Fluttering Pages

Me: How dare you

One of my characters: *taps me on shoulder*

Me:

I’m always being asked how palaces work whether its downstairs, upstairs or accommodation wise. It is a really difficult thing to explain since there are so many different versions. I thought up a great analogy for it. Treat a palace like a hotel with a whole town living in it, because that’s technically what it is. So that’s what we’re going to do.

Accommodation

Accommodation can be a difficult thing to sort both as a writer and a steward. You might have a palace of 200+ bedchambers in which you must house a staff of 500-/+, a varying amount of nobles, the royal family (of a varying amount) and their own households. When assigning rooms it is best to think of a Russian nesting doll. Start from the inside and work your way to the outside.

The best rooms go to the monarch, their consort and their children/siblings/parent(s). These chambers would include the bedroom, a drawing room/ common area, a privy, a closet (a small chamber that can be used for prayer or work). They would be furnished with the best cloth, the best candles and whatever furniture brought by the resident since most royal courts travelled from palace to palace. They will also have chambers for their personal servants such as ladies in waiting and grooms.

The second best set of rooms would go to the highest ranking nobles/people in the court. These rooms would be less fancy and a little smaller. These would be given to from titled nobility descending from those of Ducal rank (Dukes/Duchesses) or even members of the council such as Thomas Cromwell in Tudor times.

The next set would be considerably smaller, perhaps minus a closet or a drawing room. Given to lower nobility.

The next level of chambers would be smaller perhaps only the bedroom and a common area given to minor nobles.

The last set of rooms would be small and only hold enough room for a bedroom. Servants would have to sleep on the ground on pallets beside their masters.

Any other guests at court would have to stay at off-site locations around the palace in the city. Some nobles at houses around major palaces just in case they arrived late or were kicked out of court.

Room Service

Most palace kitchens were in the lower extremities of the building. They would include an area for food preparation, pantries (rooms where they keep the food) and perhaps even a common area for the servants. Food would be cooked in large ovens, rather looking like pizza ovens or on spits over fire pits. The kitchens would turn out food on order of the nobility and royalty which would be brought to the rooms by the noble’s own servants. But since royal palaces are so large and microwaves do not exist, the food would likely be cold when it arrived. For larger, more public dinners, the court would gather in the great hall together (for more on this).

Entertainment

If you hoard over a thousand people into a single building, you will have to keep them entertained or else they might start misbehaving, more than usual. Palaces would be well stocked with ways to keep the courtiers occupied.

Every palace would have a stable where the residents’ horses would be chillin’. Some palaces have parkland around them for hunting and picnicking.

Most palaces would have common areas where courtiers would meet to play card games or gossip like a game room.

There would be lawns converted for games such as bowling, croquet and tennis.

Some palaces like Versailles would have indoor theatres and stages for traveling players to perform pieces for the court.

Mediaeval castles would have pits for cockfighting or bear baiting usually outside the main castle on the grounds.

Services

We’ve spent enough time upstairs. Now lets look at the servants portion of the palace.

The local servants (those who serve at the palace all year round) would typically sleep in mass chambers grouped together according to jobs and gender.

The stableboys would likely sleep in the stable’s hay lofts.

The unmarried girls of the castle would be locked in to protect their virtue (a precautionary rule though was frequently broken).

The cooks would sleep near the kitchen in order to get to work early as they could or if they had to rise early.

Stewards (the main boss of the servants) would have the best accommodation as would the other heads of the different groups of servants including the housekeeper, the chef, the head gardener.

Servants who came along with the court would be housed either in close quarters to their masters or on the floor by their bed.

The servants have different corridors and staircases to get around the palace without being seen. These would be smaller and plain parts of the palace.

concept: non-elves can’t tell the 20 year old elves apart from the 2000 year old elves

“I have to marry the most powerful mage in the land. I won’t have any legitimacy as queen until I do.”

“But he’s evil!” her haidmaid fretted. “You can’t marry him, you’re supposed to be defeating him!”

