Worldbuilding 64

Worldbuilding is one of the joys of writing fiction. It can also be daunting. Endless possibilities make starting difficult and stopping even harder. Myriad templates, tools, mnemonics, and books (many of which boast the word “ultimate” in their title) add to the confusion. I suggest a more minimalist approach.

Four Categories

When worldbuilding for a story I start with power, place, culture, and technology/magic. These are not only important for a strong world, but a strong story as well. For example, culture can provide character motivations, place can provide plot points, and all of these can be a source of conflict.    

Four Questions

I ask myself four key questions about each category. The answers to these questions will extend out into other areas such as history, social structure, commerce, ethics, religion, the arts, and so on. Here are the key questions for each category:

Power

1. Who has power?

2. Why do they have power?

3. Who wants to take their power?

4. What’s stopping them?   

Place

1. What locations are desirable?

2. What locations are undesirable?

3. Who lives in each location?

4. Why do they live there?

Culture

1. List some of the important cultural groups.

2. What external markers signal someone’s cultural heritage?

3. What internal beliefs are the norm for each group?

4. What would members of each group never do? 

Technology/Magic

1. List some technologies and/or magical abilities.

2. What activities does the tech/magic make possible?

3. Who controls the tech/magic?

4. What are the costs of the tech/magic?

Four Answers

Multiple answers to each question provide depth and richness to the world. I set four answers as my benchmark. This forces me to think beyond the obvious and add balance and variety to my world. By the time I’ve generated four answers to each question, I’ve established 64 (4x4x4) different elements of my world. That’s a pretty strong start!

No Magic Number

This worldbuilding math is straightforward but it’s not ironclad. I settled on 4x4x4 because it gives me happy memories of Nintendo 64. For someone else, five answers might be the standard. Go for it! Perhaps they want to include wildlife and politics in their categories. Wonderful! Customize this however you like. Just remember to start small with your questions and go big with your answers.

Happy worldbuilding!

Control Is an Illusion

I checked the weather this morning. It seems unlikely Denver will have a “white Christmas” this year. When I saw this, two thoughts hit me at once: 1) I’m so bummed and 2) how can I make it snow on Christmas?

Herein lies my insanity.

Make it snow on Christmas? Who do I think I am? Last year, I wrote about how I have a lot of expectations around Christmas, but this is next level. And it got me thinking: where else am I suffering from the illusion of control?

I try to control my job, my kids, and the future. If you have a job or kids or a future, you probably know how impossible controlling those things is. That hasn’t stopped me so far. I’ve gone on to try controlling the performance of football teams, other people’s choices (especially when those choices affect me), other people’s opinions of me, and I’ve even fantasized about swaying public opinion itself (“Hey, Everyone, why don’t we stop climate change?”).

Expecting that level of control is exhausting.

The beautiful thing (I’m slowly realizing) is, the need for control is also an illusion. I don’t need control. I don’t need the stress of it. This is, of course, easier said than done, but I’ll let you in on a little secret: meditation helps. Just being aware of my need for control and when I’m suffering under its illusion is a start to giving it up.

It doesn’t have to snow on Christmas. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Nothing has to be perfect. I can savor whatever I do have. (Meditation helps here, too.) And being present and grateful for the holidays, that is truly a gift.

Update December 30, 2023

Ironically, it snowed on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. It was wonderful. And I didn’t make it happen.