For today's Fantasy Chat, we have the talented T.F. Walsh here talking about world building.
Hi Cherie, thanks for having me on your
blog. Today I want to chat about world building.
What I love about writing fantasy is the
ability to create things out of nothing. The trick is to make it appear
believable by borrowing items from history and even today’s world.
In Cloaked in Fur, the story is set in
Brasov, Romania in the Carpathian Mountains. It’s a real place. It exists. My
friend actually grew up in Brasov. But where the reality ends and fantasy
begins is with the introduction of werewolves in this setting. And why not?
It’s a place seeped in folklore, and many tales associated with Dracula come
from this location. The backdrop is perfect.
And to take the world building
further, I created three types of werewolves with a bloodline that links back
to the royal kings from the Kingdom of Hungary in the 1300s. My plan was to
differentiate each werewolf kind with names that weren’t too complicated, but
almost self-explanatory. So, a moonwulf is a half wolf, half human. The moon
still controls them once a month. Outside the full moon, they can’t transform.
Now, for those creatures who have complete control over their transformations,
I’ve named them wulfkin. And lastly, the monstrous, bloodthirsty werewolves who
have zero ability to hold back their appetite are called dracwulf.
Of course with any wolf pack, rules and
hierarchy plays a huge part. And the rules I introduced are crucial to the
story and Daciana’s undoing. Plus, they set things in motion for book 2, which
I’m very excited about.
The fun part about world building in
fantasy worlds is that anything new introduced will have a ripple effect on
everything else. And that’s where it gets fun, allowing you to take the story
in so many directions.
What
do you love about world building in a story?
Cloaked in Fur is Available Now
As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to
fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her
pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she
did.
A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s
friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the
beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to
question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret
existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth
about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between
saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.
Paranormal
Suspense With Strong Romance
To Purchase: Amazon / Amazon UK / Nook / iTunes / Crimson Romance Books
Publisher: Crimson Romance
T.F.
Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in
a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark
fairytales, she's always had a passion for reading and writing horror,
paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the
dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.
***
The next installment of Writers4Writers is Monday, August 19th and will feature Carrie Butler and C. Lee McKenzie. Check their sites for Tweets and FB posts to add to your feeds. Just copy and paste and you’re done. 
17 comments:
A ripple effect on everything else - we always have to keep that n mind. I like the three tribes of werewolves. I bet they really clash!
T.F. I like how you described the ripple effect when adding new elements. Good post.
Cherie- thank you for hosting.
~Summer
I think world building is one of the funnest parts of writing--discovering the rules that govern our characters. Even in real world setting, there's so much to draw from.
I loved Tania's tips on world-building. Books that take place in a foreign country are so cool! :-)
It's so interesting how even fantastical settings are often inspired in some way by real life places.
It does sound like T.F. picked a perfect setting for her story. Loved hearing how she created her world building. Congrats on her new book.
Love the premise, had to have a copy! Your world building technique is so intriguing!
Good luck with your book T. F.!
Thanks Cherie!
Great guest post! I love world building, especially adding in the little details. Everything seems normal, but then there's one unusual thing and it makes a huge difference on how everything plays out.
Thanks for the W4WS shout-out, Cherie!
Very neat linking in with the history of the area!
Love the three tribal names, and the story concept. Sound like an interesting one.
Thanks everyone... worldbuilding is just so much fun, and Christine, you're spot on. Sometimes even one small details in a real setting can change everything:)
Great being on your blog, Cherie. Thanks for having me:)
World building is so fun to exprriment with and see where it takes the story. Great tips T.F. and best of luck with your story
The three tribal names are very appealing. I'll keep in mind your world building tips. I think Brasov is a very inspiring place for this kind of stories.
I'm so impressed with all of your authors who are so skilled at world building. I've never tried it but find it very intimidating! It's been great to see Cloaked In Fur all over the blogosphere and I get more interested in it with each post I read. Congrats, Tania!
Cloaked in Fur sounds really cool! I agree that once one world-building layer is set in motion that it has a ripple affect throughout the story - love how you worded that part too!
That's some great world building by the sounds of these werewolves, their lineage, and what they can do.
World building can be fun. I love the idea of having three different werewolf species.
Post a Comment