Settings in Fantasy



Okay, so I've spent the last few issues laying out all kinds of things that you need to consider when creating a new setting for your world. Creating a new setting for science fiction and fantasy is exciting. You get to explore new worlds! You want things to be new and different, especially for science fiction and fantasy and --



And maybe you don't really need to do that much work.



Let's face it: a fantasy setting often has the feel of some earth-related background. We all know there are generic Middle Ages settings (for good or bad) and sometimes we find those rare books that take a setting to somewhere a bit more exotic. There are even science fiction novels that do much the same.



So why aren't you borrowing from the real world?



Well, you are. Even if you try to invent everything from scratch, you are still bound by the world in which you exist. You may adapt and change and try to mutate everything, but you are limited by what it means to be human, even while you are trying to create an alien world.



You are human. Embrace it. And always remember that your readers are human as well. That means they are going to relate to carefully borrowed material because they understand it immediately. The big thing to remember is that there is no reason to recreate the wheel. A good amount of the world building you need for a setting is available right out there -- in history and other nonfiction books.



If you are going to create a desert land, go read books on what it means to live and survive in such places. Go study the fantastic cities built around the rare oasis. Don't make it all up. If you try to, it's likely you're going to get something so wrong that people who know about deserts are going to think you unreliable and lazy. But second, and this is almost more important, you can create an easy resonance with your reader if you use things they can understand and grasp without having to explain them.



Borrow from history and reality as much as you can, and save the words for the unusual things you want to show.



Let's look at a pretty standard fantasy setting first, a small fishing village. Throw some buildings down, create a little quay and you're ready to go, right?



Take a look at this article first:



Fishing Villages



The pictures alone should give you an idea of the diversity of fishing villages. The links to various villages as well as the bibliography makes this a good place to start examining the different aspects of fishing villages. Find things that appeal to you. Make note of them. Study a little more. Start building up a fishing village that takes on aspects of the real world. You don't have to apply everything from one village -- unless you plan to use that actual setting. Mix and match -- but make certain that they do match up well.



Exercise 1:



Use the Wikipedia link to make a fantasy fishing village. Yes, even if you don't write fantasy -- this will still help you see how to create a setting. Here are the parameters:



You can use any of places as a base, but you must change the setting. While the article concentrates on sea settings, think about a place on a river or lake. If a tropical setting, consider one farther north or south. Think in terms of everything from the kinds of fishing boats they would use to how they build the houses. Clothing, food, heating or lack of it -- what will change with a new setting?



Then add in the use of magic. What would that change? Important things must change, otherwise, there is no reason to have magic in the story. Small magic or great, it has to influence the world in some ways. It can't just be a gloss on the story no matter how limited you make it. Magic has to exist for a reason and that reason must impact the tale.




What about Science Fiction?



Setting up a 'fishing village' on an alien world is going to take a little bit more work. First, you need to make a decision on whether it is built by aliens or if it's built by humans. If it was built by aliens, do aliens live there or have humans taken it over? These various choices will create a slightly different aspect for your village.



First, we're going to assume that it has much the same function as an old world fishing village on Earth. It may be on a 'sea' of sorts, but that doesn't mean it has to be exactly like an earth sea. Farming the quick sands of Alabagria for flatfish works just as well. The purpose is the same. So with purpose is going to come like functions: Easy access to the ships; places to process the flatfish for distribution either in the town or for farther trade.



The question now becomes what is available for building material? Is the quicksand sea in a temperate zone? Are there tall plants that can be woven into coverings? Or is it cold, and you need strong walls between you and the environment?



If the village is alien made, how do they differ from humans? Six legs with suction cup feet, so they just scurry up sheer cliffs while humans have to hack out stairs to reach the safety above?



Go back and look at the villages again. What is there in the human ones that would be universal, no matter what the species that built it? After all, we are talking some value of 'alike' in this scenario. If you are creating an alien world that you want to be far different from anything human-like then probably a fishing village is out anyway.



Sometimes creating something alien does not mean creating something totally different. If the village serves the same function as a village on earth, then there is no reason not to borrow from what you know. Adapt it, warp it and change it -- but you do not have to create everything from scratch. Take the time to fully study fishing villages (or whatever other type of settlement most fits your needs) and understand that form and function fit together.



Exercise 2:



Put your fishing village on an alien world. Methane seas? Rock boring edible creatures? Close to earth, but not quite? Make some changes, but remember this is just an exercise, so don't worry about more than the basics. Create aliens to go with the setting.



What does it change in the village? What functions are the same and what ones change?



What happens if humans take over the village? What do they need to change? What can they use as is?




Take the time to study settings in the world as we know it. It will pay off big time when you set out to create either a fantasy or science fiction setting. It's the little touches that will make it real.