hatever you write involves dealing with a world, whether the story is
about speaking on a stage, workouts in a gym or a realm you designed.
Many authors base their writings in the known universe with known
parameters, and some add magic or fantastical creatures. Some might
prefer to create their own universe. The late Jim Rohn said there are
some things you just accept. Like, why does spring follow winter, or the
sun rises in the east? When you are God, you make the sunrise where you
want. We are going to play God and create a world.
There are
several ways of drawing your world and I have used the three most
popular ones. The first and the oldest is pencil and paper, whether it
is freehand or tracing. Sometimes I used an opaque projector to shine a
section of land on a wall and my paper. When computers came out I used a
drawing program to redraw the map, but it used pixels, which distorts
when zoomed in for a better look. Recently I started using vector
mapping, which allows zooming without distortions, but takes longer to
learn. Choose the method that is best for you.
Using Earth as the
setting is easier than creating a new world. Designing a believable
world with all its complexities can be a daunting task, however, when
completed it can take on a life of its own. There are many possible
starting points. Some will start large with the world, a solar system or
larger. Others might start at the other end of the spectrum with an
individual character and work to the large. I prefer to start in the
middle and work both ways. The first thing I designed in my world is the
city of Shen Sherin. After that, I worked on the surrounding area,
before going back into the city and work on specific shops and
buildings. For the course of this exercise, we will start large with a
terrestrial sphere and its systems, including any moon(s).
Size of the world
Depending
on the size of the will affect how much detail will make it believable.
Smaller spaces will need more detail than large ones. A stage or tavern
will need more detail than a world or universe. However, the small one
can exist in the larger given both more believable.
Early in the
design process, make the decision on how the physical laws work.
Assuming that they hold true, then the planet size and composition will
play a major role in gravity. Imagine going to a planet that a gravity
one tenth of Earth, you could jump a long way. If you went to a planet
with five times the gravity of Earth, you would find it difficult to
move. The natives will be accustomed to the gravity, but travelers may
not. There could be adjustments to the planetary spin, orbital spin, and
axis tilt that would alter the weather patterns.
The distance
from the sun and the type of sun should play a major role in weather,
the color of the sky, and even the atmosphere. There is no reason to
start from scratch unless you want to, when it is easier to use a
similar orbit as the Earth and just make changes to fit your needs.
There
are several world generators on the Internet, many for free. They allow
adjustments to the size of the planet, poles location, mountain heights
and ocean depths. They will plot the weather, rainfall, temperature,
rivers, and mountains. Some will allow the user to cut a section out and
zoom in for more detail work. The programs are great if you don't
already have something too specific in mind
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