Today, my World Builders guest is Wade Garret, author of the F/SF book, Genesis: Book One of the Kingdom Come Series.
Wade Garret, 34, born in NY, but raised in the Southern United States, is married to a wonderful woman and lucky to have his first beautiful daughter. When not reading, writing or occasionally drinking a pint with friends, he can be found researching the latest comics or in the chair of his favorite tattoo shop. GENESIS is only the beginning of Mr. Garret’s epic Kingdom Come series.
Here, now, are Wade’s insights on world building.
What is the appeal of world building to you? How does it compare to the importance of character and plot?
Well, for F/SF, I think its appeal is partly because it’s necessary. Knowing it’s the backbone of your story, the characters, you realize how important it is to invest alot of time into knowing as much as you can about Your World. Even if the reader doesn’t get to see it all. There’s also the exhilaration of building, from scratch, a new reality for others to adventure in—which is essentially what you hope readers do.
To the second part, I’d say character and plot are more important, but only because you’re not writing an anthropological/geographical history of your world. You’re not creating a textbook. However, if you haven’t fully realized the traits of your character(s), down to their clothing, it’ll show in your world building, because there won’t be even those subtle hints to inform the reader why you made such choices.
What aspects of the world do you have to figure out before you start a story? What do you allow to unfold as you write?
For me, it was a significant chunk of the world’s history that had to come first. Knowing that, I was able to build my personalities and archetypes into that environment, give them a purpose. The characters really unfold as I write. This can get messy though. Certain voices at times took the plot off the beaten path, because it turns out those characters wouldn’t do exactly what I’d first thought they would in w/e situation.
What do you enjoy the most about world building?
I am The Creator. That’s the best part. W/e I say goes.
Do you use diagrams? If so, what kind? What about charts, schematics, or other visual representations of your world beyond textual material?
Long ago I drew a grand world map and over time I’ve added to it. Also, I’ve created a lengthy history of the world and again, over time, I’ve added to it, too.
How do you balance realism with magic or other world-building elements that allow for departure from the ordinary?
Magic, like gravity, is simply just another force in the world. It has rules. Also, whenever used, for w/e purpose, there must be a reason. Without it, there’s no balance. It can then become a trope or crutch.
What are some fundamental rules to world building you would say are important to every writer in the fantasy genre?
Consider your own knowledge of Our World. What is needed? What is common? What is uncommon? What is known only to experts in certain fields? What is forgotten by the time you graduate high school? What information of the world do people usually get wrong? Consider all this when plotting and especially when characters are speaking.
What tips do you have for aspiring fantasy writers on how to create a solid, believable world?
Believe in your world, and you will create a living, breathing reality. Consider it only Fantasy/SciFi, and it will exist only in your dreams.
Be sure to check out Wade’s F/SF novel, Genesis: Book One of the Kingdom Come Series:
Back Cover Blurb:
After a year of laborious solitude and a conflict brought to the doorstep of his father’s house, Jak, a Southlander of meek circumstance, will come to accept the future isn’t set. With abilities unnerving to any Areht, against forgotten enemies rising in every corner of the planet, he’ll be forced to resolve his destiny as One of Five that can change the world. Such selfless transcendence isn’t easy, nor simply the heroic result of dark revelations shielded from him since childhood now exposed; rather, it’s because of what’s undeniable, even to him. Like all great forces collected at the tip of the spear, the truth of his purpose and the price of his existence has a cost and there’s no getting around paying it in blood.
Publisher Blurb:
The true test for Man, is if he can stand naked before himself without blinking. The same trial of existence for a God, however, even one created, is if when he blinks, will he change or the world? Adventurous readers seeking a vast, yet strangely familiar world of intense action and strange magic woven between feuding global powers and ancient spiritual corruption will be drawn to this epic blend of gritty Steam/Diesel-punk and realistic sword-wielding Dark Fantasy. And once caught in its exciting pages, they’ll quickly learn what really separates Man from what is Evolved.
You can find Genesis: Book One of the Kingdom Come Series at the following online stores:
If you’d like to connect with Wade, you can do so in the following places:
Blog: http://www.wjgarret.blogspot.com
Twitter: @wadejgarret
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wadejgarret