The wedding bells were ringing when she first touched him. Gloves saved her hands from his skin, but all brides must kiss their grooms. 

The most dangerous lips in the kingdom were soft, no taste of gunpowder despite the fire they could rain down, no crackle of power, no metallic taste of blood. Just lips. Unchapped, gentle, and soft. 

The whole court held its breath for the split-second of contact. This was the time he would rend her in two, would take over her mind, would suck out her soul. This was when the dark Archmage of Delcore Heights would destroy the rightful queen and take her kingdom for himself. 

Instead, he leant back, dark eyes unfathomable, and offered her his arm. Queen Carys checked herself, but found no aberrations, no strange emotions or thoughts that were not her own. She was no mage, could not be sure, but she felt fine. That would have to be enough, at least for now. 

She took his arm, and together the queen and her kingdom’s greatest enemy walked out of the holy shrine, bound together in the eyes of the gods for all eternity. 

You wonder if she knows his name.

The pint in your hand is cold and exactly what you need right now. You can’t get the image of your husband’s body lying broken on the ground out of your head. You think you should be angry or scared or sad, at the least, about his death, but all you can drudge up is a mild sense of relief.

You drink half the pint in one go and the bartender looks a little more approving of you. You’ve proven that you’re not just a well-dressed woman in her mid-thirties who’s out of her depth in this dive bar. You’re a well-dress woman in her mid-thirties who’s out of her depth in this dive bar who can drink. That makes all the difference.

You actually don’t remember when you and he became friends. You didn’t know him in high school which is where you met your husband. Ex-husband. You didn’t meet him in college either, you would remember if anyone had died then. Surely you would have?

You are no longer sure. You don’t even know his name.

You see him on the other side of the bar, talking lowly to a rough looking group in the corner. They all seem friendly, nearly worshipful, of your friend. He’s clearly asking them for something, a favor maybe, and no one seems to be denying him.  They look happy, glowing under his regard. 

You know the feeling. 

When he comes back, he’s smiling comfortingly. “My friends will take care of the body. I know that you can’t afford the police involvement right now, not with Senator Hudson’s reelection so close.”

Somehow my boss’ seat at the table is the last thing on my mind, you almost say. But you don’t because, as usual, he’s right. Police involvement right now would be disastrous and would make it so that you never worked on the Hill again.

“You’re always looking out for me,” you say, looking down into your almost empty pint. You are actually no longer sure that that’s true.  In fact, the more you think about it, the more sure you are that it’s not true.

He pauses for a moment, head cocking. “I want to look out for you. I’m happy to do it. I think there’s something else on your mind, though. Wanna talk about it?”

There is a chill working its way up your spine. it tells you that your…friend must not know that you have doubts about his ‘looking out for you.’

You wonder if she knows his name.

The pint in your hand is cold and exactly what you need right now. You can’t get the image of your husband’s body lying broken on the ground out of your head. You think you should be angry or scared or sad, at the least, about his death, but all you can drudge up is a mild sense of relief.

You drink half the pint in one go and the bartender looks a little more approving of you. You’ve proven that you’re not just a well-dressed woman in her mid-thirties who’s out of her depth in this dive bar. You’re a well-dress woman in her mid-thirties who’s out of her depth in this dive bar who can drink. That makes all the difference.

You actually don’t remember when you and he became friends. You didn’t know him in high school which is where you met your husband. Ex-husband. You didn’t meet him in college either, you would remember if anyone had died then. Surely you would have?

You are no longer sure. You don’t even know his name.

You see him on the other side of the bar, talking lowly to a rough looking group in the corner. They all seem friendly, nearly worshipful, of your friend. He’s clearly asking them for something, a favor maybe, and no one seems to be denying him.  They look happy, glowing under his regard. 

You know the feeling. 

When he comes back, he’s smiling comfortingly. “My friends will take care of the body. I know that you can’t afford the police involvement right now, not with Senator Hudson’s reelection so close.”

