#tip tip tip of my tongue and i forgot it. gah. gtg i am... so tired. im falling asleep.

[papercutsunset]

Worldbuilding Wednesday! What are the stages that take you through visualizing the world of your story?

so, since most of what i write takes place in Lake Wonder these days, or in a version of earth that's very much like our own, i usually end up asking myself one of two things to start:

if it's in lake wonder, does the thing i want to include make sense in the canon of the universe? (i.e., does it conflict with our known cosmology? is there a way this can work within the set and established rules of how the world works?)

if it's not in lake wonder, how does the thing i want to include make sense within the context of the story i want to tell? how does this contribute to the plot while keeping the story grounded?

in the case of 1, things are pretty easy for me. i collect things nigh religiously (the same way i collect facts about bones and facts about my local cemetery, honestly) and that means i can (1) figure out whether i can slot that in neatly (as is the case with establishing the realmar hemiplane and resurrecting bloodsaw-- a massive undertaking that has worked really well so far) or (2) figure out whether or not i have to slightly-retcon it into existence (such as with ghost rules, which get tweaked every so often-- tammy formerly having been a ghost allows her to see ghosts now, when that wasn't necessarily on the table before, but there wasn't really a rule against it? it just makes things more complicated and could potentially go against previous canon).

in the case of 2, it's way simpler in theory, but im intimidated by too many unknowns (because, uh... there's something wrong with me. it's the same thing making me way too aware of my toe seam. in fact, i have to take off my sock. it's that or my face. one second). it's easier to write out notes about what i want to exist in the world in broad strokes, figure out more details as i write, and then cement them in subsequent drafts. i remember that being true about Impish and the way the demons worked; and that was for sure true about APU9, which i never actually finished (the building they all lived in was an addition to like... draft 3, i think?).

fun stuff. unfortunately, i have brain worms, so lake wonder shit is easier for me.