55: Wheels of Progress – Shape Your World (4)

Today in Part Four of this world building series, we'll be

discussing everything from transportation and communication

to architecture, construction, and technology that goes into

creating a believable, immersive world. Fasten your seat belts

hold on tight, and let us explore the wheels of progress

and learn how to shape our own worlds. A writing precedes

authors. Welcome back to the podcast. To those of you who are

new, I want to extend a special welcome. My name is Kathrese.

McKee. And I'm glad you're here. If you are a writer seeking

encouragement, information and inspiration, this podcast is for

you. Let's get to it. Hey, writing precedes authors.

Welcome back to the show to those of you who are new, I want

to extend a special welcome. My name is Kathrese McKee. And I'm

glad you're here. I call this episode wheels of progress, an

umbrella term for things like transportation, communication,

construction and architecture, technology and medical

knowledge. I would love to know your favorite books, and movies,

where these topics played a pivotal role. Share your

favorites in the comments, let's get to it. world building is a

huge topic so much so that I've broken it into six parts. You

cannot overestimate the importance of world building and

creating a believable and immersive fictional world. Even

if you're writing historical or contemporary fiction, you still

need a handle on all the topics I am discussing in this series.

So far. So far, we have discussed building believable

worlds and why it matters. Nature's realm set the stage

society's rules, bend them, break them. And today as wheels

of progress, shape your world. And then in the coming weeks we

will talk about past and present, explore history's

legacy, and magic myth and man wield supernatural power. And

I'm really looking forward to those. It's difficult to choose

which piece of wheels of progress to cover first, but

since I brought up wheels in the title, let's start with

transportation. Here are some questions to ask yourself when

you're in the midst of world building, what mode of

transportation? Or what modes of transportation are available in

your world? For example, if it's an ice world, how to the people

or the beings, whatever they might be your main characters?

How do they get around in order to find food and trade amongst

themselves? Have the civilizations in your series or

books develop technologies for flight? Or underwater

transportation? How do they manufacture their

transportation? Do your characters rely on beasts of

burden? mechanical means of transportation, global

navigation? Or is everyone on foot? Are their modes of

transportation only available available to the very wealthy?

Like say yachts? Is there ubiquitously public

transportation that will take a citizen almost anywhere? Is

there like public transportation everywhere? What are the

limitations and advantages of each mode of transportation in

your world? How affordable is it? For the average person? Are

there any unique modes of transportation that exists only

in your world? So your imagination is the limit here?

How long does it take to travel between different locations in

your world? So sometimes I've seen stories where it seems

improbable that they could have covered the distance in the

amount of time, you know, that was allotted by the author. So

pay attention to realistic distances? How safe is the

transportation in this world? Not everything is always safe,

no matter how you're getting there. But I mean, if you're

traveling by dinosaur, aren't you taking the chance that

you're gonna get eaten? That's just you know, throwing it out

there? Are there any transportation related conflicts

or tensions between different groups in this world? And how

does transportation impact the economy and the politics of your

world? Finally, how does transportation impact the

environment of your world? So these are all questions you

might ask yourself that are about transportation. The next

thing I wanted to talk about was communication. One measure of

civilization sophistication, is its means of communication like

on Earth, some of these systems have been lost. However, there

are many examples of ancient systems of keeping records and

preserving history, including cave paintings, clay tablets,

Papyrus, hieroglyphics, and wall carvings to celebrate a monarchs

prowess and battle all these things.

have come down to us through history. But don't don't think

that those are not available to you in your books. On Earth,

there are a few events we can point to that shook our world

and our means of communicate communication. Number one was

the printing press, invented in the mid 15th century by Johann

Gutenberg, and it allowed for the mass production of written

materials and help spread knowledge and ideas across

Europe and the rest of the world. The telegraph was

invented in the 18th century, and it allowed for rapid

communication across long distances, and help connect

people around the world. So that was another big jump in

communications. Another example is the internet developed in the

late 20th century, which transformed communication,

commerce, and access to information on a global scale.

It also opened up a can of worms. But there you are. So

questions you might ask yourself when you're building your

fictional worlds communication systems are, what forms of

communication exist in this world. And remember, there's

nonverbal and verbal, so keep that open, you know, something

to think about? How reliable are these forms of communication? Is

there censorship? Or surveillance? Is there

information that is off limits? Or top secret? Are there any

unique forms of communication that exists only in your world?

