Rubber Cactus' Useful Stuff- Fantasy Worlds

Hi there guys!

I'm back to offer some more useful factoids and tidbits. Today's tidbit is about Fantasy Worlds; what they are and how to create a successful, imaginative and yet relatable fantasy world.

DISCLAIMER:

Now before I begin I just want to note that I'm not claiming to be the master of creating fantasy worlds or whatever, I'm just offering my advice based on currently existing fantasy worlds and using the one I am currently working on developing as a helping guide.

What is a fantasy world?

A fantasy world is a world where abilities such as magic or fictional creatures exist and is not to be confused with a simply fictional world. A fictional world is a world where no fantastic creatures or elements exist but is rather a fictional tale and are often based on history or governments. Fantasy worlds can range from medieval to modern to futuristic. Some worlds can be parallel to our world, exist within our world or can be separate from our own. It all depends on what you are going for.

Many fantasy worlds draw heavily on real life geography, history, sociology and/or mythology and folklore and many fantasy worlds, despite their fantastic settings, sometimes reflect on issues of the times in which they were written.

How to Develop a Successful Fantasy World

The Setting:

Before we begin, the really successful fantasy worlds don't just pop up over night, they take a lot of time and planning. Most them are based on a specific myth, folklore or geographic setting although your imagination works just fine as long as you have a solid idea; it all really depends on you. Once you have an idea in mind you can begin to flesh it out. What is it's name, what are the main geographical regions, what does it look like? Are there cities?

I'll go ahead and use a world based heavily off of Jewish and Christian Myth and folklore as an example. The world, known as the Garden of Eden, is the world of angels. The Garden of Eden stretches out amongst seven regions (heavens) with varying landscapes (from deserted to urban), have Hebrew names and play home to five different Cathedrals. Cathedrals in this story are actually large cities with enormous gothic buildings and homes where angels live, work and play. The Red Cathedral, home to the fallen angels and prisoners, was based off an animated short film which you can watch here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVkHlTg-ZTw

The Inhabitants:

Now that you have a setting, what about the people who live in this world? Does magic exist in your world? How do people dress? What do they speak? Are they human or some other species? Are there fantastic creatures? What kind? How do the residents interact with magic or magical creatures in their world? Are there any sports in your world?

For my story, I decided to make all residents angels who have wings but are capable of retracting and extracting them. Healing powers and spells (known as miracles or curses) are abilities every angel is born with. Angels in this world often dress in robes (any color) but young angels wear strictly gold and white. Angels are mostly multi-lingual but the most common language is english as it is the most prevalent in the modern speaking and literature world. Creatures such as werewolves, vampires, demons, fairies, giant deer (keresh), giant lions (tigris), the golem, the leviathan, the riders of the apocalypse and dragons are some of the creatures exist in this world as they all exist in Jewish and Christian mythology and folklore to some extent. Archery, swordplay/fencing, and firearms are prevalent weapons.

Religion and Government:

Does your world have many gods or one, what is your national religion? How important is religion in your world? What kind of government does your world have? Does your world have a government? How are laws created and enforced?

Eden is ruled by six separate gods and religion is crucial. The government is run by five angels, the Dominus Corpus, who retrieve orders from the gods and the Demos Corpus who copy them down and make them law. The watchers, skilled archers and fighters, enforce laws. The Dominus Corpus are the only angels ever granted immortality and are never replaced. All government leaders are chosen by the gods although they can be replaced if the leaders resign or are forcibly removed by the gods on the people's demand.

Obviously my world isn't perfect or professional but it's pretty fleshed out and hopefully made a good example that can help a bit. Try to answer these questions on your own with your own fantasy world and remember that inspiration can come from anywhere from movies to music to myths to folklore.

I hope this helped and have a lovely evening!

-Cactus