ahb-writes

[ahb-writes]

Hi! I am not sure if this is the right way to do an ask, and I am not sure if you are the right person to ask, but in my worldbuilding, I am primarily basing my world off of an extrapolation of medieval alchemy.

Medieval alchemy is highly based off of works of arabic alchemists, and so on the one hand, I would like to incorporate arabic into my naming convention for vehicles (I am not worrying about characters yet).

On the other hand, I am an american with very little if any connection to cultures which use arabic, and I don't want to unwittingly stumble into a situation where I misuse the language and it becomes a source of problems for me or other people later. I have felt comfortable using greek and latin in naming convention because of their well-known connections to scientific naming schemes and alchemy.

I don't want to inadvertently offend anyone with my setting's design, but the language looks cool, and seems like it would fit really well given my setting's ties, is this something where sufficient research can help me do it properly? Is it something I should avoid to make sure that I am not offending anyone?

Again, apologies if you aren't the right person to ask or this isn't the right way to do an ask.

For clarity and direction on how to model and shape your worldbuilding efforts from a perspective of cultural sensitivity, you may consider consulting the fine folks over at Writing With Color; @writingwithcolor; who have assembled a delightful "general topics" masterpost that includes sections on worldbuilding and character building (creation and culture).

As for borrowing and adjusting naming conventions of other languages, never apologize for curiosity. Sometimes, we simply don't know something is mistake until we ask ourselves, "Wait, is this a mistake?"

To start, Islamic researchers, scientists, academics, and thinkers formed the foundation of what much of the world considers to be "modern" mathematics, astronomy, geography, linguistic scholarship and language translation, medicine, poetry, and more. It's easy and tempting to segregate different historical cultures or regions as we go back in time, but the truth is that it's all intertwined and mixed up (fun fact: We all use Arabic. It's just that most of us don't know it.). Arabic contributions to the Spanish language in particular? That's a serious rabbit hole of research. Global influence of Islamic architecture? Highly fascinating, and research that fills several peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, and dictionaries. Old libraries? Check out the history surrounding the House of Wisdom, also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad (destroyed in 1258 CE), for one of many examples.

I begin with this exploration of cultural mesh because when building a fantasy world that includes glimpses, touches, or influences from known historical periods, you have to dig around to know from where (or what) you're starting. You can't create something new and firm if you don't first have a solid idea of where you're starting from.

In the case of a fantasy environment that focuses on alchemy, with elements from the Arabic language and ostensibly from historical Islamic scientists, consider narrowing your focus those areas of study that will most heavily influence your story.

Curious about intellectual movements? Science? Medicine? A deep-dive into the Arabic Enlightenment may help (The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance by Jim al-Khalili; The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons). Art and natural science? Search for resources that offer a passing glance on the origins of science in medieval Islam (Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction by Howard Turner).

The point is to take a few steps back, before you take a few steps forward. You can get around not knowing the language, and you can circumnavigate your lack of firsthand experience with a culture, by deepening your knowledge of the language's origin and of the culture's most essential inflection points.

But it's all connected (e.g., I've worked my way through dozens of sources of medieval combat and warfare, and the same is true of arms, armor, and fortifications). Ultimately, you have to find your starting point (and stick to it). It's a lot of work, I know. But you don't have to read whole books. For example, you can try snagging a .pdf, and then read only two or three chapters, since those areas are the most relevant to your research needs (e.g., al-Khalili's book has chapters called, "The Lonely Alchemist," "Big Science," and "The Physicist," and Turner's book has a chapter on alchemy, plus separate chapters on astronomy and non-scientific astrology).

By understanding the foundation for the disciplines you use and the foundational cultures from which you take inspiration and influence: your language choices will be more accurately-sourced; your worldbuilding choices will be more detailed and lived-in; and your framing and contextualizing of these terms and influences will be more realistic and consistent.

