a frame to weave a story, on world building (2)

Part 1 – crucial & tedious work, definitions

Part 2 – “X” marks the starting point, or identifying procedures

Worldbuilding methods:

Before we begin, I want to share some good articles on worldbuilding that I found helpful. What you will find, are individual attempts to tackle world building. Here are some resources: Chuck Wendig, Tad Williams, Jerry Jenkins, the writing practice, vantange point, the write life, masterclass, world building school, now novel, writer’s digest, reddit.

I’m allergic to info dumps. Period.

I, as a reader, will chuck a book through the room and never open it again for spoon-feeding me information, for shoving my face into data-dumps. That’s a no-no. I don’t like it, and that’s an understatement. There is a stack of books in the shame corner, for precisely this reason. They sit in book-jail, modestly, unassuming, setting on a coat of dust, awaiting my most bottomless boredom to put up with them again.
I want the necessary details to be slipped by me effortlessly. I want subtext, secrets, hints, a literary heist happening around me, and be clueless about it. So please, dear writers, bamboozle me! That is your mission. I like your stories to immesh me, to trap me, to take me hostage.

30st March

writing exercise, perfectly normal & mediocre

Morning coffee swapped for morning tea. I blinked.

First, it didn’t even register much. Blistering hot liquid was just the next best blistering hot liquid, the aftertaste made me do a double take.

I couldn’t have foreseen that turn of events. Really. One sip perfectly fine dark roasted wakey-wakey, and the next mouthfull it was peppermint tea. This was less than ideal. I needed my coffee. I wanted my coffee. The people around me needed me to have that morning coffee.

Chapter 1: scenario green

Chapter 1: part 1

“Let’s deal with one catastrophe at a time, shall we?” I had the feeling Mother Goose rubbed his forehead after a face-palm I didn’t hear. “Is the sample secured?”

“Uh-huh.” I answered the best I could.

Distant typing came over the comms. “Poe is fifty yards to your left, pacing up and down a corridor. And… I see, darling.” I felt his annoyance ooze out of my ear piece. “Shep, it’s a Kong Green. I owe you fifty. You stay put, I’m sending Shepherd to collect you.” Great! One-woman-army was coming to save me, like a damsel in distress.

threshold voids & useless gods

Part 1:  kind of emergency drill

kind of character study: Frank Edwards, Mark Smith
worldbuilding thingy

“Suit yourself.” I smiled at Frank and his innocent curiosity. Meme barked and almost gave away his secret. That bark suspiciously sounded like ‘pity’. He didn’t like Frank much, although I had found him in the very same state of despair. Of course, Meme had chosen his animal appearance to match his not-so-human instincts. Maybe they were too similar. Where Frank was hurting himself, Meme was trying to hurt others. Still, they were consumed by the same brand of anger and hate.

Frank looked funny at Meme. He must’ve noticed. Meme smiled sheepishly at me in the hopes of salvation. “Can you imagine, how I found you?” I started down the rabbit hole. After a pause, I decided not to wait for any answers. “I followed the spreading bow wave of death that accompanied you.” Frank spat the sip of beer he just took into the fire. It hissed.

Devil’s Peak (4)

Part 1 Superstition
Part 2 Names for Blades
Part 3 Sin-eater

Part 4

-Threshold-

Each breath of cold black air cleared my mind. I held onto Frank’s arm, supporting his weight, marching him forward. Frank’s white hair gleamed like ash falling into the rich darkness. One step -or drag- at the time, we made our way up the trail towards the boulder field. He was heavier than anticipated. I had to thank myself for that, cause I had been the one to knock him out. It was for a good cause though: safety.

DEVIL’S PEAK (3)

Part 1 Superstition
Part 2 Names for Blades

– SIN-EATER –

The dirt and the leaves on the trail showed no signs of disturbance. It smelled of balmy firs and two-day-old game trails. The patches of grass and plants stood straight. The path we took was virginal. No wind, no movements, no sounds, besides Frank’s and mine. I almost expected the cicadas to sing, but the forest remained silent. The day lost its fierce heat and power. Even the fir trees froze in the semitransparent shadow of ominous size, stretching above the canopy. It was something heavy and dangerous. Blue, violet, and brown saturated in the shadows but I was the only one to recognize. Light withered faster than I had anticipated.

Fox, Wolf and Dragon (4)

Part 1  HQ

Part 2  Biwako-Ohashi-Bridge

Part 3  Rustling in the Dark

Part 4   The Moonlight Market

The mists of the borders lifted, as soon as my foot touched the wooden planks of the landing stage boat. One way in, the only way out. Felix and Lou materialized by my side.

“Ugh, great! I’m barely dry from the downpour before, but you had to drag me through the lake too!” Lou shook water out of his fur. Poor puppy, he despised being wet. Most amusing weakness, so I made a mental note to buy a water squirt gun, as soon as possible.

Felix chuckled. “Who had the audacity to dip you into the lake, you hairy cookie? Point them out, and I shall smite them with lightning!” To my surprise, he had kept the antlers, never seen him do that with other supernatural entities.

“Smite yourself, you horned fishbrain!” Lou barked and clicked his tongue at him in disgust.

Fox, Wolf and Dragon (3)

Part 1  H.Q.

Part 2  Biwako-Ohashi-Bridge

Part 3   Rustling in the Dark

The sight of Lake Biwa had me in a headlock of a peculiar mix of joy and dread. The water surface shimmered with the natural and artificial magic mist, walled in by the lurking whispers in the trees around the shore. It could have been a gust of wind if this wasn’t a sacred place. The darkness of a starless sky moved. It hopped from tree to tree like a curious beast, deciding if the newly arrived people at the lake were prey or toy.

I heard the beating of multiple wings, the rustling of feathers ‘n claws, probably the menacing clicking of beaks. Several pairs of eyes fixed me and Lou. My skin tingled where the gazes touched me. The shadows whispered in a distant language, in their breaths: a distinct lack of innocence.

Fox, Wolf and Dragon (2)

Part 1   HQ

Part 2:  Biwako-Ohashi-Bridge

Dat: 30.10
Officers: Kuro, Lou Rouxgaroux, Felix Kanagawa

We reached Kyoto by bullet train. Rain clouds made the October afternoon look like an early winter greeting. Two very bored uniforms welcomed us at the platform.

First, their halfhearted attempts to hide their disinterest didn’t rub me the wrong way, but when one of them placed a folded up paper into my outstretched hand expecting a handshake…  I wanted to punch them. Who was I kidding, I wanted to punch everybody. Always. It was a note was from Superintendant Yatomi.

“That’s just peachy!” Lou read it over my shoulder.

Fox, Wolf and Dragon (1)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, 
M.E.L.Unit1;
Date:29.10. 
Officers: 
Kuro (BLACK, han'yo), 
Lou Rouxgaroux (Lou Wolfwolf, werewolf), 
Felix Kanagawa (HAPPY Kanagawa river, river spirit)

Part 1     HQ

Lou sat on the office couch reading his book.

Well… No, he didn’t. He was pretending to read, and he was pretending to sit. Being a werewolf seemingly gave him cat-like abilities to turn into liquid in and on any surface or furniture.

Lou was focused on Felix’s lunch.

How could I tell?

I was eying that lunch too.