I took a workshop in world-building through the Women’s Fiction Writers Association about a year and a half ago. It required students to both delve into our own novels to discover certain areas where we could better build the worlds we had created, and also to critique every other attendee’s submissions. The exercises were broken down into setting, character and a few other aspects of our stories. They forced us to look at our writing with a fine toothed comb and dig deep to add detail and action that would strengthen the authenticity of our books.
It was a great workshop, and I’ve used the things I learned since then, both in critique groups and also in my own writing. I would advise any writer at any stage to take a course like this. It stretched me and my novel in a way I didn’t think possible. Katie Shea Boutillier, who is the Rights Director and a superstar agent at the Donald Maas agency, led the seminar. She critiqued all of our work, so it was also a great way to get advice from an agent who reads thousands of Women’s Fiction submissions and knows her stuff when it comes to books.
One thing that was stressed throughout the workshop was the phrase “show, don’t tell.” This is something we writers hear constantly, but do we get examples of what the phrase means? Not always. Here are 2 examples. The first one is “telly,” while the second one is more “showy.”
Jillian dipped her toes into the crystalline lake, hoping its waters would cool her down. The lake shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, while a slight breeze cascaded over its surface. She was grateful for the little waves that broke over her feet and cooled her down immensely.
Sweat droplets beaded on Jillian’s forehead, as she dipped her toes into the sun-shimmered water. A breeze cascaded over the surface, sculpting tiny waves that broke over Jillian’s feet and coursed a cooling pleasure up the backs of her legs.
The second one evokes much more feeling than the first, giving us the setting and the character’s feelings on the same plate.
Much of the time, we can find the “telliness” in others’ writing, but ours doesn’t stick out to us, because it’s just too close to us. That’s why it’s so great to have a trusted team of critique partners. I couldn’t do what I do without my writers critique group.
Most of the feedback I received on my submissions was to add even more feeling and detail to an already detailed scene. Many of my scenes take place in Italy. One in particular is at a Villa in The Santerno Valley. Katie wanted me to get into Tate’s (my protag) head. How did the air smell? What did the scent remind her of or evoke for her? What did the ground feel like under her feet? I learned through this experience that by delving more deeply into our scenes in this way, we also unravel our characters a bit more completely, which makes us know them even better. Perhaps some of the world-building details we weave into our story will eventually be cut because of word count or what-not, but these details will further our understanding of our characters. Knowing our characters intimately helps us to write them more authentically. If someone were to ask me to write a scene that is totally unrelated to Beautiful Secret but has Tate as the main character – let’s say it’s a scene with Tate at the DMV on an August afternoon when the AC is broken - I know exactly how she would act, what she would think. I could write the scene with no trouble, because I know my character. I could describe any setting from her POV. The World-Building Workshop helped me to get to this place.
The best seminar I’ve ever participated in was The Algonkian Writers NY Pitch Conference. As part of the pre-seminar work, I was required once again to go into the world of Beautiful Secret and dissect it so deeply that I would be able to answer anyone’s questions about any aspect of the book or characters without missing a beat. The assignments were broken down into setting, characters – protag, antag, and supporting, primary conflict, secondary conflict, and inner conflict.
Even though I had written this book, I hadn’t actually sat down and pondered Tate’s inner conflicts.
Well guess what?
She sure had them, and when I took the time to sketch them out, I understood my character that much better.
These exercises were created clearly to teach authors how to know their books well enough to be able to pitch them. This conference was invaluable to me.
I could not write an article about world-building without mentioning the one author who is, in my opinion, the super duper bravissimo BEST at this.
Karen Marie Moning.
I am a huge fan of her Fever Series. I’ve read the books several times, both for entertainment, inspiration, and believe it or not – research. You might ask- what can an urban paranormal romance series teach a women’s fiction writer?
Everything.
Moning’s world is so alive, I can see every character and place behind my eyes in a snap. She has not only remained geographically and historically accurate in her descriptions of old Irish lore and Dublin’s landscape, but she inspired me to want to visit these places someday and to learn more about Gaelic myths. Her players are never out of character, and there are so many players. She has posted scenes on her blog that happened before book one, in the POV of a character whose head we readers never thought we’d be lucky enough to enter.
There are nine books in the series, the 9th one having been released just a few days ago. At the end of the most recent book is a detailed guide to the people, places, and things of The Fever World. I read over the guide before starting book nine, and it was like eating an amuse bouche before an appetizer. Even though I knew of and had already read about everything in the guide, it served to whet my appetite for more.
My husband knows he’s lost me for the next few days. I’m happily trapped in the Fever world, invisibly handcuffed to my Kindle. Those of you who read Fever will see the irony in that.
Moning’s fans don’t just love her books. We are invested in the world she has created.
This is the kind of writer I want to be. I want to build unforgettable worlds that will envelop my readers and make them reluctant to leave!