Worldbuilding 101: Past Leaders

Sorry, folks! I wrote this yesterday, went to post it, and ran into internet issues. I’m still having a few, so please forgive me if there are any issues.

Worldbuilding 101: Past Leaders

So, this is a subject I’ve touched on in previous posts, but in light of Presidents Day, I thought it might be worth a more in-depth look at how did past leaders affect the world of your story and how things currently are.

In the United States, we have Presidents day, which supposedly is to commemorate past presidents. In actuality it’s because Lincoln and Washington’s birthdays are within a week of each other. My parents mention how when they were young both of those days were holidays. Now they’ve been combined into one day.

While that is a very American holiday, most countries have something equivalent. A birthday or coronation day of the current monarch, perhaps. Maybe the day the politics of the area changed. Even if your story involves a totally fictional world, having the characters celebrate ‘Republic Day’ or ‘Founding Day’ or ‘Colony Day’ or ‘King’s Day’, makes perfect sense.

But what exactly is it they value?

Well, for Presidents Day, it’s a Federal holiday so banks are closed, mail isn’t delivered, public libraries are closed, and trash isn’t picked up. No one in my immediate family is still school age so I don’t recall if it’s a school holiday or not. Probably. Some stores run special sales, especially mattresses and cars for whatever reason. Most people probably don’t think twice about presidents.

If they do, they probably think primarily of Lincoln and Washington, who are frequently considered among the best presidents we’ve ever had. Some will not hear a word of criticism about them. Others prefer to tear them down.

My personal opinion, if anyone is curious, is that they were people. People aren’t perfect. They did good things, they did bad things, they were shaped by the times they were in and shaped those times in turn. I personally believe they meant well. I don’t agree with everything they did by a long shot but I think things would look a lot different without them.

Famous people tend to be controversial. Because famous people did things. And I have not seen anything anywhere in life that wasn’t good for some people and bad for others. Literally nothing. Sometimes the people who benefit are the ones you don’t want to benefit, but it happens. Even in the worst of disasters, some profit, some are better off, and some manage to stay in place. Even in the best of celebrations, some lose, some are worse off.

So, your past leaders, how are they remembered? Remember some benefited and some lost under their rule. The dictatorial warlord may have also been the first one to cause a lasting peace in an area that had been previously contested by rival bands. The prime minister who eradicated homelessness may have also instituted state-controlled employment where citizens work wherever the government says.

There are other cultural rules. I was having a conversation with my mom the other day and we both agreed you can’t compete with the dead. When someone you love dies, it’s very common to only want to remember the good things about them. There are many places with cultural taboos on speaking ill of the dead.

What if you reversed that? What if you had a culture where the important thing is to remember their flaws, even for those beloved? Perhaps the more loved someone is, the more important it is to remember the bad parts?

Or what about the scary ones? Bad leaders happen. I was reading through 2 Chronicles, which has a little information on each of the kings of Judah before the Babylonian Captivity. One, Jehoram, has less than a chapter on him, and really gets lost in the shuffle, not least of which because he apparently ruled at the same time as a king of Israel, also named Jehoram, and both of them sometimes had their names shortened to Joram. But one thing that really stuck with me when I was reading was that it said he passed away, to no one’s regret. I mean, ouch! Granted, he slaughtered his six brothers to solidify his reign, was a total military failure, and of his eight-year reign, he spent two of them with an unspecified painful stomach ailment that may have led to his son taking more control. I can see why some might be more relieved than distraught at his passing. But it still strikes me as sad, as much because someone lived a life that his people would be relieved by his passing.

Do people in your world try to ignore the bad ones or do they remember them? Perhaps so as not to repeat their failures, or perhaps because of a reverence for history, or even just because it was pretty recent.

Remember, this is primarily for past leaders. The past shapes and influences the story, but it is not the story. If you find yourself more interested in the Chocolate Revolt that happened thirty years before chapter one, then you may want to consider writing about the Chocolate Revolt instead. Or at least, as well as.

What do you look for in a leader?

I Can Use That!

I can use that!

So, I currently have a chalazion. Be careful of the link, the pictures can be disturbing to those sensitive to eye-based injuries. For those who have never heard of it, which included me, and don’t want to follow the link, it is similar to a stye. I have a lump from a blocked gland underneath my left eyelid. Styes are usually on the rim of the eyelid, painful, and go away in a week or two. Chalazions are not painful, though may be tender, usually on the inside of the lid, develop slowly and can take months to go away. According to Wikipedia, most drain completely in two years. I’m afraid I don’t find that very encouraging.

