MAGIC

The Were in the wolf                                                             The Undead & Vampires

The Beginning of History                                                       Space before Humanity

Alternate Universes and Alternate Worlds                           The Second Heavens

Writers of science fiction and fantasy in particular, but all genres in general including literary writers and storytellers of all kinds may speak of creating a world or universe within which their story or series of stories take place.  Some might simply call it the setting for the story, but really it is more than that because it not only includes houses, buildings, sometimes woods or communities or entire nations that do not actually exist; but people that are invented (after a fashion) for story purposes as well.

For any author who steps outside of our present reality, building a story world that is consistent and plausible is imperative.  This is true for every author, even those who travel on the road, or visit a shack, or happen to be married to a time traveler.  The author needs to know what is and what isn’t, what is possible and what is not, and to some extent, how it works.  In short, they need to build a viable universe.

This series of posts concerns my universe.  I want to share some thoughts on creating and building a world in which a story may live and breathe.  I hope by showing some aspects of my own universe, as conceived, you will find the discussions helpful in your own work, though I expect you will develop things differently and in your own way, and so you should.