I’m a bit of a Michael Kirkbride fan, and a bit of a Tolkien fan (same as everyone). MK’s work on the Elder Scrolls series sets the bar for how original, offbeat, and deep I want my work to be. I want to be able to say I wrote a world from the ground up and filled it with dynamism, surprise, mystery, and drama. Unlike Tolkien, I’ll never be one for conlangs. I wouldn’t know where to start, but more importantly I wouldn’t know why to start. Tolkien came to storytelling via conlangs, and that’s just not me, so I tend to imitate MK instead.
You’re writing a world. Did you set out with a scope in mind? What sparked the desire? Are you, like me, writing lore instead of constructing an actual narrative because it’s just more fun (at least for now)? Who/what do you admire for worldbuilding?
My #1 goal was to have a setting for my TTRPG games (formerly D&D, now Pathfinder 2e). The primary objective is for it to meet the needs of setting adventures in those games in my world. Also, it would be cool for it to reach a point where regular players in my games might learn a bit about it themselves. But that is a less realistic goal and more of a hope.
At this point I’ve dropped all pretense of writing for anyone else’s appreciation, and it has honestly taken my output to the next level. Trying to make what we think other people will like is creative poison. Just write what makes you happy, and if anyone else is lucky enough to get it, you’ll get what you were looking for.
I’m an enjoyer more than a creator of world building, but I can’t ever see myself writing or making a narrative. Maybe after I learn a lot more about that side, but mostly it feels fun to just play around with ideas and expand them into worlds. (Since I’m not an author) it doesn’t have to be profitable or timely.
Well put! I like to create just for its own sake, tending my little garden as it were. I want to live like Neil Gaiman, only writing a little every day.
Long, long ago, a Star Wars fan by the name of Curtis Saxton sat down and tried to make sense of the myriad, confusing, and sometimes contradictory technology of the Galaxy Far, Far away. He put names and dimensions to warships, analyzed weapon power and shield behavior, and managed to wring a surprisingly elegant set of work out of something nobody had really put thought into before.
Separately, modeler Ansel Hsiao went to work designing his own inspired vehicles and starships, but likewise with an eye to not just “looking cool” but thinking about their role, capabilities, and usage, all in the effort of making a coherent force.
These two provide a lot of my inspiration in terms of how they welded disparate bits of technology together into making a greater sci-fi whole. Since I’m not building for an overt product such as a book, I can simply enjoy the process of creation.
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