Worldbuilding

Do you remember how I talked about building worlds last week?

It's a rabbit hole that lasts for DAYS.

In case you're wondering.

The yellow islands are inhabited by dragons.

The blue island is the only sizable human kingdom out here.

Largest island - oldest clan. Clan name translates to "The Separate People" from their own tongue. They were originally a rebellious faction from one of the mainland colonies, and have grown so much since that point that none of them remember where they came from. They make up for this by inventing legends about their founders. The most popular is a variant of the creation myth from the mainland; that their original Patriarch (a dragon whose title was something like "He With Broken Teeth") was born from a stone on the mountain struck by lightning and given life by the elemental forces of nature. The tale of where his mate came from is... less cohesive. Different families within the clan have different versions of the story. 

Second-largest island - (triangle-shaped, southwest corner of Big Islands) second-oldest clan. Clan name translates to something like "Of the Sea" or something equally descriptive. Many of these dragons are descended from the same stock as their nearest neighbors, but deny any relation. They have been separated by so many generations that the resemblance has been lost, as those "Of the Sea" swim more often than they fly, and their physical characteristics have slowly changed to reflect this, helped along by the occasional dalliance with a Sea Serpent, with whom they share a common ancestor. 

Satellite island - (eastern island of the core four, and the smallest) third-oldest clan. Clan name means "Small Land." This clan is also a splinter group from the Separate People, and have done their best to more or less recreate the culture of the big island in miniature. Due to the separation of the peoples, some minor changes have taken place, and this results in disagreements between the clans about which is the "right" way to do things. The Small Land and the Separate People have the closest ties of any of the clans, and are more likely than the others to form an alliance in desperate situations. 

Third-largest island - (northernmost, wibbly-shaped) youngest of the Big Clans. Clan name means "Of the Stars" or something like it, indicating a grand destiny that never materialized. They are more immigrants from the mainland, more recent than those on the Big Island, and were the result of a religious squabble among the mainland clans within the last millennia or so. They refer to themselves as a "Roost" rather than a "clan," and believe themselves better than common dragons because of their close connection to "The Mother," who is supposedly the source of all creative strength in the world. Their island was the home of an active volcano* until about 700 years ago, when a largish earthquake plugged up the magma flow and allowed the volcano to cool. Many of their tales indicate that at some point in the future, the volcano will wake and The Mother will return to them in physical form, but no one knows exactly when this is supposed to happen. 

*It is because of this volcanic activity that the Small Land colony didn't make an effort to settle there. 

This is all rough at the moment, but it's beautiful and I love it so far. The best part is, of course, that none of this has anything at all to do with my main project, which is my novel. :) Yup. I'm really good at finishing things. Sure am. 

Don't judge me.

Planet of Hats

It's been a while since I posted (apologies to the Internet for disappearing during NaNoWriMo). I will get back on this horse and gallop off into the sunset next week, but for now, I'd like to talk a little bit about one of my favorite pastimes: Worldbuilding.

Some time ago, a friend of mine introduced me to a YouTube channel (oh, nefarious YouTube, why must I sacrifice my time to you?!) by the name of "Overly Sarcastic Productions." One of their more recent videos is one of a series called "Trope Talks," which I hold dear to my little literary heart. This particular talk was on the topic of "The Planet of Hats." I've included it here for your viewing pleasure.

This is a problem I've run into time and again, not because I'm a bad writer, but because the plots I try to tackle are sometimes simply to big for the story I'm trying to tell. I end up with fragments and glimpses that, while tantalizing and interesting, are not satisfying. 

And of course this, coupled with my apparent inability to write a satisfactory ending, leads me into the Pit of Despair to have the life sucked out of me by a Machine of my own creation. 

To address this gaping hole in my own education and skills, I have decided *dramatic uplifting music here* to apply some of Red's steps from her Planet of Hats video to my own worlds, especially the ones that feature in the novel I wrote last month. 

In the meantime, though, I created a nation of dragon clans on an archipelago in the southern seas of a fantasy world, far enough from the mainland that the smallish human kingdoms that sprang up there are almost completely isolated with their dragon neighbors. 

Because I'm nice like that. :)

I'll post some more about that world another time, since I think I've talked enough for now. Next week, look forward to some snippets from the rough draft of my novel. ;) 

In the meantime, have an awesome weekend, everybody! 

*runs off to pack like a madperson, preparing for THE MOVE*

Rebirth Arena - 1

First, I would like to apologize for my inconsistency. I've been struggling to motivate myself to keep writing regularly. Hopefully, reminding myself that I have a blog will help. 

Since I got started with building a world week before last, I've continued puttering on the story it was made to hold. Here's a snippet of what I have so far: 

---

The comforting velvet warmth of the familiar night was replaced with a void, and Kasi felt she'd gotten the short end of that particular stick. Surprise cooled into reluctant fear. It was just a dream. It had to be. But the void continued. It didn't fade or disappear. Nothing came out of the darkness. It just went on… forever.

"What happened? Where am I? What happened?" She was compelled to say the words out loud. She couldn't hear her words, except inside her own head, like when one shouts underwater. She could feel her mouth moving, though, and could feel the voice vibrating in her throat. It just seemed to go no further.

Worldbuilding

Sometimes I work with friends to build new worlds. It goes something like this: 

R: Aliens create a soap opera/gladiator arena like the Hunger Games with "lesser beings" and make them fight, survive, and multiply for the entertainment of the masses. 

J: Like Survivor, only better.

And more violent.

Sometimes.

R: *nods*

J: "And if you're entertaining enough, then we won't destroy your planet."

"You won't?"

"Correct. We'll keep you alive for entertainment."

R: Should entertainment be the sole determining value of your species' survival? Does winning matter, if you're boring?

J:  If you're boring, I don't think you'd win. Challenges must be completed in order to gin points. Audience input (American Idol style voting) can sway the game and influence challenges to a certain degree.

R: Actually...maybe that's what the "Queen" of each team can service. Long-term players can continually advance their 'tribe' by gradually creating hybrid super-species. If a player is 'captured' and re-born one season, in the next they'll be playing for another team...

J: Once a Player, always a Player?

R: More or less.

J: Maybe if you survive 3 consecutive games you can retire.

R: I like that idea. :) It's both a motivation factor, and a balancing mechanic! If a player gets too strong, they'll start winning, and then they'll be made to get out!

This isn't the end of the conversation, to be sure, but if you guys are interested in this sort of story (dubbed the "Rebirth Arena") I might share more of it as it develops. :)