[ahb-writes]

[ahb-writes]

"He's a pathetic man-child. Why would I feel scared of him? Ohhh, he has so much power. Nah, nah, nah. I don't give a fuck. Why should I be scared of this man? Because he's rich? Oh, no, I'm trembling. Ooh, shivering in my boots here. I don't give a fuck how much money anyone has. I don't. I really don't. He owns Twitter. Okay. Congratulations. "People thrive off of fear. I'm not giving anyone that space in my mind. The only thing that gets to live free in my mind are drag queens."

Vivian Jenna Wilson ("Vivian Jenna Wilson on Being Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter, Protecting Trans Youth and Taking on the Right Online" at Teen Vogue)

[ahb-writes]

[ahb-writes]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions (Historical Conflicts)

Historical Conflicts Worldbuilding Questions:

What is the biggest present conflict in this world, and what are its origins?

What are the major historical conflicts in the world and how did they shape present-day borders, beliefs, opinions and prejudices?

Who are the world’s peacemakers and what role do they play?

Who are the world’s worst agitators in stirring up conflict and why do they instigate it (e.g., territory disputes, resource competition, etc.)?

Where is the next conflict most likely to flare up and why?

Where is most peaceful, freest from conflict?

When past conflicts resolved to peaceful agreement, what prompted resolution?

When have war or other conflicts led to major cultural or social changes, and how?

Why do conflicts persist or change in this world?

Why do individuals or different groups in this world engage in conflict or remain pacifists?

❯ ❯ ❯ Read other writing masterposts in this series: Worldbuilding Questions for Deeper Settings

[ahb-writes]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions (Technology)

Technology Worldbuilding Questions:

What is the level of technological development in the world? Is it roughly as developed as ours, or closer to a past feudal system or a futuristic system where tech such as AI, robotics, communication, transportation and healthcare are more advanced?

What is the impact of each technological development on others (for example, how have advances in AI affected communication or transportation)?

Who developed or discovered a specific technology important in your world, and what impact did its invention or discovery have?

Who benefits the most from technology in this world, or is access and benefit equal? Why is that (for either answer)?

Where is key technology produced or developed? What advantages and disadvantages might this give the producer?

Where is the greatest technological innovation happening in the world, and what are its benefits and risks to society?

When did certain technologies become obsolete (or will they), and who will that affect?

When technology breaks, glitches, or behaves unexpectedly, what are the possible consequences? What margin is there for error?

Why is a technology important to a specific group of people in your world – what benefits or advantages does it confer?

Why is specific technology restricted or prohibited, and by whom? (For example, many kids are forbidden cell phone access due to low access control for adult content in our world).

❯ ❯ ❯ Read other writing masterposts in this series: Worldbuilding Questions for Deeper Settings

[ahb-writes]

Great insight. Another thing for writers to think about rests in combining these exploitable elements: the speaker, character voice, writing style, actual dialogue.

For example, some characters will hesitate, mumble, and swallow their words, while other characters might project their voice or use their words as an extension of their personality/behavior. In literature, you can more credibly and deliberately use a variety of narrative elements to diversify how your characters interact with the story. Authors don't need to inundate readers with these details, but should use or apply them in ways that add context and propel the story in the appropriate direction.

Different characters have different vocabularies. Different characters use tone and emphasis differently. Different characters use different body language, either as an accent to or in the place of dialogue support.

(a realization about dialogue formatting, from a comic artist turned novelist.)

One of the first things a novice writer learns about speech tags is that they’re part of the “scaffolding” of prose. They should be largely invisible to the reader: use them when necessary, omit them when not, and be sparing in the application of verbs other than “said”. They serve only the function of clarifying who is speaking when it is necessary to do so.

Except:

Sometimes you might want to use a speech tag in spite of the redundancy. The fact that the reader’s eyes slide right over them is an exploitable property. By slicing a line of dialogue in half with a speech tag, you can force the reader to perceive a meaningful pause between two utterances—and the effect is much stronger than you might get out of an ellipsis or an em dash. Developing an intuition for when and how to do this is a huge part of learning to write dialogue, I think.

(And yes: if you ever wondered, this is exactly same the reason why comic artists sometimes “double bubble” their speech bubbles. Same end, different means!)

