Worldbuilding: How I Write

I've been reading fanfiction lately, and often think about wanting to write some of my own... but I realize that a big part of what I love about writing, I can't do if I write fanfiction. What is this part? Worldbuilding. Here's why.

I think that writing is an amazing way to help get amazing ideas out into the world, to change the world that by no means is perfect but also by no means is terrible, that we live in.

Some writers focus on the characters they write: they change the world by breaking stereotypes, by having characters that reflect all of us. They write about tough fairies who are more macho than eighteen-year-old Irish geniuses; monsters who run fast-food restauraunts and sculpture gardens, girls who wear radish earrings. And while breaking stereotypes and making characters who are hilarious, brave, and all-around amazing is a truly powerful way to use writing, there's more than one way to change the world with authorial genius.

When I write, I base my stories on ideas. I've written (or attempted to write) about fairies dancing through interconnected rooftop gardens, young artists defending their solar-glass solarpunk city, girls finding a secret in a library that helps them block the storm that ravages their city. Even if there are no cities with bicentennial storm cycles, even if fairies don't exist, I believe that ideas of rooftop cardens and libraries with power and treetop solar-glass photosynthetic urban-architecture treetop optimistic-future cities... they're all possible. Possible and beautiful and goals that we should reach for. Even if we never can make it to the moon, we'll land amongst the stars.

Wonder -- that's what I want to write and read for. A school for magic, in an ancient castle? A kingdom on the moon while cyborgs and spaceships exist down below on Earth? A girl living among embassies, where next door can be Russian soil or German, and the Iranians have the best beachfront access? A secret steampunk society hiding from the floating cities? One has to be filled with a child's wonder at that. And I hope that we can build worlds and have ideas that continue this wonder and let us have fun while doing so.

P. S. I mostly talked about why I love worldbuilding. However, some of the awesome blogger/authors over at the blog Inkdrops and Raindrops have written an amazing post on worldbuilding you can read here.
P. P. S. Here's an amazing quote by Rase McCray on wonder in writing! This is a large part of my inspiration for this post.

"As readers, artists, creators, and dreamers there's still hope you will be ambassadors for wonder as a narrative force, making it not only a reason why you write, but also a technique for how you write.

Wonder’s haughty sibling, “conflict,” usually gets the acclaim, with many writers insisting that conflict is the essential ingredient to an engaging story. But consider the magical school. Whether Hogwarts or Brakebills, in the city of Ankh-Morpork or on the island of Roke, the magical school is narrative wonder writ large. We chuckle when the Weasley twins sprout beards after cheating the Goblet of Fire’s age line; we long for a Marauder’s Map that can lead us toward butterbeer.... My point is that wonder is the fun stuff, the stuff written because why shouldn't it be written? In fact, wonder often infuses the moments remembered most fondly, regardless of genre—it’s Hazel and Gus drinking champagne at Oranjee.... I write to give readers the wonder I experienced in these scenes."

Read, write, and wonder!

~Citali