World Building and Deep
Point of View...
I strongly suspect I
could never write historical due to the amount of research involved. One of my
writing buddies is currently scouring books on Victorian Surgery practices,
morbid but fascinating. She’s all over the names of instruments and exactly how
amputations and dissections were carried out. I prefer to invent, or speculate,
on future times. Reality can be mighty limiting, but the bare bones are still
required, the world has to be plausible. People need to relate, to be able to
imagine themselves wandering through the landscape.
So, how much information
to put in? Three paragraphs detailing the characters costume brings things to a screaming halt. Three paragraphs... huh! Once upon a time, I put in three pages. Being spanked for same has made me wary of
over indulging in details, but my current work in progress, a sci-fi tale,
needs more world building. Info dumps are out. Deep point of view is in. All of
the sights, scents, sounds, tastes and touching that go on must be revealed in
greater depth.
But not too much.
It’s a balancing act.
I’ve received lots of excellent advice and today I’m rolling with ‘Read your
work aloud’. Astrid the Schnauzer has already evacuated the room, heading for
quieter corners.
Song for the Day is Safe
and Sound by Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars
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