That title is a Crystal Method “Trip Like I Do” reference. Did you notice? Some of you understood right away from that reference that I listen to electronic music (or at least had listened to it) without my ever telling you so up front, and therefore, got a peek into my everyday life in a flash. The fact that it’s a song that came out in 1997 could indicate a million other things. Think about it. It definitely indicates I live in a time and place where computers and electronics are an important cultural factor. The deal is, it’s a telling detail. That is world-building. Creating a believable fantasy setting isn’t about sketching a detailed map and writing 1200 years of history and then infodumping that onto the reader in a wordy prologue — although that information can be helpful to the writer. Creating a realistic setting is like research, in that it too is an iceberg of information with which the writer is intimately familiar and the reader only experiences the tiny bit that appears above the waterline.
Fantasy (and Sci-Fi too) is one part escapism. The reader signs on to be a tourist of an imaginary (or in my case, not so imaginary) world. It is the writer’s job to make that world as real for the reader as they can. At the basic level, the senses are the most obvious way to do this: what colors are predominant? What plants? Animals? Architecture? Climate? How do people dress? Fashion is a big factor, like it or not. Music too. What is the culture like? What is the ecology like? How about the economics system? Class system? Language? Food? And with each one of these factors comes a great big “Why?” Always remember that no detail exists in a vacuum. All of them knot together and affect one another. Don’t forget smell. Science has proven that the sense of smell is the most powerful memory trigger for human beings, bar none. Take advantage of that fact. Remember telling details are far more potent than broad strokes of the writer-brush. The detail you touch on and your reader fleshes out for themselves is the detail that will hit them the hardest. Also remember that Readers relate to characters. They can’t relate to settings. So, show your world through your characters’ senses — all their senses, including touch.
The job of creating a realistic setting is overwhelming. The sheer amount of data required to make a setting work well is vast. A quick study of perception will tell you that right away. Sitting in front of your computer reading, there are millions of bits of information that your brain takes in and either dumps as unimportant or bubbles up to your consciousness. Are you in a coffee shop? Think of all the smells around you. Then the sounds. Are you at work? At home? Each bit of data says more to you than the surface information. That voice you hear in the cube next to you? Is it your boss? Or a coworker? What is your relationship like? Then there’s all the cultural data that goes with that and so on. One sound can lead to a million points of data you don’t conciously think about but know and react to automatically. For example, if the voice belongs to your boss, your gut might tighten up or your shoulders get tense. Now think of that information in terms of a fantasy setting. There’s a reason I’ve seen more would-be writers get buried in the sheer amount of data needed to create a realistic world. However, you don’t need to know absolutely everything. You do need to know what is important.
To use film as an example: Ridley Scott is well known for the amount of layering that goes on in his sets. If you pause at one of the scenes in Bladerunner, you’ll see old paperwork tossed on top of the ceiling in Deckerd’s boss’s office. You’ll see an old west lampshade with buffalo hunters painted on it. (A very telling detail, that.) You’ll see dirt and grit and a million little things stacked on other things — each doing their part to make the scene real even if viewers only see it for a brief second. However, at its base, that futuristic police station is based on a present day police station. That’s the short cut. And that’s how you have to think as a writer. And no, that need isn’t strictly limited to fantasy writing.
John Love on February 9, 2012
Thanks, that’s a fantastic post. Your points about detail are much more vivid – and detailed – than mine. I see why my mention of Perfume hit a chord, too. And I can see the whole of that office in Blade Runner again.
Stina on February 9, 2012
In some ways, it was very handy to write about a character who was part hound. It gave me an excuse to focus on his sense of smell. And, well, I do <3 Ridley Scott with a deep, deep geeky love–giant whirling fans and all.
W.G. Marshall on February 9, 2012
Ditto about Ridley Scott’s worldbuilding – I remember seeing his first film The Duellists as a kid and being strangely disturbed by the lush images – there was something almost pornographic about it. And then Alien and Blade Runner completely fried my teenage brain. I’m glad that he’s returning to SF with his new one, Prometheus.
Stina on February 9, 2012
The Duelists is one of my favorite period films. Love that one.
Nathan Long on February 9, 2012
Mine too!
Paul (@princejvstin) on February 9, 2012
Creating a believable fantasy setting isn’t about sketching a detailed map and writing 1200 years of history and then infodumping that onto the reader in a wordy prologue — although that information can be helpful to the writer. Creating a realistic setting is like research, in that it too is an iceberg of information with which the writer is intimately familiar and the reader only experiences the tiny bit that appears above the waterline.
The Iceberg metaphor. The more I see, and the more I read, the more I realize just how difficult it is to pull off well.
Stina on February 9, 2012
Exactly. The more you learn, the more you begin to see how much more there is to know.
Courtney Schafer on February 9, 2012
Great post, Stina. Though mainly I am commenting to say I did a little dance of glee when I saw your Trip Like I Do reference.
Stina on February 9, 2012
That’s so cool. [knuckle tap]
SF Tidbits for 2/10/12 - SF Signal – A Speculative Fiction Blog on February 9, 2012
[...] The Night Bazaar (Stina Leicht) on Another World, Another Time, In the Age of Wonder. [...]
Mike on February 25, 2012
Hmm the title made me think you were a fan of the movie the Dark Crystal considering i am sure thats where the crystal method got it from