And how easy is it to access different forms of

communication? How do and I should have said, how easy is it

to access different forms of communication? How do different

groups within your world use communication to achieve their

goals? Are there any communication related conflicts

or tensions between different groups in this world? Just think

about the slang between different groups of people? And

how sometimes that's a barrier to communication? I mean, they

say English is a common language that divides to people when

we're talking about British English and American English. So

you can definitely make plot points and and cause conflict

through this misunderstandings that are caused by language. How

does communication impact the economy or the politics of the

world? And how does communication impact the culture

and social norms? So those are some general questions are so

many more that we could come up with, but that's to get you

started, after climate, and flora and fauna, as we discussed

in Part Two called nature's realm, about your physical

world, the next thing you're likely to think about is shelter

for your characters. And that leads us to architecture and

construction methods. Architecture depends on culture,

know how in engineering, available materials and

mechanical advantage, that is machinery and manpower to build

shelters and other structures, like palaces and government

buildings, places of worship, and public spaces. If you are

building your own world, be sure to consider our world history to

find ideas of amazing architecture we no longer use,

like the cliff dwellings any of the Anasazi of the Four Corners

area in the American Southwest, or Machu Picchu in the Andes

Mountains, a true marvel of engineering. That thing had

amazing water handling systems and drainage built in from the

ground up. Look into the terraced gardens in Ethiopia,

and the floating gardens of the Aztecs called chinampas. So

there's all kinds of things you can go back and use for your

fiction, especially if you're writing fantasy or science

fiction. Okay, this is a special favorite me, please consider

making your fantasy settings. Less Eurocentric. Can I say that

there are other continents to choose from Western culture may

be all you know, but Eastern culture is at least as rich, be

open to some new ideas for your settings, and your world

building. Also, if you let set your stories in series and

space, you've got all kinds of consideration. That's pretty

much why don't write hard science fiction. It's like too

much engineering. So questions authors might ask when they're

building a fictional worlds architecture and construction,

and they're thinking about how things are built is what are the

materials that are available for construction in your world? What

is the technology level in your world? And how does that impact

the construction methods? Do the people work with natural

materials? Like metal stone, wood, sand, clay or plant fibers

or animal pelts? Or do they create synthetic fabrics and

materials? Do they farm on open plains, terraced gardens

or in hydroponic greenhouses. So those are, you know, you lead

into architecture there. What are the architectural styles and

traditions in your world? Are there any unique construction

methods that exist only in your world? Also, how does the

environment impact construction? Because the chief reason for

having buildings is shelter, right, and places to meet, but

shelter comes first. So you have to think about the environment.

Are there any cultural or social factors that impact traction in

your world? Are there any construction related conflicts?

Are tensions between different groups and how does it impact

its culture and social norms? Also, do beliefs, especially

spiritual ones, inspire societies to build certain kinds

of architecture? And is land available for purchase? Or is it

all owned by the government or the crown or the church? Those

are things to ask yourself when you're thinking about

architecture and construction.

Writing pursuits is run by Kathrese. McKee, who has been

new level of excellence. Guthrie's is a three story

methods certified editor who specializes in story

diagnostics, coaching, and line editing to help you prepare your

story for the journey ahead. For more information, go to writing

pursuits.com. The link is in the show notes. And now, back to the

podcast. Technology is the next consideration and impacts

everything else, of course, so I could have done it. First, I

character may be able to imagine an invention, like Michelangelo,

imagining the helicopter. But if the world doesn't have a

technology to execute the idea, then pardon the pun, they can't

get off the ground. So questions authors need to consider when

building a fictional worlds technological advancements is,

do they have the will? Are they literate enough as a society to

pass on knowledge? Through writing? in written form? How

much math does the average citizen know? What sources of

power do they have? Are they an analog society or a digital

society? Are they something else that we haven't imagined yet?

What state has their civilization reached in

manufacturing? Do they build everything one at a time by

hand? Or do they mass produce items in highly specialized

industries? How do they farm build wage war? How does

technology impact the economy and politics? Are there any

unique technological advances that exists only in your world?

How easy is it to access and use different technologies? And are

there any cultural backward to this question? Are there any

cultural or social factors that hold back technical,

technological development? And how do different groups within

this world use technology to achieve their goals? Are there

any conflicts or tensions you can build from the differences

between groups in your world related to technology? So we had

an example of this when we started seeing industry in

northern England. And we had a bunch of people that didn't want

to have that industry there and that we call them the Luddites.

So just think about that there are examples from our past,

where people are resistant to progress, and sometimes progress

has its own costs. Finally, there are many topics that I

could fit inside the topic of wills of progress. The last

topic I'm raising in this episode is medical knowledge. So

your characters likely will be threatened by diseases and

illnesses and injuries. So the state of medical knowledge, the

expertise in care and availability of that care could

provide lots of drama and tension to your plot. So

questions authors need to act consider about the state of

medical knowledge are like these, what is the general level

of medical knowledge in your world? Is it kind of basic? Is

it advanced, or somewhere in between? For the longest time,

doctors on Earth ignored and were hostile to the idea of hand

washing as a basic sanitary practice? And who knows how many

people died as a result? So for ages the idea of germs was

unknown. Even now, though, we know to wash our hands and brush

our teeth, people sometimes don't. And that goes for a lot

of other medical advice. So are there any cultural or societal

taboos around medical practices or procedures? What common

illnesses or diseases exist in your

World? And what are their symptoms and treatments? What

technologies and treatments are available in your world? And how

accessible are they to different people and segments of society?

Are there any medical professions, such as doctors or

healers? And what training or education do they have? Are

there any alternative or complementary medical practice

like herbalism? Or acupuncture? How does the availability and

quality of health care affect different communities within

your world? Are there any major medical breakthroughs or

discovery discoveries happening in your world? And how do they

impact society and individuals? How does the understanding and

treatment of mental health differ from the present day? And

what kinds of mental health conditions exist in your world?

And don't forget about magic and supernatural healing? If you're

writing fantasy fiction, so you can see that medical knowledge

is just a has a wealth of possibilities for creating

tension and plot points, and and exploring themes. Today we have

discussed the wheels of progress and how they shape your world

building for fiction, including transportation, communication,

construction and architecture, technology and medical

knowledge, and how these considerations can lead to

conflict and your stories, and plot points and themes. Of

course, I could never think of everything. But this is a good

starting place for building a believable and immersive

fictional world to trance your readers. I would love to know

your favorite books and movies, where these topics play a

pivotal role. Share your favorites in the comments.

That's all I have for today. Until next time, keep writing my

friends. Keep writing. Thank you for listening to the podcast

today. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a star

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today's episode are in the show notes and writing pursuits.com

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