30 Days of World-Building (Second Edition) - Day 5 - The Map

Exercise 5 - Draw out the physical contours of your map, and then identify at least three places that your people may live. You don't need names for them yet - we'll worry about names next week. Just draw a dot on the map or maybe sketch a little "house" symbol to indicate that people have settled that area.

Over the course of the day, I'll take time to sketch out a rough outline of a map. Once I finish it, I'll take a photo of it, and upload it here, to give you a rough idea of the map. Until then, you'll have to take it on faith that I've finished this exercise. Thanks for understanding!

30 Days of World-Building (Second Edition) - Day 4 - Cataclysms

Exercise 4 - For 15 minutes, jot down some of the Really Big Land Features you want in your story and think "what if that were made by..." Write down a couple of causes for those features and scars. Which scars are slow-force scars (plate tectonics), and which are fast-forces (anything that takes less than 10,000 years is medium-to-fast in geological scales).

The Northern Mountains - Existed as long as people have lived in the region, dark and imposing, myths and rumors speak of blood harvesters who prey upon unsuspecting travelers, cries of help to those in power often go unheard; most of them have stock in the blood trade anyway . . . 

Plains-Scar - Efforts were undertaken here to obtain precious metals and materials from deep underground. Previous attempts would have been rendered obsolete, but new technology allowed for faster excavation techniques. While the excavation proved successful (and gave rise to many of the technologies seen in the cities), it left a vicious scar across the plans, miles wide and thousands of feet across four extremely deep crevasses. Ways exist to climb down into the scars, but few venture down there, for rumors of dark creatures and blood harvesters who prey on the weak scare off most would-be intruders . . . 

River of Blood - It doesn't take long to learn of the fatalistic nature of this particular river. The entirety of the river is tinted with a coppery-red color. This is due to the mixture of sediments that form and coagulate farther up the river. In addition to it's off-putting appearance, the sediments combine to form a fatal poison - anybody who ingests the water or ingests a creature who had previously drunk from the river while slowly die. The poison works through their stomach, causing internal stomach pains, violent vomiting fits, and eventually, death, as the poison eats away their insides . . . 

The Blighted Forest - Nobody knows why these forests exist. By all accounts, the trees and plants should have decayed long ago. But yet, they persist. Blackened, lifeless trees jut out from every crevasse, accompanied by plants and thorn vines. Some trees even grow through solid stone, it seems, like weeds. The soil here is impenetrable by normal tools, and attempts to excavate here haven't even been thought of: there seems to be absolutely nothing to gain from these lifeless forests. However, something unseen seems to be keeping these forests standing. What could it be? Perhaps something underground? . . . 

30 Days of World-Building (Second Edition) - Day 3 - Mood and Setting

Exercise 3 - Read over your list from Day 1, then turn to a blank piece of paper. Close your eyes and think about what kind of feeling you like to have when you write or read. Write down four words that fit into that feeling: two adjectives, a verb, and a noun. Now return to your climate and emotions list. If any of the words match, you have your climate. If not, try to find the closest-matched words.

List - 
mysterious, intriguing (adjectives)
exploring (verb)
key (noun)

Climate - 
Temperate Forest/Plains (interspersed with villages and cities)

30 Days of World-Building (Second Edition) - Day 2 - Physical Planet

Exercise 2 - What role will weather play in your story? Any ideas at this stage are not set it stone. Instead, come up with (ten)* plot devices that relate to weather, and what they would do to the story.

Thunderstorm - interrupt and short circuit electrical conduits, making for a dark and horrifying chase scene or for a dramatic tension moment when electricity is crucial

Heavy Fog - impair vision, causing tension during critical dramatic or combat sequences

Snowstorm - complicate overland travel, detour character's plans, perhaps trap them inside somewhere they would rather not be

Cold Snap - cause sickness and death in communities unprepared, freeze retained water supplies, interfere with electrical devices, causing a temporary, but horrifying, darkness, both figuratively and literally.

Flash Flood - temporarily halt river transportation, carry plague and disease throughout the regions affected, complicate overland travel

*WRITER'S NOTE* Realistically speaking, the setting I've chosen will only work with a specific range of natural phenomenon. The chance of dust storms, tropical storms, or hurricanes is near 0%

30 Days of World-Building (Second Edition) - Day 1 - Climate and Variety

Around February and March earlier this year, I conducted a similar project for another work of fantasy. That project has (for now) been filed away, and will be revisited at a later date. Who knows when? Only time will tell. But I digress.

With NaNoWriMo a short two weeks away, I figured I would use this opportunity to prepare myself for the rigorous writing schedule that such an event calls for. The world I will be creating over the next 15 days (two posts a day - against what the project calls for, but I'm running on free time in between college classes) will be used for my up and coming NaNo story.

All I can say right now is this: It will be a supernatural/horror story with elements of Victorian/Gothic style, including the style of dress, architecture, social and judicial construction, and so forth. Perhaps with a twist of steam-punk tossed into the fray. I've always wanted to write something with a steam-punk edge. Perhaps now will be the kick-in-the-pants I need to start writing the damn thing.

Anyway, without further adieu, here is the first post in my Second Edition of 30 Days of World-Building.

Exercise 1 - Find an international map or atlas, and observe the different climates and how they appear and behave. Then, for fifteen minutes, list all the climates you can think of. After that, write one or two words describing either the climate itself, or how each of the climates makes you feel.

Temperate Forest - mysterious, inspiring
Plains - grandeur, happiness
Arctic - bitterness, insecurity
Tundra - cold, barren
Mountainous - majestic, insurmountable
Jungle - wet, dark
Desert - hot, barren
Beachfront - comfortable, carefree