Mine started to form somewhere around late-November to mid-December. I’m not sure exactly when because at the time, I didn’t regularly check the inside of my eyelids. It is bad enough to slightly affect my vision in my left eye, leaving things blurry. And the lump is both large enough and mobile enough to actually get in front of my eye. Still more nuisance than anything else.

Then my glasses broke.

Both lenses had fallen out of the frame and I was trying to put them back and adjust the glasses when the screw snapped in half, still in the receptacle. I can’t get new glasses with an old prescription, and I can’t get a new prescription while I have a temporary issue affecting my vision.

Fortunately, in my case, I use glasses for an astigmatism and can go about my daily life without them, with a little more eyestrain and headaches. I also have antibiotic eyedrops now, which I’m really hoping will help.

When my glasses broke, and I was making arrangements, one thing that occurred to me very quickly, was, “I can use this in a story.”

Beth Alcott, the detective of my cozy mystery, has already been established to both wear glasses and have lousy vision (based of my sister’s vision). I had already planned to take advantage of that at some point, but now I’m absolutely sure that at some point her glasses just get broken. Which will prevent her from being able to drive, to see things at a distance, have difficulty picking up clues, etc. There are so many options.

When I discovered telescopic batons were a weapon, my first thought was, ”Liska would love those.” Liska is a ninja werefox. Stealthy and subtle are her key words. The easier a weapon is to hide, the more she would like it. Have I ever shown Liska using a telescopic baton? Not yet. Perhaps I never will. But I have no doubt she would.

I’ve started watching Wednesday. It’s making me think a lot about my Hyde Chronicles books, as I started with a bit of a similar premise. I can see a few similarities in how I’m interpreting what I know of the principal so far (Episode 5) and how I interpret Taria, one of the main foundations of the school. Basically, I think both of them would do almost anything for the good of the school. And quite frankly, that gets a little dangerous.

I’m going to have to be particularly careful with the last example as I certainly have no desire to steal from Wednesday, and not just because they have expensive lawyers. On the other hand, I’ve been writing this series for ages and some things are just a coincidence. Also, their series is definitely a bit darker than mine.

As you go through life, certain things will spark inspiration. Embrace it. Follow it.

How have you been inspired?

Creating Subplots

Creating Subplots

I’ve read in a writing book, who knows which one, that the average novel contains about 2.5 plots. If we count a subplot as half a plot, that could, and likely does, mean that a typical novel has one main plot and three subplots. Which are useful in expanding the story and making it feel more realistic. Maybe these plots can deepen characters, maybe they work for worldbuilding. It is not uncommon for subplots and the main plot to become entwined, and subplots can overlap each other. Just don’t let them take over from the main plot.

If your story is feeling flat or too short, maybe a subplot or two is just what you need. So where do they come from?

Characters:

If your story isn’t a Romance, then there is likely to be a romantic subplot. If it is a Romance, then that’s the main plot. Nothing in the world requires you to write a romantic subplot, and if it doesn’t fit in your story or you aren’t comfortable writing one, then don’t. Some people actually prefer their stories without romance. Many others enjoy romance so go with your comfort levels.

Related, look at characters other than your main character(s) and see if one or more of your minor characters can carry off a subplot, romantic or otherwise. You don’t want them to steal too much of the spotlight, of course, but maybe they have a secret, an issue, or a problem big enough to interact with the main plot. For example, your main character is simply trying to get that promotion to chief Demon Ward Researcher, when their friend comes to them, admitting to stealing a magic book to earn some money to pay off their debts, and, um… the book is now… glowing and doing stuff? Can the protagonist help? Of course, if they are caught with a stolen book, the protagonist will get fired, have their memories stripped, and kicked out of the Demon Hunters club which means they will never get their revenge on the demon that terrorized them all throughout high school preventing the protagonist from being valedictorian.

Not everyone’s life revolves around the protagonist. In fact, every character should feel like they are the protagonist. I am currently working on book four in the Hyde Chronicles and trying to figure out subplots. Well, Hyde is a school. It doesn’t matter what may be going on with Violet and her friends, there are other concerns that have to be dealt with. In ‘normal’ times, that includes exams, homework, school activities, etc. Even if the school ended up actively on fire, as soon as that fire is out, the administration would be scrambling to figure out how to work around the burned areas, rebuilding, and how is this going to affect admissions.

