It’s a wondrous fantasy land with powerful magic and warring kingdoms. Spaceships are still piloted by humans, though, because using super accurate computer systems in life threatening situations is just no fun. Ignoring the Implications of Technomagic The Expanse: Humans have colonized the solar system. Have humans been brainwashed into thinking history went differently than it actually did? If conquered groups had supernatural aids like magic, protective deities, or alien technology, why did they lose? 3. If you want the supernatural to have existed in for all of history without changing the world, you’ll need more than a hand wave to explain it. If elves arrived fifteen years ago, the biggest shock will have worn off, but humans could still be adjusting. You can put the supernatural into a familiar contemporary setting by making it a recent arrival. If it hasn’t, your world will feel flat instead of rich and deep. So why would history be exactly the same if supernatural elements have existed since life began? If the supernatural is powerful enough to alter your world, it’s powerful enough to change the course of history. The elves are protecting parks founded by Teddy Roosevelt, the goblins participate in the human-led Olympics, and no one has thought to design homes that prevent pixies from nesting in the walls.Įvery spec fic storyteller knows that history is easily altered by a few time travelers. No one questions why none of these creatures have nations of their own. Humans go about their day-to-day business, used to all the other creatures and their habits. The elves have tied themselves to trees to protest the sale of national parks, the goblins caused another riot after their favorite football team lost, and pixie infestations are on the rise. Why don’t they alter any wars before that? Umm… oh hey look at the pretty dragons! Giving Supernatural Elements No History His Majesty’s Dragon: Humans ride dragons into battle, altering the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Think about how the details of your world would impact those living there. Make guesses about how culture is changing today and project them into the future. Instead, question the parts of culture that you take for granted. If you write other-world characters that live by your culture, you’re wasting an opportunity to set your world apart and creating a society that’s just unrealistic. In the future, those vastly different cultures could melt together. Not to mention that culture is different around the world. It changes because our lifestyles change, our values change, and we get caught up in new and interesting things. That’s because, like everything else, culture changes. You wouldn’t have characters in a vastly different world listening to today’s pop songs, would you? Not unless you had a good world-driven reason. Yet people still light candles and eat birthday cake every year, women change their names after getting married in a white dress, and business people shake hands when meeting for the first time. Countless scientific discoveries have brought us amazing technological advances like faster than light travel and nanites that repair wounds instantly. It’s a bazillion years in the future, and humanity is spread across the galaxy. Leaving Culture the Same Battlestar Galactica: Humans have lived for untold eons in a distant system, but by coincidence, they have a Secretary of Education that can inherit the Presidency. Let’s take a look at some of these repeat offenders.ġ. These are mistakes of oversight: the worldbuilder just didn’t remember to think about everything critically. But a few mistakes persist even in worlds built with considerable time and effort. Most worldbuilding mistakes we see over and over again come from lazy storytellers who create worlds as an afterthought.
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