Somehow my boss’ seat at the table is the last thing on my mind, you almost say. But you don’t because, as usual, he’s right. Police involvement right now would be disastrous and would make it so that you never worked on the Hill again.

“You’re always looking out for me,” you say, looking down into your almost empty pint. You are actually no longer sure that that’s true.  In fact, the more you think about it, the more sure you are that it’s not true.

He pauses for a moment, head cocking. “I want to look out for you. I’m happy to do it. I think there’s something else on your mind, though. Wanna talk about it?”

There is a chill working its way up your spine. it tells you that your…friend must not know that you have doubts about his ‘looking out for you.’

Working on the outline for By Winter’s End using the #savethecat beat sheet. So far so good. What are you all working on?

What are you reading?

@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.

More often than not I’ll crack into a sprawling fantasy series and, while I appreciate the luscious descriptions of furniture, landscapes, and clothing, all I’m focused on is that I don’t actually know how this world works. I only know what it looks like.  

Including some functionality to your universe can add to immersion and give your reader a strong foundation on which to build their mental model of your universe. 

You certainly don’t need to use all of these questions! In fact, I recommend against that, as all of these certainly won’t make it into your final draft. I personally find that starting my worldbuilding off with 5 to 10 functional questions helps pave the way for glittery and elaborate aesthetic development later on.

How is the healthcare funded in your world?

How does healthcare functionally differ between the wealthy and the poor? (i.e. can only the wealthy go to hospitals? do poor families often have to rely on back-alley procedures?)

Where are health centers (i.e. hospitals, small clinics, etc.) organized in your cities?

Does it differ in smaller towns?

How does this affect people’s ability to get healthcare?

Is healthcare magical, and if it is, how does that affect the healthcare system? 

If healing is instantaneous, how does that affect people’s views on injury, illness, and chronic ailments?

If you have both magical and physical healthcare, which one is deemed superior and how does that affect society? 

What illnesses are common in your world? 

How does this affect daily life? 

What do the people in your world think illnesses are? 

Is it a miasma theory? 

Humor theory? 

Demons? 

Do they know about biological viruses and bacteria? 

How does this affect healthcare?

How do people get water? 

Is the water sanitary and if not, how do they sanitize it?

How does agriculture work? 

Is it large corporations or individual farms?

What sort of agricultural technology exists in your world and how does it affect food production?

Are farmers wealthy or poor?

What sort of natural resources does your world/country(ies) have and how are they obtained?

How does this affect the average wealth of the country?

How does this wealth affect the culture? 

What livestock or beasts of burden are most valued? Least valued? Why?

What is considered a luxury good vs. a regular good?

What forms of transportation does your world have?

What classes use what forms of transportation?

How far has the average citizen traveled, given your transportation limitations?

Which cities are the most accessible and which are the least? Why?

How do popular transportation methods change how cities/towns are laid out?

Does your world have public transportation? What is it?

Is there a coming-of-age aspect to travel?

Describe your world’s postal system or whatever equivalent there is. 

Who pays for it? 

How reliable is it? 

Are there emergency methods for transporting information?

How does your world keep time (i.e. watches, sundials, water clock, etc.)?

Does your world have a currency system, barter system, or something else? 

If you have multiple countries, do different currencies have different values across said countries?

How does this affect travel?

Do you have banks in your world and if so, how are they run?

Who owns the banks? Government? Wealthy? How does this affect the economy and/or class system?

How does credit operate in your universe?

Does your world operate more on big corporations or small business? Something in between?

How are workers/labourers treated in your world? 

Are there workers unions and if so, what are common views on unions? 

Describe your tax system. If you don’t have a tax system, explain why and how your world is affected by that. 

Can certain social classes not own property, certain livestock, certain businesses, etc.? Why?

How are business records kept? Are business records kept?

If your world has technology, does your world prioritize developing entertainment tech, communications tech, transportation tech or something else entirely?

