Building a fantasy fiction world: cultures
Filed under Tips & Tools on May 29, 2008
Keywords: cultures, fantasy fiction, government, races, religion, social mores, world-building
Now that you’ve determined the geography of your fantasy world and developed its history, it’s time to create the cultures that exist therein. “Cultures” really means people, and includes factors such as races, religions, forms of government, and social mores that define who they are. These topics all shape how the inhabitants of your fantasy world behave–in a general sense–and can help set up the personal conflicts that make for powerful inter-character relationships.
Races
My early attempts at world-building for the Chronicles of Jord were heavily influenced by Dungeons & Dragons. I had subterranean, metalsmithing dwarves; tree-hugging, long-lived elves; and pseudo-European humans for the good races. Orcs and goblins represented the evil races–all pulled straight from the Monster Manual. Even my implementation of dragons followed the entries for chromatics.
Fantasy fiction writers sell themselves short if they borrow wholesale the races and cultures established by other creators. This facet of world-building, beyond all others, helps differentiate your story from others and hooks the reader.
Changing the names of your races isn’t enough. (I tried it.) You really need to examine why you are including the races your are. There’s certainly valid reasons for sticking with the dwarf-elf-orc cliche, but more often than not, it’s just laziness. Take the characteristics that facilitate your story and add your own twist to create something unique.
Religion
I touched a little upon this subject in my post on religion in fantasy fiction. Religion is one of those pillar institutions in any culture, and your world will be that much dimmer if you fail to include it. That doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be central to your plot, or that one or more of your characters is a devotee of a particular religion. Its presence in the world is enough to create ample opportunities for conflict, both internal and external.
Government
It’s unfortunate that fantasy fiction is so closely associated with feudal monarchies. Some forms of government provide more stability than others, but there is always room for intrigue in any body politic. Using different types of governments is yet another way to distinguish the various cultures within your world, whether your story takes place on a national or more local level. I’ve always been surprised that, with the generally left leanings of the artistic community, fantasy worlds didn’t include more socialist governments.
Social Mores
Every culture has its own values, customs, and taboos. Fantasy fiction gives a writer the freedom to assign and explore social mores outside of the context of our reality. This is not a license to preach, however. One of my biggest complaints against Stranger in a Strange Land was Heinlein’s obvious proselytizing for humanism. Readers are quick to discern when a social agenda is being pushed.
Social mores are another way to set up conflict between characters, and to show growth within a character. What one group considers acceptable will not be tolerated by another. Take some time to establish what behaviors are considered the norm, which are deviant, and why. Then be consistent in presenting reactions based on those mores.
Race, religion, government and social mores are all facets that need to be developed when creating cultures for your fantasy world. They each deserve articles of their own, and perhaps I’ll tackle them individually another time. Until then, why don’t you help me fill in any important points I missed. I look forward to your comments.
Related Posts
- 7 Steps to designing a culture
- Building a fantasy fiction world: magic
- Fantasy fiction theology: Robin Hobb
- Religion in fantasy fiction
- Building a fantasy fiction world: introduction
May 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
One of the biggest things I’ve often seen overlooked is style/fashion. Do men shave their heads/faces, or do they let their hair grow long? Do the women wear loose or tight clothing? Do they hide certain parts of their bodies (such as their faces)? Establishing a look for a culture will help immensely when you go to describe the characters in your story.
Geography and lifestyle can also say a lot about the average look of a person. Is the population generally wealthy (resulting in overweight citizens who indulge), or is it poor (and thus there are many lean looking beggars)? Since we’ve already established climate, how does that affect the skin color of the citizens (as well as their dress)? What impact does this have on the overall culture of the society (is it a mixed color society, or is that considered taboo)?
Additional conflicts outside of religion and social behaviors are plain and simple prejudices. Are men and women treated equally? Are those with different skin types? What about non-human races?
Culture is probably the biggest and most important point to tackle in world building, there is a lot of variation and detail that can go into it. What kind of holidays are celebrated, when and why? What is the average coming of age for boys and girls, and are there certain rituals around that time? Is marriage common (or even known)? Are children cared for in a typical family unit or by the community at large (as many tribal societies may do).
By the way, Kam, your trackback link doesn’t appear to do anything…
Lukahn’s last blog post was Fantasy World Building, pt 2.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Good points, Lukahn. I tried to use the difference of styles, fashions and looks between Ythnel and the people of Luthcheq in Maiden of Pain to emphasize her feelings of isolation.
The trackback link just displays the URL to use (in the status bar at the bottom of your browser when you mouseover it) so my blog will recognize and include it in the comments. It’s basically the URL for the post with “trackback/” appended.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Ah, and here I thought it was actually supposed to be linking to the added trackbacks for the article. Never mind then.
Lukahn’s last blog post was Fantays World Building, pt 3