The Four-Part Writing Special Part 3// Storyworld (This should be fun)
Yo yo party people!!!
(Points to any person who spends time on YouTube and understood that reference. XD)
Today is the day of the third part of the Four-Part Writing Special! I'm running out of ways to creatively introduce the posts in this series. So... I'll just say that WE'RE DOING THIS.
STORYWORLD.
HERE WE GO.
Links to previous posts:
Part 1: Story
Part 2: Characters
Name a unique aspect of your story world.
Umm.. Yikes. I guess the fact that the kids are at university in a fantasy world?
Talk about one of the important animals in the story (someone's pet or horse; or a fierce animal the MC must defeat).
-
Well, then. There are unicorns, as has been mentioned multiple times before! That's always exciting...right?
- Okay, you want details. Fine.
- The unicorns are named Sigel,
Monterya, Rune, Elwyn, Dryade, Langaria, and Albion. They're Briallen's babies. They have (as of right now) a rather small part in the story, but I love them. (And I also need my alphas to help me find more places to work them in because I keep forgetting about them.)
A paragraph describing something in your storyworld (building, landmark, etc.).
- Briallen
took a swig of hot bean brew. Her eyes drifted over to the window above their
little table in the midst of the coffee shop. Rain dropped like the teardrops
of heaven to pool on the ground, like they were trying to get in people’s ways.
The humans who were aliens to this place dashed past, scarves twisted over
their heads and jackets fluttering around them, flags to the despair that only
bad weather could bring.
Something dangerous in your storyworld.
Well, there's the slight issue that in the mountains, the mines are really the only place you can get work, and the dwarves run the mines under an iron fist. Most of the people in the mountains have to work for them, but they're basically slaves and they have to go into all kinds of debt to get the supplies and money they need. This is also the basis of a lot of major conflict within the story itself.
Something delightful in your storyworld.
- Welp... there's coffee shops and bookstores in every town, because books are a huge industry and people just buy them all the time!
- Other than that...
A movie soundtrack that would complement the setting.
Yikes...
*thinks*
Maybe one of the Hunger Games movies? I don't know? I've not spent a ton of time thinking about soundtracks for this story. But these are some of the songs that have kind of been my writing soundtrack for it:
Yikes...
*thinks*
Maybe one of the Hunger Games movies? I don't know? I've not spent a ton of time thinking about soundtracks for this story. But these are some of the songs that have kind of been my writing soundtrack for it:
How does the geography impact the story?
- As said above: The mountains and their mines have a huge push in the story.
- Other than that, the little town where Briallen grew up and where her family continues to live even now is very isolated, while the university town where she's currently attending school is a little bigger and more in the middle of things. It's also a lot closer to the capital, although that detail doesn't really make it into the story.
Is there a particular location or time period your story you had in mind when creating your storyworld?
- The mountainous small towns of Maine (near where I live, actually) are definitely part of the inspiration--especially the ones that exist to contain small colleges. That's essentially the setting of the story. The idea of the Gold Rush and the debt that a lot of miners found themselves in also comes to mind when I think about both storyworld and plot for Hurricane Ink.
What is the climate like, and does it play a role in the story?
- Mostly, it rains. All the time. And the rain is especially bad in the mountains. It washes everything out unless the foundation is built EXACTLY right (and the dwarves guard the secret of how to build those with all their gold) and thus the people are even more enslaved up there. It sucks. :P
- But otherwise... the climate just makes Briallen more grouchy than usual.
Are there any traditions, and do they have an effect upon the plot?
- Traditions? Halp! Who thought up these questions???
- I guess the closest thing to a tradition that really affects the plot is that the king of the world where they live uses excess tax money for college scholarships to help send the sons and daughters of well-behaving and loyal lords to get a higher education. This plays directly into the story, but I can't tell you exactly why.
That, my friends, is that! Stay tuned for next week, when I shall bring you Part 4! And be sure to check out all the other illustrious bloggers' posts (URLs are listed at the top of the page.)
Chat with me, y'all! Do you like this idea? Is it really boring? (I feel like it's really boring, but worldbuilding is HARD in a novella!)
30 comments
This is awesome! Your world sounds really exciting!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I hope so! Thanks, Sarah!
DeleteDuh, I LOVE this idea!!! And I guess I'm not the only one who thought these questions were harder...
ReplyDeleteBut I really enjoyed reading your answers, Faith!!!
*makes alpha notes* *tucks pencil behind ear* :D
They were SO much harder, especially since a novella has so much less space for worldbuilding :P
DeleteHeh heh, I'm so glad you're ripping the story up! (Even if it is hard to listen to... *pouts*)
Umm, love it? I ADORE it!
ReplyDeleteI haven't really been able to get around editing your book, because I was on a trip and then life became insane, and it still is, but I have read through it, and I love it completely!
That's totally okay, Gray! Life is crazy sometimes - I completely understand! I'm so glad, though :)
DeleteIT DOES NOT SOUND BORING. IT SOUNDS AMAZING. I loooove the idea of the dwarves ruling over everything because they own the mines, and keep power because they're the only ones who know how to keep the foundations from being washed down. That is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteIt seems so fascinating AND cozy. All the fantasy stuff, but then with college campuses and coffee and bookstores and rain. This whole story is just so original. I LOVE IT!