[ahb-writes]

[ahb-writes]

"Although condensing a story into a pithy “thematic principle” can sometimes seem overly simplistic, this is exactly what makes it a valuable tool. Your story’s essence, boiled down to its most concise statement, can become the guiding principle for your entire project. [...] Once you have discovered what your story is about on a thematic level, you will be able to gut check every single scene, every character encounter, every bit of incidental symbolism. The more cohesive every single piece of your story becomes, the more powerful your theme becomes—and the more you can rely on overwhelming subtlety, via your plot and character arcs, rather than falling into heavy-handed moralizing."

K.M. Weiland ("How to Find Your Thematic Principle")

[ahb-writes]

[ahb-writes]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions (Customs and Traditions)

Customs and Traditions Worldbuilding Questions:

What are widely practiced customs and traditions common to multiple regions in your world?

What are customs and traditions specific to individual regions or peoples?

Who participates in which customs and traditions? What are demarcated roles or responsibilities within them? Or are roles and responsibilities rotated?

Who creates or enforces the rules of customs and traditions in the world? Is it the law or government, or do individual groups self-regulate (or have customs and traditions that break with norms)?

Where do rituals and ceremonies typically take place? What is place’s significance within them?

Where do popular customs and traditions come from, what is their back story?

When are customs and traditions typically practiced, under what time-bound conditions?

When do customs and traditions change, and why?

Why is any custom or tradition on the rise or waning in popularity, what are contributing factors?

Why do characters participate in or avoid specific customs and traditions?

❯ ❯ ❯ Read other writing masterposts in this series: Worldbuilding Questions for Deeper Settings

[ahb-writes]

"Writing shapes the world around you. Entirely."

Ta-Nehisi Coates (author, The Message)

[ahb-writes]

Agents bridge a lot of essential needs and interests for a lot of people . . . and I imagine that's part of the reason why it's so dang difficult finding one.

Hi Jenn! how important do you think personality fit is for agent/author relationships? like what if I like an agent's notes but not really how our call went because we just didn't seem to match personally?

It's good if you LIKE them generally, of course -- because you have to talk to them, so if that's going to be a thing you dread, that's no good. But you don't have to be besties or hang out and watch Netflix with them or anything. It doesn't really matter if your hobbies or outside interests jibe, as long they like the books you like to write!

You DO have to respect them, trust them, and be able to communicate well with them. (And they have to be able to respect, trust and communicate well with YOU, too, of course!) -- They are your fiduciary, they handle your money, they have to act in your best interest, like, LEGALLY, and you should be able to be very open with them.

So if any of those things are a problem, I'd say that it's not a good fit.

--

(I should also add: Relationships, of all kinds, take work and time to develop, on both sides. You, or they, might be socially awkward, and take a bit to warm up and know how the other person operates. You might not ALWAYS be on the same page, even if you really like the other person. There might be miscommunications or whatever -- because everyone involved is a human, and we aren't mind-readers, etc. But if there's mutual respect and generally good will and whatnot, and you communicate, it will probably work out just fine!)

[ahb-writes]

[ahb-writes]

“You don’t get strong by crushing people’s hopes; you get stronger by bearing them.”

— “Lycia” (The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan, Vol. 2 by Jaki)

[ahb-writes]

[ahb-writes]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions (Society)

Society Worldbuilding Questions:

What is each society’s crowning achievement or proudest "claim to fame"?

What are each society’s greatest ills or challenges? (Do these differ depending on who you ask?)

Who garners the most respect in this society, and why?

Who is shown the least respect in this society, and why (what does it value)?

Where are hierarchies and power differences starkest between people in this world, and why?

Where are social norms and influences (such as laws) most stringently upheld in this world, and why (e.g., what roles do politics, ideology, religion, or competition for resources play)?

When did this society’s power structures emerge or change significantly, and why?

When did major societal beliefs or practices become entrenched? Are there any that have recently fallen away or started to disappear?

Why is living within this society challenging for your main characters?

Why does each character enjoy or appreciate this society, if anything?

❯ ❯ ❯ Read other writing masterposts in this series: Worldbuilding Questions for Deeper Settings