Alder's Grove

First, a link: http://www.robinlafevers.com/2016/10/30/managing-a-cast-of-thousands/

I found this quite interesting, and actually useful in working on the cast for my Nano project.

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Now, a completely different topic: Rules, laws, and Taboo, or You Can't Do That on Television (for a totally outdated pop-culture reference).

This comes down to some pretty basic questions:

* what are important rules in your society/country/world?

* how are they (are they?) enforced?

* how are they codified?

* how are transgressions punished?
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What about your worlds? What things just Don't Happen? Contrariwise, what things Must Happen?

First, some more Links:
http://www.shesnovel.com/blog/plot-bunny-novel/
http://www.epiguide.com/ep101/writing/charchart.html
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I keep thinking of all these fun, serious sorts of topics, and then realizing I really want to write about fashion.

Well, then why not? It's on my worldbuilding bingo, clearly I'm not the only one that thinks about it.

And in some situations it can make or break your story.
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All right, so far I have:

• An urban-fantasy post-apocalyptic setting, several generations (probably 2-400 years) after a major catastrophe.
  
• Magic which is limited in scope but, within that scope can be very powerful. It is only wielded by 5-10% of the population, and only about 10% of them have any formal training. Exactly what it can do is going to depend on the story for the moment, as will how it works.
  
• The government of [country] is intrusive, totalitarian, and controlling, although it loses some control in the remote areas. It covers a country approximately the size of Texas. It is not necessarily malevolent but it is intent on being in control.

Places to go from here include:
The Physical World

• Geography: what sort of place is it? Are there mountains? Lakes? Islands? Oceans? Is it flat and boring? Hilly and gorgey?
  
• Climate: How much weather does your main location get, and of what sorts (obviously not an issue on a space ship, unless you want it to be)

The Governmental World

• How much does the government interfere with people’s day-to-day lives? Do they even notice it?
  
• How granular is the government? Are their regional leaders? How far down (state/town/ village?) do the governments go?
  
• What are the leaders called and how do they become leader? (Queen, hereditary; Innermost Circle, wealth-boosted meritocracy; President, representative election by proxy votes).

Where I’m going first:
Family life: What is the family structure, and how did it come about?

• Who did your protagonist(s) grow up with? Is this common?
  
• Who is responsible for child-rearing? Education? Punishment? (are children punished?)
  
• What age is adulthood?
  
• Marriage? Does it exist? How does it relate to child-rearing, if at all?
  
• How much is the state involved in the government?

• Potential family units include:
  
• Polygynous: One husband, many wives. Common in fantasy. Not my fave.
  
• Polyandrous: One wife, many husbands. (See Wikipedia). An option that intrigues me here is fraternal polyandry.
  
• Polygamous: all the spouses, everywhere! Group marriage, in this case, since polygamy covers both of the above options. This includes Line Marriage, a la Heinlein.
  
• Single-parent households.
  
• Extended families as a household (Addergoole’s Shahin, for instance, grew up in an extended family of her mother, her mother’s sisters, and her mother’s mother).
  ...You know, all of these are based on a dual-sexed human species. If you’re going alien… well, you’re well outside of my expertise, but have fun! Five-pointed marriages, anyone?

I’ll note here that what kind of upbringing characters have had will color what they expect out of their life — what partners they may or may not be looking for. Is their family (or their government) going to arrange a marriage for them? How do they feel about that? Are they looking for a partner, three partners, a line marriage to join? It may not be their primary consideration, but even the lack of a consideration is worth a note.

First, a disclaimer:

Normally, I world-build accidentally: I start writing a story and then end up building a setting around it.

This works decently for me, but it ends up with a couple problems, the biggest of which is artifacts of old ideas hanging around (seems like that part in the Matrix where they meet the vampires, etc.): is it Calenta, Calenna, Catenna? And shouldn't that be an initial K anyway?

Sometimes I start with a mood, or a specific scene - Emrys being forced by his vow to kneel for Shahin, for instance - or a feeling. That determines certain things: if the mood is oppressive-government-control, there must be an oppressive government. If a vow forces someone to their knees, then vows have that power.

A lot of times, the worldbuilding comes from a question or a plot bunny or just an idea that appeals to me. That stuff is organic, and sometimes it Tribbles, grows out of control, and is hard to track.

Sometimes, I answer questions, and those questions set things in place, and lead to more questions. For instance, right now I'm pondering how a sexist, tightly-gender-bound matriarchal monarchy (Tír na Cali) handles transpeople (Carefully).
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