Well thank you! I don't know if it's REALLY brilliant, but i'm glad you like it, Christine!
DeleteAnd it is fairly cozy, which surprised me. I'm really bad at writing cozy stories. XD
I'm very intrigued by this. And unicorns is very unique. I don't think I've seen many YA with unicorns, which should be against the law. I mean, come on!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. I can't wait to hear more. :D
~Ivie
iviewrites.blogspot.com
It really should. Unicorns are (almost) as cool as dragons! After all, they're usually good guys, too! MOVEMENT FOR MORE UNICORNS!!!!!
DeleteThis sounds really intriguing! It's got unicorns nothing with unicorns is boring!
ReplyDeleteI applaud your gif use too.
Hey, I'm glad you like it!
DeleteAnd the gifs are honestly my favorite part of this post XD
Seriously the dwarves and unicorns sound EPICLY AMAZING!!!!! (Hey - the more ya got, the merrier!)
ReplyDeleteBut I love the playlist!! Some of my favorite music right there... #ifthisisthemusic #thestoryisgonnabegreat
I do want to know more about this fantasy university...what is it like? What classes does it offer? What are the teachers and student like?
Haha, I haven't done a whole lot of planning into that... #ExtrovertMainCharacter #IReallyNeedToPlanMore
DeleteAghhhhhh
ReplyDeleteI understand your world building struggles....
Cause I'm having them. Except I have too many to stuff into this world and not enough doors to stick them in. Blast novellas. Too darn short!
Ahem...
Anyways. I love this story so far. I'll have to sneak into spotify later and listen to your playlist *winks*
Catherine
catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com
Ooooh, your story is just getting cooler and cooler! XD I don't think it's boring. :-D I like the idea of coffee shops and bookstores in every town. *nods* :-) This is a novella? That's cool. I'm planning a couple of novellas. About how long are you planning it to be? XD
ReplyDeleteAnd, on your playlist; I love some of those songs! XD
DeleteI'm entering Rooglewood Press's Five Poisoned Apples novella contest, so it has to be less than 20,00 words. :P The limit is good for me, though.
DeleteAnd I'm so glad you like the playlist! I love most of those songs! (Or all of them; why else would they be on there, right?)
Your setting sounds great! And your post was quite entertaining, too. XD
ReplyDeleteI just recently found your blog and love it! :D
Hey, thanks!
DeleteI'm so glad you like it!
That was really interesting. Honestly, world-building is like my least favorite thing in the world. But this was really fascinating and I kind of love it. I ESPECIALLY LOVED THE SNIPPET OF HER IN THE COFFEE SHOP IT WAS SO AESTHETICALLY PLEASING TO MY EYES YOU HAVE NO IDEA. *takes a deep breath*
ReplyDeleteOh, and is this your NaNoWriMo novel? I kinda missed that if it was lol. It probably was mentioned in your first of these posts but I forget.
Also, you live in Maine? That sounds so cool. What's it like there???
I don't like worldbuilding, either. It's such an easy step to skip... *sighs* But it's necessary and... yeah. I do it even though I hate it. I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT I LOVE THAT PART TOO.
DeleteIt's not. I'm not doing NaNo this year D':
It's neat! I might do a post on life in Maine sometime in the near-ish future so you can all bemoan the snow for me. Stay tuned for that! Lots of snow and nature and mountains and no money. XD
I think this is really cool! I especially love the book detail, haha. A society where books are one of the biggest industry? *heart-eyes*
ReplyDeleteAlexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
verbosityreviews.com
I know! I basically want to live in this world now (except for the evil dwarves because #UGH)
Deletehot bean brew. That has a nice ring to it. I hope someone's coffee shop is named that. I just discovered that I have too much rain in my book. Wanted to use it to reflect the character's angst at the time (you know, storm clouds and all that) but I think I have to come up with something else. Any ideas??? Cool how your story world is built off your real world of Maine!
ReplyDeleteOoh, that's a good name! I have a ton of rain in this story too just to help set the mood, but maybe blending rain with some sunny days would be a good happy medium. Maine is strange enough as it is- basing a fantasy world off it (to me) just seems natural!
DeleteAck, this sounds SO AWESOME. Unicorns are the BEST! :D
ReplyDeleteThey really are!!
DeleteWHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GET A GIF OF A CAT FILING ITS CLAWS xD xD
ReplyDelete"Hot bean brew" < is that an actual thing? or is it coffee? I am so ignorant in the habits of the coffee-people that I don't know... :P And I'm not entirely sure - is this some sort of portal fantasy, or are there actual coffee shops in your fantasy (because wow)??
- Jem Jones
I DON'T EVEN KNOW! My dad sent it to me and I found it on the internet. Don't ask. XD
DeleteIt's coffee. And there are actual coffee shops. :/ I don't drink coffee, but since my story is about writers...you know. Coffee shops and critique groups and bookstores are required.
Hello, friends! Do make yourselves comfortable and stay for a while--I'd love to chat with you! I simply ask that you keep it clean. :)