What does this say about your world?

How does this affect your economy?

To the closest approximation, what type of government does your world have? 

How are rulers/presidents/nobles put in place? 

How much power does an individual ruler have? 

Is there a veto process? 

If you have multiple countries, do they have different types of rulers?

Describe any large-scale alliances (i.e. countries, factions, etc.) that are present in your world. 

How did they come about and how are they maintained? 

Are they strained or peaceful? 

How does it affect the greater politics of your world?

Describe how wars are fought both internationally and nationally. 

Do methods of war differ between countries/races? 

What about philosophies about war?

If there is a military, what is its hierarchy structure?

How does the military recruit?

Is the military looked upon favourably in your society?

What weapons are used by each country/type of people during warfare, and how does that affect war strategies?

Describe the sentencing system of your world. 

Is your accused innocent until proven guilty, or guilty until proven innocent?

How are lawbreakers punished? 

If you have prisons, describe how they are organized and run, and who owns them. 

Does differing ownership change how the prisons operate?

What are the major ways in which laws between countries vary? 

Do laws between cities vary? If so, how and why?

How does citizenship work in your world? What rights and privileges do citizens have that others do not? 

Can certain classes or races not become citizens?

Are there certain taboo subjects or opinions that artist/authors/musicians are not allowed to depict (i.e. portraying the official religion in a negative light, explicit sexual material, etc.)? What does this say about your society?

How do people get around these censorship laws?

What is the official hierarchy of duty in your world? (i.e. is family the most important, or patriotism? What about clan?)

How many languages are there in your world, and how many languages share a common origin? 

How many people are multilingual? 

Which language is the most common?

How is multilingualism viewed?

How are different languages viewed? (i.e. is one language ugly/barbaric while another is romantic and sensual?)

With NaNoWriMo around the corner, I thought I might show you how I plotted my novel.

This is the story structure I used:

0% inciting incident

0%-20% introduction in the world, ends with a point of no return

20% first plot point: the hero receives his marching orders

20%-50% response to the first plot point

35% first pinch point: reminder of the nature of the antagonistic force

50% midpoint: big fat plot twist that changes the hero’s AND reader’s experience

50%-80% attack: the stakes are higher now

65% second pinch point: again reminding the reader of the antagonistic forces at hand

80% second plot point: the final injection of new information into the story to give the hero everything she needs to become the primary catalyst in the story’s conclusion (no new information past this point)

80%-100% resolution + final conflict + return home

I didn’t make this up. I think it’s by Larry Brooks, if The Internet informs me correctly. Fun Fact: once you pay attention to it, you’ll see this structure everywhere. Just take a look at any Harry Potter book, for example.

These points are the “bones” of my story. Next, I decided what “flesh” to put on them.

I simply made a list of things I like to read about:

Books about books and libraries

Magic

Quirky characters

Intelligent, fast-paced and sometimes silly

So, I combined this list and the structure points into a story that makes sense. Because I don’t want to spoil my plot / I am still to shy about my wip, I will make up a new plot for this post, so I can show you.

0%: The hero does something magical without knowing how she did it. She discards it, because everybody knows it can’t have been real.

0%-20%: We see the daily life of the hero: she is unhappy because all she wants to do is read, but she is not allowed to. She reads in the dead of night and is punished for it by her evil stepcousin. She finds a book on magic.

20% It all clicks together: she can do magic!

20%-50% The daily life for the hero changes. Instead of reading all night, she practices magic. She now loves books even more. She has little victories over her evil stepcousin, but hasn’t won yet.

35% The evil stepcousin finds out that she can do magic and takes away the magic book.

50% She discovers she can do magic without the book.

50%-80% The hero is not the only one who is bullied by the evil stepcousin. Her younger cousin is a victim as well, and he doesn’t have magic to defend himself. The stakes are raised, this is bigger than herself now. The younger cousin also wants to read, so they have several bonding moments over reading.

