Landscapes and geography are essential building blocks in the creation of a believable and captivating fictional world. In this post, we will explore strategies for crafting diverse, intriguing, and immersive landscapes and geographical features that form the backdrop for your stories and settings.
- Identifying Key Geographic Features:
Consider the major topographical elements that define your world’s landscapes, such as mountains, deserts, rivers, forests, or coastlines. These features can influence the climate, vegetation, animal life, and human settlement patterns within your story. Understanding these natural aspects will help you create a geographically consistent and believable world. Many authors like to start with a map. Orson Scott Card has written how an interesting piece of handmade paper inspired in to sketch a map, which in turn gave him an idea for a story due to an accidental flaw in the paper which created a unique feature (bonus points if you can comment on what this story was). - Designing Biomes:
Biomes refer to distinct ecological communities characterized by specific climate patterns and vegetation types. Examples include tropical rainforests, temperate forests, deserts, grasslands, and tundra. Each biome comes with its unique challenges and opportunities for character development, plot progression, and world building. Unique biomes can become drivers for story as well. Alan Dean Foster created several unique biomes for his stories that became challenges for his characters, and in some cases characters themselves. His Icerigger trilogy is one example, as are Midworld, and Cachalot. - Creating Terrain Variety:
Provide terrain variety within your landscapes to keep readers engaged and offer diverse settings for your characters. This might include combining elements such as mountains, forests, and rivers, or introducing unusual features like volcanic formations, caverns, or underwater settlements. One thing to consider is how the terrain will affect the political, economic, and mythological elements of your world. - Considering the Impact of Geography on Human Settlement:
Geographic features can significantly influence human settlement patterns and societal development. For instance, mountainous regions might lead to the creation of fortified cities, while coastal areas may foster maritime cultures and trading hubs. Understanding these influences will help you create more authentic and believable settings for your stories. - Developing Geographical Conflicts:
Geographical features can also be sources of conflict within your world. Consider how disputes over valuable resources, territory, or strategic locations might shape political dynamics and fuel conflicts between characters and factions. Here too, the intersection of geography and economics can help create interesting story lines. - Building Landmarks and Iconic Features:
Landmarks and iconic geographical features provide unique visual landmarks that help readers connect with the settings in your stories. These elements can serve as symbols of power, mystery, or adventure and add depth to your world building. - Considering Environmental Challenges:
Geographic challenges like extreme weather conditions, natural disasters, or hazardous terrain can create intriguing storylines and push characters to overcome adversity. These elements add tension and complexity to your world building, making it more engaging for readers.
Incorporating well-designed landscapes and geographical features into your world building process adds depth and richness to your stories. By understanding the impact of these natural elements on human settlements, conflicts, and societal development, you create a captivating and believable setting that resonates with readers.
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