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How to Create a World

The title sounds big and beyond capability but it really isn't. Creating a world is second nature to some authors but it still scares the heebie jeebies out of any writer. It is easier for some to just write what (or where) they know by picking a town they have been to or a forest that they have walked through a dozen times, but to create a place that no one has been can freeze us in our tracks. Why is that? I mean, if no one has been there, there should not be anything to live up to like remembering what bus stop is at what park in the middle of Boston. A Bostonian would know. An author who had never been there? Not so much, and would have more pressure to get facts straight. That is but a small problem and I have learned that it isn't a true problem at all. It is called artistic license. The author is the creator of that world and as such can make it however he or she wants. If I want horses, instead of cars, to be the mode of transportation in modern day New York, that is how it is. If I want magic to be a natural part of life on Earth, that is how I will write it. Do not be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone on this one. Not everyone can create Middle Earth but that is good. I don't want to read about the same world in every fantasy book or follow the same mystery in every thriller I read. I want variety so I know others feel the same. Let your world be unique to you. Invite your readers in through the portal that you create for them. You will find that this new world will grow on its own over time.

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