldbuilding Worksheet]
-* [Worldbuilding Workshop Sources and Stuff https://drive.google.com/open?id=1otKj5Ki6wBV0zad7i9N9Ap5KqTPYIXz-pkO0S2yIafo]
+* [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1otKj5Ki6wBV0zad7i9N9Ap5KqTPYIXz-pkO0S2yIafo Worldbuilding Workshop Sources and Stuff]
 === Genres of participants ===

Worldbuilding & Character (2017) - Revision history

NewMexicoKid at 21:28, 7 October 2017

NewMexicoKid: Created page with "== Intro == * Get all of your ideas down; as it changes, write that down. * 20 people in attendance == Worldbuilding & Character - Anna Gabrielli (OddSoul) == * [slides..."