Worldbuilding: From Nothing or Something?

[W_L]

I've been thinking about this for a bit as I was writing, am I actually being original with my story or am I just building a world that already exist in another form?

We frame our stories with perspectives and ideas that usually have basis of some type in reality. Even fantasy stories might be amazing with vast worlds and characters, but are they original? Harry Potters is a story about a chosen one, a schoolboy with helpful friends, and themes from ancient Greek myths. Games of Throne have a basis in Medieval culture, Asian familial organizations, and classical themes.

Yet, our inspiration and takes on classic stories is what makes things Original. Sure tons of people have written stories about a hero traveling across the world on a boat, engaging in many odd scenarios, but each author are inspired to write different things. Homer's Odyssey is a story about a Hero made humble by Gods, teaching several morality lessons along the way. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a satirical story about 19th Century culture and mindsets. Then, there's our own great GA novel Circumnavigation , I don't know if later generations will dissect it like they will the great epic stories I listed above, but they should. These are completely different stories with different themes, each one deserving praise and renown for what the reader is given insights on.

That leads us back to the beginning though. When you build a literary world with similar themes or genres, are you re-interpreting another author's ideas or drawing inspiration for it directly/indirectly to create your story? Are stories that have such inspiration "original"?

Personally, I think they are original, but I can't find a concrete way of describing what makes inspired stories or genre stories original

Edited May 25, 2021 by W_L

[Mawgrim]

I think we all draw on genres to a certain extent, but each interpretation of a classic 'theme' has some variations. I know that, because of the many years I worked as a cinema projectionist, I often draw upon imagery from films I've shown, even if it's subconscious. In the same way, every story we've ever read or been told will influence our own take on a particular theme and drawing upon personal experiences is what makes each creation truly unique.

Your post reminded me of a book I was given many years ago. it's called 'The Seven Basic Plots - Why we tell stories' by Christopher Booker. It gives many examples. The seven are: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth. Some stories fit neatly into one category, others may be combinations of more than one.

[JamesSavik]

I don't think anyone has the patent on world building. If any do, it should be JRR Tolkien. He was so in depth, he even developed mythology, races, languages and history.

The world you build comes from your imagination. No one else can claim it.... unless you have a Hogworts, Iron Throne or a Minas Tirith.

 

[BigBen]

On 5/25/2021 at 9:07 PM, jamessavik said:

I don't think anyone has the patent on world building. If any do, it should be JRR Tolkien. He was so in depth, he even developed mythology, races, languages and history.

Token would be the first to say that his originality lay in how he used his material, not that he invented everything out of whole cloth.  One of his main goals was to write a mythology for the Anglo-Saxon world, on the lines of the Norse and Germanic legends.  He drew on the Eddas and other sources for his names and themes, he based Quenya on Finnish, but the ultimate sensibility of his writing is British. The theology underlying his worldview is very strongly Christian.

For an understanding of how he viewed what he did in particular and how he believes the act of "sub-creation" works in general, read his essay, "On Fairy Stories," and his short story, "Leaf by Niggle."

[LJCC]

I just realised how difficult it is to build a world from scratch. Although I already have the context-setup for my story, it still gives me several migraines. Sometimes just thinking about how to plan everything and slowly introduce it to the story is such an emotional sponge. I'm only at 35k words, and yet I feel like by the end of this story, I'd have introduced around 50+ characters, not to mention the crap-ton of places I have yet to describe. And I loathe descriptive writing—some friends have said I'm ok at it, but they don't know the time and effort my mind takes just to write one paragraph that describes whatever the frick it is my brain is visualising. 

[Mawgrim]

It can be really hard not to info dump when you have created a world you find exciting and interesting. In fact, some readers love reading long descriptions explaining all the minutiae. The best way to find out if you have the balance right is to get a few people to read it and to mark any parts they find tedious.
 I also find that if you introduce more than five new characters per chapter, it can start to get confusing.

[LJCC]

1 hour ago, Mawgrim said:

It can be really hard not to info dump when you have created a world you find exciting and interesting. In fact, some readers love reading long descriptions explaining all the minutiae. The best way to find out if you have the balance right is to get a few people to read it and to mark any parts they find tedious.
 I also find that if you introduce more than five new characters per chapter, it can start to get confusing.

*proceeds to delete 20 characters introduced in one chapter*

Nah, I'm kidding. There are probably 20 minor characters in the scene. I'm—editing it heavily, otherwise, it'll be migraine inducing to the readers. I'm very keen on editing since I started out as an editor before dabbling into writing. Which, to a fault, is a detriment when I'm too focused on editing a single chapter for several weeks. Haha.

[Aditus]

Building a world is like building a house with extensions. You tear down, and build here and there and in the end it looks a little crooked but has a lot of charm, if you're lucky.