65% The evil stepcousin hurts the younger cousin, he’s in a coma now.

80% The hero discovers the evil stepcousin could do all these evil things because he knows magic too.

80%-100% The hero confronts the evil stepcousin, fights him off, nearly loses but wins in the end. He gives up and releases his power over the younger cousin who wakes up from the coma.

It’s not the most genius plot ever, but I literally made this up in minutes. So can you! And imagine the genius plot you can come up with if you spend more than a few minutes on it.

Then I calculated how many scenes I need in which part of the story. My wip is a YA or 12+ book, so I want it to contain about 75,000 words in total. I want my scenes to be around 1,000 words long to keep it snappy, so I need 75 scenes.

Scene number 1 (0%) is the inciting incident, scene number 15 (20%) is the first plot point, scene number 26 (35%) is the first pinch point, scene number 37 (50%) is the midpoint, scene number 49 (65%) is the second pinch point, scene number 60 (80%) is the second plot point and scene 75 (100%) is the last scene.

Some sidenotes on the 1,000-word scenes:

That’s more of a vague rule of thumb than a strict rule. If your scene needs to be longer or shorter, make it longer or shorter of course. My wip has some 2,300-word scenes as well.

Having 1,000-word scenes does not mean I have 1,000-word chapters, that would be really short. I will divide my novel into chapters after I’m finished writing my first draft.

For NaNoWriMo, maybe you could write scenes of 1,667 words, so you do one scene per day. A 50,000-word novel has 30 scenes of 1,667 words. Inciting incident is at scene 1, first plot point at scene 6, first pinch point at scene 11, midpoint at scene 15, second pinch point at scene 20, second plot point at scene 24 and scene 30 is your last scene. That’s just an idea, you got to see what works for you.

Then I made up in one sentence what will happen in every scene. For example: “They meet the dragon and he sends them on a sidequest.” Now my outline consists of 75 one-sentence scenes. This way, I prevent the problem of the sagging middle and other pacing problems and I still get to surprise myself when writing.

From those one-sentence scenes, I flesh out every scene into a first draft, using the process I described in my post How I never have to face an empty page when I write.

And that’s my first draft! I hope everything is clear. Feel free to ask me questions if it isn’t.

I’m gonna tag a few people I admire, who I hope are interested. If you aren’t, feel free to ignore me, or message me to take you off my tag list. If you would like to be added to my writing advice tag list, let me know.

On a scale of “is occasionally forced to bathe” to “Instagram model with sponsors to hoe for” how involved is your OC’s Skincare routine?

What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/ when and how they eat) and how did they get that way?

What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC?

What’s your OC’s response to being asked for money by a homeless person?

Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

What would STOP your OC from Doing The Right Thing in a tense situation?

Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at thier own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to?  A Dog?  A Houseplant? A rock with a  smiley face painted on?

If your OC had to take the S.A.T. tomorrow with one night to prep, how would they do?  both emotionally and academically.

What would cause your OC to chose to do something petty/pointlessly cruel?

On a scale of “Complete and Justified nervous breakdown” to “Conquer The Entire Galaxy and become an Immortal God-Emperor”, how well would your OC handle being abducted by Aliens?

What song is 100% garunteed to get your OC beyond turnt and will be sung loudly and emabarrasingly, either in public or the shower?

What perfectly-normal-to-them-thing does your OC do that confuses/pisses off/terrifies thier neighbors?

Under what circumstances would your OC appear naked in public?

What thing did your OC’s parents do that your OC wishes they had a better explanation for?

How often does your OC “zone out” or do things on autopilot and how severe have the problems that have arisen from that been?

How strong or weak is your OC’s Impulse control? What’s the worst thing that happened becuase of thier Impulsivity or inability to be so?

How does your OC sabotage themselves? 

What’s the trashiest item in your OC’s wardrobe, when was the last time they wore it and why do they still have it?

How Dehydrated is your OC right now? Are they going to fix this?