WONDERS WITHIN WORLDS
by Lorin Oberweger

Worldbuilding is not just for speculative fiction.

EVERY story takes place in a specific setting and smaller subset locations. Almost every story contains multiple worlds with myriad groups and ways in which characters are connected. A world doesn’t have to be a physical location. It can be a group of people linked by a common interest, a social class, even an internal landscape.

Story Worlds Can Refer To:

• Larger Physical Worlds
• More Specific, Concrete Settings
• Sociological/Cultural Groups
• Relationship Units
• Specific Vocations and Avocations
• Imaginary, Inner Worlds

And every one of those worlds represents opportunities for plot development, conflict, exploration of important themes, and more. Exploring the possibilities of your story worlds can help you raise the stakes, create depth, shore up your narrative, and avoid that treacherous saggy middle.

To get you thinking, first list as many of your story worlds as you can. Then choose one or two of the most important ones and answer these world (and mind) expanding questions to explore:

• What are some singular, unexpected, and concrete details on this world?

• How stable or unstable is this world at the beginning of your story?

• What big changes are unfolding or about to unfold?

• How does your protagonist see their place in this world?

• How does this view change throughout the story?

• What would the protagonist change about this world?

• What would your protagonist do anything to preserve, related to this world?

• How does that world view your protagonist?

• How does the difference between the two create conflict?

• From the protagonist’s perspective, who benefits from the state of this world?

• Who suffers because of it?

• What are three “rules” of this world, and what happens if they’re broken?

• Has your protagonist broken those rules? If not, do they want to, or will they?

• Does anything about the world serve as a physical impediment to your character’s

mission in the story?

• Does anything about the world serve as an emotional or psychological obstacle?

For more on this topic, you might want to check out the recording of PUTTING YOUR WORLD TO WORK, available here.