World Building 101
Probably the most frequent questions I get as an author are about world building. Every author I've ever spoken to (which is quite a few) has a different way they go about it. That is to say, everyone has their own "in." For example, J.R.R. Tolkien, perhaps the most famous world-builder in western literature, was obsessed with linguistics and mythology and so that was where he started when he created Middle Earth. He built languages and mythology and built his world out from those points. Other authors I've chatted with have started with other points. One friend of mine loves maps and so created his map and then figured out what should go inside it. Another friend studied religion in college and so she created an entire religion with texts, worship practices, and culture and then figured what kind of society her religion would exist within. Long story short, you don't have to be a ridiculously talented linguist to build your own world. (In fact, plenty of authors just happily steal from Latin; looking at you, JK Rowling.)
So where did I start? Well, I've actually started in several different places for my books, but for this I'm going to focus on how I went about building the world for the Castle of Earth series. For these books, set in a fantasy far-future of our own world, I was inspired by my best friend's work in architecture. He majored in architecture with a minor in cultural anthropology when we were in college together and I was always fascinated by his work. When I was starting the Castle of Earth series, my first thoughts were for buildings. What kinds of structures survive the longest and why? I talked to my friend for hours and hours and he was very patient and helpful (there's a reason I dedicated the book to him) and, together, we slowly began to create building plans. We compared ancient castles and forts with modern gated communities and city plans. I learned so much about building materials over time and about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Once I figured out what kind of buildings existed in my world, I started to figure out what kind of society would exist within and around them and what kinds of people that society would need and create.
The world of Castle of Earth is one of my favorites and you can look forward to learning more about it in book 4!
