This is a helpful exercise, much like the blog story. It’s simple, and can be mentally challenging. However, if you can get the knack, it allows you to craft a world that you yourself would want to live in.
Think for a moment: you’re a king (or queen) of a country. What time is this country set in? The middle ages? Pre-historic times? A more contemporary setting, perhaps? Well, whatever it is, you’re the ruler. Give yourself a fictional name. Give your country a fictional name.
Then, what kind of country are you ruling? Is it blackened and scorched? Is it bountiful and healthy? If so, why is it that way? Is it hilly or flat? Maybe it’s in the mountains, or on the sea, or even in the air. Maybe it’s a station in space, but that’s for you to decide.
What kind of people live in your kingdom? Are they happy, sad, grump, inclusive, extroverted, busybodies, lazy, or obsessed with rubber ducks? Details on your subjects may vary, and customize as many different aspects of your people that you can think of. Why are they that way? Are they afraid because of stalking ghosts, or reclusive because of a lost war, or what?
Think of anything else you could say about the kingdom. Think of quirks and influences in society that make it unique. If you want, you could totally model your fictional empire after one in real life. Are they spartan in nature? Brutish? Refined, to the point of aristocracy?
Really be in the world of your creation. Every kingdom needs a government, right? Well, how would you want government to be like? A dictatorship? A Theocracy, centered around a local superstition? A commonwealth? Socialism? Decide on a form of government, and really get into the details. When are the elections? Who is elected? Who’s the one above the rest?
Then, cook up a short history about your kingdom. Act if you were the chronicler, telling about how three hundred years ago our forefathers fought to the death on this land, and won it from their enemies. Then, they built the kingdom from scratch on the burned terrace of their enemies. Write down a list of important wars, deaths, and past rulers.
Now, I know what you’re thinking at this point (I have a PhD in Mind Reading; don’t push me on this one). Maybe your world isn’t interesting enough to put in a book. Maybe it would look weird and demented to others. Actually, I can assure you that it probably will. But the point isn’t to make a story out of it: the point is to stretch those imaginative muscles, to concoct a microcosm of a larger world.
You see, this is a fine-tuned worldbuilding exercise. Writing a whole world can be tedious, so we focus all our energies into making one small part really good. A kingdom can be really small, but it also can encapsulate the entire world, as far as your heroes are concerned.
Building what you want is a nice way to take a break from building what other people want. Take some time and let yourself create a kingdom that you’d want to live in. Maybe no one else does, but that’s not the point.
Good luck, and happy writing!
The Writer's Rack 