What About Worldbuilding? #33 - Be Curious, Not Judgemental

I do love a New Year. Nothing quite like it.

I want to kick things off by talking about… talking. Okay, that wasn’t nearly as eloquent as I imagined, but hear me out.

What is one of the hardest things to do when building out a world?

Maps? Sure, really tough. Hands shake, carpal tunnel, ink stains on the fingers. Inconvenient.

Cuisine? Absolute murder on the wallet, right? I can’t be the only one who claims fancy food on my taxes as research…

Languages? Who among us hasn’t toiled for hours in a dark room inventing guttural sounds we can string together into a passable dialect.

Wrong! It’s none of those things. The absolute hardest thing about building a world is listening to how someone else built theirs and not trying to “correct” it.

You don’t know better

Whether it be earned or imagined, a writer, and by extension a worldbuilder, has a certain amount of ego that seeps into their interactions with others who share their interest. For this portion of the post we’re going to invite in my imaginary friend, Dis.

Now Dis is just the complete opposite of me, anything I’d do… we’ll let’s just say he’d do anything I did… just backward and upside. Maybe on fire, depending on the day.

Just pure calamity.

So Dis starts telling me about their retro-future-punk fantasy world he’s concocting, and just rambling on about ideas, looking for feedback. For some reason, people in this fantasy have two extra hands in place of ears, an aftermarket upgrade of sorts. A bit weird, but how would I offer feedback?

Here’s where I need to fight my initial impulse, because as I’m hearing there might be a voice in my mind going: It’s horrible.

But there are two things to keep in my mind. The first is, obviously, not saying that out loud. You can think it, there’s no policing of thought being suggested here. If you think something is crap you’re entitled to that opinion, just don’t say that to the person.

But don’t tell them it’s amazing either, especially if it’s not. Kindness for kindness’ sake is great, but worthless here. Similarly, that initial impulse should be ignored as well.

Inevitably, intrusively, your thoughts will drift toward: “How would I do this?”

That’s right. It’s a natural creative inclination.

“How would I fix this?”

You’re just so special and clever, right? You can save this world! You can make it better.

Except you can’t. And if you thought you could… well

Well then what do I do, smartypants?

Great question! Thanks for asking… wait, that’s what I’m not supposed to do.

Close one there, almost made a mess of it.

The answer, really, is there is no answer. Like oh so many things in life, you just need to read the situation you’re in and feel your way through the moment.

Be kind.

Be understanding.

And, this one is crucial, be CURIOUS.

There is no more powerful tool in your arsenal than a question. If you can string together a troupe of questions, you’re in for a show.

Questions lead to more than simple answers, they lead to understanding. For both you and the person with which you’re speaking. Questions force insight, especially when they demand an explanation.

The simple of act of asking why Dis chose to replace ears with hands could lead me to understand why he made that choice or, possibly, give Dis some insight into his work and decisions.

Maybe even bring some lingering ideas up from their subconscious (did I spell that right? I’m too lazy to check). Hell, your questions might even lead them to figure out mistakes they made and finding solutions they’re happy with.

Now I could be wrong. Perhaps you’re a special sunflower who does this by instinct, and this whole post has really just been a waste of time. That’s cool, and you honestly amaze me because… well

Okay, my takeout just got here so I’ll stop typing now. See you in a month!