FATE;

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Already having lived longer than she should’ve, Hendricks did not know life. She’d read about it, seen plays and played roles of humans so lively the saccharine still burnt her tongue―but she did not know it. She’d stopped living so long ago, so very long ago, that the idea of surviving was now foreign to her. All she remembered was death and then rebirth, not humanity. Never humanity.

TITLE:    intrinsic

GENRE:    dystopian academia + sci-fi

CONTENT WARNING:    oppression, bleak mental state and disorders, death, gore, multiple beliefs with or against religion, idealisation of death

NARRATION:    third-person multiple povs

HENDRICKS:     as per deaths will, she is declared a storyteller. having lived for longer than she can remember, hendricks has spent the last centuries documenting the stories of every soul the collectors bring to her. her house in silvering, pennsylvania is on the foothills of mount pierre and overlooks the town from the clock tower to the lake. it stores more than a million documents of the story of each forgotten life in the town and all the surrounding ones. she lives with blythe, who is a collector.

ANDREY:    considers himself to be a normal fourth year woodsburg student. his parents are divorced and he lives with his father, the mayor. he is the captain of the football team and extremely admired to the point of nausea as his peers are willing to do everything he does. this fact not only annoys or irks him, but almost forces him to run to his death when one of his team-mates goes too far. when half in death, he meets blythe and his life changes.

BLYTHE:    is a collector, someone who brings all the lost souls to the doors of death. he has a cynical scheming personality and is prone to change teams with the one who can handle the most profit. despite this, he can never turn his back on hendricks which most of his colleagues find rather odd. he is the ace collector of his team and no soul has ever run away on his watch…until, andrey.

MALISSA:    a fourth year woodsburg student and daniella’s best friend, malissa considers herself to be the luckiest girl alive. daughter to loving parents and popular at school, there isn’t a thing that malissa can’t get if she wants. but there’s more to her pretty blonde persona than what it seems, apparently, when hendricks finds out that malissa can see her in the cloak that hides her from all mortal eyes―that malissa can see the dead. 

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@kaulayauwrites said:

what is, in your opinion, the best way to world build? how can you avoid writing a bland, archetypal universe or copying an already existing one? sorry if I’m not being clear, haha, and thanks so much!

Hey there, thanks so much for your ask! I honestly love talking about the world-building process, so I’m really glad you sent this; let’s dive right in!

Best Way to World-Build?

In my opinion, there isn’t a best way to world-build. The “best” process depends on what is needed and what you’ll actually need to know for your writing. What follows isn’t necessarily what I would call the best way, but it’s a good way to cover your bases and opens up a lot of options for going in-depth with details. (It’ll be a bit of a long list, but definitely worth it in the long run.)

For each country you’re going to include or mention in your story, think about:

Name

Capital and major cities, and locations

Border shape

3 most common landforms

Historical sites or places that mean a great deal to the people living there

General economic scheme (ex. capitalist, Communist, Socialist, etc)

Most important laws

Major differences from the character’s homeland

Military setup (different branches, enlistment age, etc)

Climate

Relations with surrounding countries

Societal norms (gender roles, public & professional behavior, etc)

Stance on LGBT+ rights, and treatment of LGBT+ people

Most and least respected professions

Common religions

Stereotypes about this country (any and all)

Common pastimes and hobbies

Popularity of sports, movies, and other forms of entertainment

Genres of music (and possibly stereotypes of people who listen to them)

Language(s) spoken

Beauty standards and the commercialization of them

Commercialization that feeds off of the peoples’ insecurities

For each city you’re going to include or mention in your story, think about:

The “aesthetic” (think of it the way NYC’s aesthetic is taxis, skyscrapers, and nightlife)

Public opinion of street performers

Any recreational centers and common activities

Popularity of a town counsel or the idea of opening to the public for improvement ideas

How well-known the city is by everyone around it, or how much of a tourist attraction it might be

State of educational buildings

Percentage of unemployment versus those who are actively searching for jobs, and how this affects the city’s reputation

3+ popular businesses, maybe food or clothing stores

The way business is generally conducted

Opportunities for nightlife (etc. bars, night clubs, etc)

Usual daytime attire, usual nighttime attire

Any sort of tradition (ex. sharing dreams in the morning, praying before meals, etc)

Stance on more advanced technology

Treatment of different age groups

Again, cliches and stereotypes that might exist of people who live there

Most common architectural style (ex. modern, Victorian, etc)

Commonly seen colors

Any inflation that might exist, local economic troubles

People’s opinion on the government as a whole (then in-depth, if you want)

As you can see, these two lists are very open-ended. I can’t go too far in-depth with world-building ideas and explaining, because it’s all up to you to create this world. Every single item on this list here can be expanded into tons of different things, but if your goal is just to cover your bases and explore needed details then I think this would be a good place to start.

Making Your World Distinct

This can be pretty tough, honestly. There’s (almost) always a world themed around something out there that’s probably more well-known, famous even. Let’s start with everyone’s favorite wizarding world, that of the Harry Potter books. Your world can be as interesting and different as it gets but because it includes wizards, someone out there is always going to relate it to Harry Potter. So how can we avoid this?

There’s one proven way to this this, especially if you don’t want to change your world. Accentuate any and all differences that would set your story apart from a more well-known world. Maybe our wizards’ spells depend on a material transaction, or they won’t work. Maybe there’s some sort of wizarding god who must be pleased to cast a successful spell. Not so much like HP anymore, huh?

Just remember, there’s a huge difference between world-building through details and world-building through exposition. Both are acceptable, but both have their own appropriate time to be utilized. Take a break from telling the reader flat-out how this thing works, and instead reveal it through the world’s details. Not only does this help treat your readers like the competent individuals they are, it also immerses them so much in the world that there isn’t much of a chance to compare your world to others.