World-Building

This is the first time I have really looked into world building aspects in detail so it was already panning out to be an exciting project to be working on. I did a lot of research into world-building tips and so on and I did struggle to find good material that could be used in conjunction with my project. Most of the material I found and used was actually based around writing novels but the points made I felt were still very relevant.

Here are some of the links of the websites I looked into to get me started.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/09/17/25-things-you-should-know-about-worldbuilding/

http://io9.com/7-deadly-sins-of-worldbuilding-998817537

http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/

My initial thoughts for this new world I was going to create was for it to be set in a new age; a post apocalyptic fantasy world in which magic has been drained and the human race has to adapt to their new lives.

Seems interesting but perhaps a little too cliche?

Either way, I used this as my starting point so I could then try flesh out some more details.

Just like our technology has developed so much to a point where we have pretty much become reliant on them, I wanted to re-create this but by using magic as the 'technology'. The human race has developed their magical abilities to an extent where it has become well embedded in their daily lives. The development of magical technology had grown so much that it has started to take over human labour making jobs less accessible. Little did they know that using magic to such extremes had an effect on the environment and thus, magic became illegal.

Revolving around the idea that magic was harmful, activist-like groups were born that spread the news of destruction to the world. And naturally there were groups of people in opposition to those people who thought that magic was a gift to be used.

I had a few initial ideas for the role of the protagonist that revolve around the idea of status and being unaware of the world outside of their home.

The protagonist lives in a city or the capital perhaps where people still use magic and refuse to give it up because it allows them to live in a life of luxury. This city's rulers kept it's residence from finding out the true nature of magic in order to maintain a position of power and continue to use magic for their own gain. One day the protagonist decides to leave the city and start a new life soon discovering that the outside world had been left to die. The protagonist then decides to do something about the corruption of the world and begins to challenge 'The Order'.

From this, I was thinking that there could be a bit of a 'Robin Hood' thing going on in a sense of the protagonist living as an outcast and an outsider that then steals from the rich (his/her own people) in order to help the more unfortunate communities that have been locked out the city and left to deal with the corruption they're causing.

Not too sure about that idea yet but it fits the bill so it's a possibility.

Alternatively, this idea could be the other way around. Where the protagonist is from a rural village on the outskirts of the world and after seeing the suffering of their own people decides to travels to the capital in order to find help. The protagonist then realises that the capital is continuing as normal, abusing magic and living comfortably while everyone else suffers and vows to overthrow 'The Order'.

These are the majority of ideas that I have considered since and I will write another post on the chosen storyline.