Morning all. Yesterday we had our no doubt brilliant ideas for out November NANOWRIMO manuscript. Aren’t all story idea’s brilliant when you first come up with them. Later, they annoy you and you might even hate them but at the start, pure fabulocity.
So let’s continue our prep for November with…
Task #168 (Nano #2): Describe the world where your story takes place and any systems (magical or otherwise) that need to be mentioned as how this world functions.
How you write this is going to depend on the story you are telling. Remember though this is part of your research for November. We will be going fast as we write and having the details thought out now will help so unlike the plot where we tried not to extend past a paragraph, this one feel free to write as much as you want and make note of all the details you may need to look up. For many of the details, I find book marking websites or putting images in a folder is really helpful.
If your world has magic this is where you write how the magic functions. Do they have to memorize words and mix potions or is the magic an innate elemental variety used without books and potions? Is magic welcomed, kept a secret or hunted? How does it fit into this world? And for that matter is is a contemporary our world but with magic sort of story or is it an alternate place?
For Science Fiction you may need to focus more on the relevant technology more than magic and look at the type of atmosphere and how humans arrived (if your characters are human). Basically figure out the governing properties of your world.
World can also be limited. Your story may all take place on a farm or estate in the middle of nowhere. It could also center around a high rise corporate headquarters of a global business empire. Think about your story and the location where it occurs. As you go there may be elements you highlight for more research and maybe look for pictures or bookmark sites for terminology. If you have a group of lawyers in your tale, bookmarking sites that deal with legal issues similar to those in your story is always good simply to help with phrasing if not content. The same goes for every specialty field from medical and construction to carpentry or spinning. Each comes with it’s own terminology and details and book marking those sites will help when you are working fast. Pictures are good to, so set up a folder, either electronically or with magazine cut outs if you find visuals that work for you. (it is always hit or miss with me depending on the story)
As always, happy writing.
Ten til Midnight 