Setting:

Whatever setting you have, it will have an impact on your characters. Sometimes that impact will be obvious, sometimes it will be subtle. Some skip it entirely, but that’s not always a good idea.

Maybe your setting is closed in. An estate they can’t leave for whatever reason. Maybe your entire story takes place in one location, like a restaurant or an elevator. Maybe the weather is nasty and everyone has to stay inside. The smaller and more isolated a setting is, the more the characters are forced to interact with each other and the more likely they are to get on each other’s nerves.

Sometimes the setting is a hazard itself. Hiking in the wilderness, caught in a blizzard, stuck in a haunted house, lost in a desert, etc. Surviving itself becomes part of the plot, main or sub.

Maybe it isn’t as major, but still a factor. In my quest story, the protagonists have to travel through the Endless Grasslands, Ocean of Sand, the Mountains of Death, the Sea of Tears, the Forest of Gloom, and the Dead Lands. Each of those had different dangers and revealed new things about the characters even while the main plot is to find the Jewel of Ishni.

Plot Spinoffs:

Your main plot can’t fit everything. Maybe a line of dialogue or an intriguing ‘what if’ sparks a new direction. Maybe you realize suddenly that it makes no sense for your character to succeed right now, but if you give them a subplot of researching or practicing a certain skill…

In non-mystery books, a mystery subplot is not uncommon, though not as likely as a romantic subplot.

Time to daydream:

If you need a subplot, start brainstorming. Here’s a few suggestions to get you started:

What could go wrong? How?

What could go right? How might that not be a good thing?

What might other characters be doing behind the scenes?

Who might have a secret?

What is the most impossible thing that could happen and how can you make it plausible?

What would happen if your characters did the opposite of what you were planning?

Have fun. Right now, there are no wrong answers. Brainstorming is for fun.

How have you come up with subplots?

You Can’t Fix Yesterday

You can’t fix yesterday

Happy groundhog day! For those who haven’t been paying attention, the groundhog saw his shadow today, meaning six more weeks of winter for those who believe the lore. In actuality, we are, literally, six weeks from the beginning of ‘official’ Spring. I still prefer the Russian calendar that goes by the first of the month. Even still, we’re four weeks away.

How many people have seen the movie Groundhog Day? I think I can safely say, without fear of spoilers, that it is a story of a character stuck in a time loop. It’s an interesting concept, that features in several speculative fiction books, movies, and tv shows. Related, but not quite the same, are the do-over stories, where a character goes back to fix what they consider problems in the timeline. These are especially common in fanfiction where characters can take the cannon they have already gone through and fix whatever the author wishes to fix.

I love those stories. I truly do. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished to have a chance to go back and fix things in my own life.

But I can’t. No one has offered me that chance and probably never will. You’ll never get that chance either. You can’t fix yesterday.

That thought came to me very suddenly a few minutes ago when I was trying to once more readjust my life, trying to figure out where and how I can go from here. I was thinking about a possible direction, lamenting that it might be easier if I had set up a little more possible groundwork, and realizing I couldn’t. I can’t change what I have done up to that point.

And as despairing a thought as that can be, it’s also freeing. I can’t fix yesterday, I can’t change anything I did or didn’t do up to this point. But I can change tomorrow.

I should have written this blog post on Monday (if you want to get technical, I should have written last Monday.) I didn’t, even though I meant to, because I very suddenly and completely ran out of spoons, and really didn’t recover until today. I can’t explain why, because I simply don’t know. But it happened, and I probably would have postponed writing another post until next Monday if I hadn’t had this revelation.

No matter what yesterday brought, no matter how much you may want to change it, all you can do is decide to move on from there. Maybe Monday didn’t accomplish much. But I can’t change that or let that weigh me down so Thursday doesn’t accomplish anything either.

One bad writing day does not and should not lead to more bad writing days. You missed your quota last week? That was last week. What about this week? You didn’t write yesterday? Well, what’s stopping you today? Don’t let guilt weight you down.

I’m not saying we can completely ignore the past. The past is part of what makes us what we are. But it is done and set in stone. Remember it, accept that it brought you to where you are. But don’t let it keep you manacled in place.

Even if you’ve found you’ve gone 500 miles out of your way, nothing says you have to continue going that direction. Maybe it will take longer to get to where you want to go, or maybe even have to change your destination entirely. But right here, right now, you decide where you go from here. Even if it does mean letting go of yesterday.

Maybe I’m the only one who needed today’s pep talk. If so, I’m sorry. But this was something I really needed today. Next Monday will hopefully be back on schedule.