One Of The Greatest Moments In Life A Human Being Can Find, Is When A Beautiful Mind Surpasses A Formal

Worldbuilding Questions: Other* Cultures - a handy list for writers with little time

(*not the main characters')

After my extensive [list of questions for towns and cities] for your main setting, there will also be many countries, regions and cultures mentioned in your project, that aren't central to the plot, that you don't have time to delve into detail about, but that still should feel 'real'.

For this use (or, really, in general, if you don't have much time to worldbuild before you start your first draft), I prepared a list with 10 very rough, basic questions to make your world feel alive:

What is their most important export good or economy?

What was the most important event in their recent history, and how long ago did it happen?

What do people from that place wear and how do they style? Are they distinguishable in a crowd?

What is their language, and is it understandable for your narrator? Do they have an accent?

What are they famous for? (People from there, their humor, their food, their skills at something...)?

Are or were they at war / at the brink of war with other people; esp. with those at the center of your story?

What is their most important difference to your "main" / narrator's culture? (Religion, society, economy...?)

Are representatives of that culture seen often in your setting?

What is something outsiders say about them?

What do they say about themselves?

I recommend thinking about these for your side character's home cultures, as well as for your setting's most important regions and neighboring countries. Five or so might even be enough, just as a handy ressource to make your setting feel alive and real.

Writing Tips

Maintaining Motivation to Write

❀

➼ if you’re bored writing a part & want to move on to another scene… imagine how bored your readers must be

➝ keep it interesting and meaningful ; write every scene like it will be your favorite

➼ if you’re stuck on a scene — skip it

➝ use placeholders and come back to it when motivation strikes

➝ personally, I do something like: {ENTER: battle scene} and then I’ll list details, lines, or dialogue I want to include so I don’t lose my ideas

➼ if you’re stuck on where to go with a scene — delete the last line and reroute

➝ keep your last line saved somewhere or in brackets — never actually delete anything, but this can help broaden your perspective and encourage creativity

➼ if you’re stuck on a character name — use placeholders

➝ I love to research my names intensely; I’ll spend way too long researching that I’ll forget what I wanted to start writing ; plus once I get attached to a name I am reluctant to change it, even if I think of a better one

➝ so I’ll temporarily replace the name with something like: [A] or [Villain] or [King]

➼ if you don’t have motivation to write an entire excerpt, write a sentence for each of the five senses in the scene

➝ touch, sight, hearing, taste, smell

➝ having these details can help immerse yourself back into the scene when you’re ready to write it

Writing is not a fanciful venture. It is the most meaningful, purest step forward in your own personal art. Do not diminish the importance and power in your own fingers tapping at your keyboard or wrapped around a pencil. This is the moment in which you embrace the might of your creation.

Karuna Riazi is an online diversity advocate, essayist and overwhelmed undergrad student. Her debut novel, The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand, will be released in 2017 under Simon and Schuster’s new Salaam Reads imprint.

Writer’s Care Packages from Camp NaNoWriMo and We Need Diverse Books.

(via nanowrimo)

Always

When human beings encounter the true meaning of life and purpose, there are no doubts. Soul and body are compromising together to give the best in a beautiful way