Is your fantasy or science fiction world missing
something? How can this be? We have a whole slew of races pilfered straight
from the Silmarillion. We have a detailed map with magically splitting
rivers and everything. Our cyberpunk setting’s international political
borders were lifted straight from the 80s. We even have an alien ecosystem built entirely
out of predators! Yet our evil empire seems a bit… flat for
some reason. Could it be that their singular drive for
world domination and complete lack of screen time has resulted in the imperial capital
being blander than a 90s sit com? What could be the problem? Why is the chapter featuring the wood elves
tree homes duller than well, a tree? What is missing? Wait. I know! We didn’t build a culture for our fictional
peoples! World building can be intimidating to those
who don’t spend every waking moment obsessing about it like I do, but keep calm and listen
to me carry on about how easy world building a fictional culture really is! Seriously don’t stress about world building
cultures too much. Real world cultures are far stranger than
anything ever written in fiction. Which means that any old half measure taken
in world building is okay and will produced exceptional results. And by that I mean that people won’t notice
unless you really really screw up. So let’s really really screw up… I mean really really dig into to how to properly
create a fictional culture! Now culture can be a collection of shared
values, social norms, artistic achievement, mythologies, ceremonies, and customary beliefs. All of that sounds hard to world build, but
all a writer has to worry about is mostly just a society’s dress and architecture. Just like smoke and mirrors, add those two
items and a writer is done! A reader wont notice characters from the far
future using modern day slang if we dress them up in funny hats and have them live in
fractal shaped houses! Our future society has technology completely
different from modern day, but their culture should still share the same values and taboos
as our own. Or, maybe they only have hyper drive and everything
else is just absolutely the same because access to the huge vastness of the void between stars
will change nothing about a society's perspective. If an author worries that this wont be enough,
then just add a singular trait that the entire culture is built around! Need an antagonistic people to menace the
heroes, just build a culture obsessed with warfare at the cost of every other aspect
of their society. How did these guys invent hyper-drive if they
disdain all intellectual pursuits? Well they stole it from the precursors or
something. Look, you want thematically opposing foes
for our scientific heroes or what? Who cares if a culture’s core value is so
singular and strong that it would cripple any chance of them becoming a major power. Our isolationists should easily have access
to rare resources and technology even if they can’t trade to get those things. Don’t worry about trying to compensate for
these cultural weaknesses in interesting ways. We could, for example, give our isolationist
people an untouchable diplomatic caste who has to deal with outsiders, but whose specialized
expertise has resulted in the ascension of the very people who shun them. Wait. That’s dumb. I have an even better idea. Let’s make them all evil instead! A society built entirely around worshiping
evil, torture and death should function incredibly well. I bet a culture devoted to destruction is
very good and building the infrastructure needed to wage endless war. Also, cultures where the only form of advancement
is killing your superior must suffer no shortages of talent at all! Is coming up with a monolithic culture built
around a single trait too hard? I understand. Thinking up that one trait can be really difficult. Thankfully, a writer need not stress themselves
out over putting the most minuscule amount of creativity into world building a culture
when an author can simply steal one directly from the real world! Just borrow a contemporary or historical culture
and transplant them directly into a fantasy world or the far future, completely ignoring
the environmental conditions and historical context that shaped that culture in the first
place! Don’t worry. I’m not suggesting we actually read about
the real culture before pilfering it. Nah. Simply changing the name will dodge all accusations
of appropriation! Or at the very least it will hold up in court. A writer need not worry about stealing another
culture’s symbols because a proper author should be too lazy to use symbols in their
fictional cultures in the first place! No need for rich heraldry, clever mottos,
or emblems designed for instant recognition of a culture’s history or values. I suppose we could make a flag. Just slap some random shapes on there and
done! Wait. I have another great idea. Let’s over-design our symbols! Nothing like having so much crap on a flag
that it becomes unrecognizable. Nor should a writer worry about over-designing
a culture as well. This never becomes a problem when an author
becomes enamored with a culture to the point where they remove all flaws and have it represent
what they believe an ideal society is. Yes. That never gets on anyone’s nerves even
when the people of the author’s personal utopia constantly educate the protagonist,
and thus the reader, on their superior ways! Especially when the idealistic Pure Republic
of Mary Sue is ideologically opposed by the Evil Empire of Strawmanopolis. Immersing the reader into a fictional world
can’t be done by showing how a society handles disease, how do they regard personal hygiene,
what does their diet consist of, what kind of natural resources do they have access to,
how said resources influence technology, how does environment shape their beliefs, how
do their values differ from my own, what are this culture’s taboos, what values does
this culture hold that not all of its members live up to, is their society stagnate or is
it in the middle of a transformation? Could it be that things I had assumed were
default human nature were in face merely a cultural perspective not shared by every human
society? Studying real world cultures can truly open
one’s eyes to the complexity of human behavior and enrich a writer’s world view. Which is really bad because that might accidentally
happen to the reader as well and throw their fragile perspectives into chaos. Which brings into question how an author should
handle controversial subjects on world-building like a culture's religion or view on gender
roles. Well you are on your own because I’m NOT touching that on YouTube.
Wait... What? Is this meme bigger than I thought, or did we just get called out?
Anyone have some tips on one of the things he listed on here, the cut and paste of one/more cultures into our world(s). What should one aim for when taking inspiration from a culture from history/the present, and how much is too much in common with the real culture?
Dang it, you beat me to it! I tried to post the link but I couldn't since you did.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools
I am excited
Guess this is OK for those brand spanking new to this, but otherwise it's kind of blah.