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Guest Post: The Challenges of World Building
by Alecia Stone
Writing a novel is a challenge in itself. Balancing exposition with action and dialogue isn’t easy to achieve, but when it comes to crafting a cohesive imaginary world, it’s almost as if you’re asking for a miracle. When I started writing fiction, I had no intentions of constructing an imaginary world, but as I kept writing, that was exactly what was happening. The book started in what we refer to as “the real world” (the world we currently live in – in case you were wondering) and then it delved into the magical world of Arcadia where you encounter beings and creatures you don’t even want to have nightmares about. It was exciting to create.
You will find traces of many mythologies in the world I have created – Greek and Hindu mythology, among others. Although I had envisioned the world of Arcadia inside my head, the creation of the map was the last process of the world building, and, to be quite honest, it was the easiest part to do as I already had the blueprint inside my head. The first thing that was established was the location of Arcadia. Once I had the geography down, I started to populate the world. After seeing the fascinating beings that inhabited this world, I decided that they needed their own language. World building takes a lot of work, and it was definitely one of the most challenging aspects of writing, but I found it an enjoyable and satisfying process.
Excerpt
Charlie looked at his watch. ‘There’s only five more minutes to go before you teleport.’
Alex looked at him, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Don’t you mean before we teleport?’
‘Not me.’
‘You can’t seriously be thinking about staying here,’ she said. ‘You don’t even know these people. Derkein, tell him he can’t stay.’ She didn’t wait for Derkein’s response. ‘This is crazy. What are you thinking? What am I saying, of course you’re not thinking.’
‘I should give you two a moment,’ Derkein said, but they barely heard him.
‘That’s not what –’ Charlie began, but Alex interrupted him.
‘You know what, I hope you’re happy,’ she said.‘What is your deal?’
‘What is my deal? I’ll tell you what my deal is. You’re selfish.’ She turned to walk off, but Charlie grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him.
‘How am I selfish?’
‘All you think about is yourself.’ Alex’s eyes glistened. ‘I’m sorry about your parents, Charlie, I couldn’t be more sorry, but you act as if you have nothing –’
‘That’s because I don’t,’ Charlie retorted. ‘You don’t know what it’s like. You have your parents. You have everything.’
‘So do you.’
‘What do I have? Oh right, I forgot about Jacob – no, no, the guy just about wanted to shoot us to smithereens before we left.’
‘Forget it. If you can’t figure it out, then I guess it doesn’t matter. I guess it’s not important.’
Charlie opened his mouth to say something but paused when something cool brushed against his skin. Smelling charcoal in the air, his body tensed. He didn’t know when it had happened, but somehow he and Alex ended up outside the temple. He became aware of Derkein’s voice shouting in the background, but his gaze stayed on Alex, whose expression was one of shock. Then everything slowed down.
A noise reached Charlie through the silence: the soft whooshing of something moving fast, getting louder and louder. His gut churned, and his arm shot out before Alex, who, for a moment, froze, her eyes wide open.
When Charlie finally realised what had happened, he, too, froze, his arm still extended, fist clenched around an arrow whose tip was inches from Alex’s left eye.
The erratic thumping of his heart drummed in his ears. Not only had he heard the arrow’s flight, he had also caught it with his bare hand.
He turned his head and saw a group of armed demons at the bottom of the steps. As terrifying as the line of demons were, however, it was the figure on the roof of the derelict building across the road with the bow and arrow pointed at them that drew his attention.
Dropping the arrow he was holding, Charlie dived at Alex, knocking her to the ground, shielding her with his body.
Raising his head, Charlie saw the terrified expression on Alex’s face, and panic struck him. It took him mere seconds to realise the look in her eyes wasn’t that of a wounded person but rather the look of someone whose heart had shattered into a million pieces. Following her gaze, he spotted Derkein standing just outside the archway of the temple, a pained look on his face – the look of a wounded man.
The arrow had lodged in Derkein’s stomach. His gaze locked on Charlie, his unblinking eyes lost in the depths of his wandering mind.
In that instant, Charlie knew. The nightmare he had so long tried to forget was staring him in the face. There was no more denying it. Derkein’s death was finally upon him.
Derkein gasped as the second arrow tore through his chest. Charlie watched in horror as he stumbled back and crashed to the ground.
WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?
One Planet.
Two Worlds.
Population: Human ... 7 billion.
Others ... unknown.
When 14-year-old Charlie Blake wakes up sweating and gasping for air in the middle of the night, he knows it is happening again. This time he witnesses a brutal murder. He's afraid to tell anyone. No one would believe him ... because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died.
Charlie doesn't know why this is happening. He would give anything to have an ordinary life. The problem: he doesn't belong in the world he knows as home.
He belongs with the others.
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Alecia Stone is the author of Talisman Of El (Centrinian, 2012), the first book in the Talisman Of El trilogy. She graduated with a BA in Film & TV and has worked in television for a short period of time before branching out into storytelling. Alecia loves anything and everything paranormal. Her fascination with all things supernatural sparked her obsession with books, particularly young adult fantasy fiction, which she has never grown out of. She was inspired to become an author after reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen at the age of fourteen.
In 2008, Alecia started working on Talisman Of El, a contemporary young adult fantasy fiction inspired by people who disappeared mysteriously, including, but not limited to, Amelia Earhart and Percy Harrison Fawcett, who went on an expedition in search of an ancient lost city. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys going to the movies, listening to music, and travelling.
Talisman Of El is her first novel. At present, Alecia lives in England, United Kingdom with her family.
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Thanks for having me today. I enjoyed writing the post. I liked the topic you chose :)
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