I was thinking of starting a series on the Holy Worlds blog chronicling the journey of developing a fantasy world. I am considering titling the series "Journey of a World Builder," and breaking down that quite large topic into several miniseries, the first of which would be called "Fundamental Principals." In this first miniseries I would investigate what fundamentals must exist in every world.

And obvious example is God. In fact, my first post would have the express purpose of proving that God must exist in every world. The following posts would prove that this God must be the God of the bible, that creation is the only way a world can come into existence, and then delving into topics I'm not determined on, such as the scientific principals of the world.

The next miniseries would be "The Universe," and would explore topics such as the planet density, star density and size, etc.

Then I would go on to geography, culture and biology, etc.

Sound good? Any thoughts? I think I would start around January 1st, so that I have time to do some early research, but I don't think it would really pick up steam until after March. Until then it might be only one or two posts a month.

That sounds pretty cool to me. It sounds very useful, since I know most fantasy writers (that I know of) like to come up with their own worlds.

Sounds good! I can't wait to see your posts!

Neil,

I like the idea! Here are my thoughts and questions (so far) on it before I give you the go-ahead:

1) You will need to show me a premise, an overview statement that sets out your purpose for the whole series.

2) You will need to show me a general idea of the main concepts that you are going to be propagating and advocating. Not too specific, but a general idea.

3) You will need to post each post as a thread in here before posting it on the blog for approval and discussion (subject to veto and revision by mods and myself, and input by HRMs, as appropriate).

4) This will be your series, but it will also in a way represent the whole site. Therefore, you will need to respect that, as we will respect your authorship.

5) This means that if we think you should exclude a certain doctrine (for example) from an article, you will have little room to argue. We come from a varied doctrinal background, as will your readers. This is a Christian Fantasy Fiction site, not a personal blog. You are entitled to whatever you want to say elsewhere, but there are boundaries here. Of course, we will not be really picky about this, and I am sure that you will understand and limit yourself.

6) This also means that you will have the credit for the series, and any input from us will be merely contributing to your work. You have the last word on inclusions of that sort.

7) Remember that this is Fantasy, not regular Fiction (or even Sci-Fi). Therefore, authors are always allowed leeway. In your series, help us to be realistic, but not earthly, if you know what I mean.

8) What level of detail are you contemplating? How specific are you going to get?

9) How long will each article be, do you think?

10) How long do you think you will be able to maintain this series?

11) How dedicated are you to the publication of these articles?

Sorry about all those points... they kept coming. Don't be scared!

Neil, I think this would be a great idea! I, too, am working on creating my own world so I know that something like that would be very helpful to me. Sometimes I get really confused as to where I should start and it would be nice to have some sort of "program" to use.

Ah! I was looking forward to this.

Overview statement: "A series that will provide all kinds of fantasy writers an in-depth look at the theories and strategies that can be used to develop a fantasy world." Is that what you're looking for, or do you need something else?

Generally, the concepts will be that the God of Israel must exist in some form in every world. I don't mean clearly stated as the God of Israel, but anything like Aslan or Iluvatar, a person who is meant to represent in some way the God of Israel. (After all, a Christless world is exactly what Satan wants.)

I was going to ask if I could do this, so this works great!

I understand, and I will respect the decisions that all of you make regarding what I include.

To quote what I said above "I understand and I will respect the decisions made regarding what I include."

That's very kind of you, I won't let you down.

I understand. I'm targeting my series at what people call "High Fantasy." I prefer to call it realistic fantasy my self. However, the series will contain things that everyone, from writers of allegory to writers of pixie-dust (another poorly named category), will find helpful.

I'm going to be somewhat detailed in the areas of geography and culture, while I won't spend to much time on the sciences. Most fantasy authors hardly use the sciences (terraforming, for example) so there is really not to much need.

Long articles are hard to read, and really short articles don't hold the attention span, so I'm trying to shoot for no more than two pages. (Industry standard pages: 250 words a page.)

I will be diligent and maintain the series to its conclusion, unless unforeseen circumstances (like hospitalization) prevent me.

I'm thinking of one day turning them into a book, probably self published, so I will work as hard as I need to. However, I'm going to be rather busy from now 'till April, so I can only promise two posts a month until then.
It feels like there should be a place for me to sign! Actually, I understand that as the admin of the website you have the right to do this, and I really think you show how responsible you are by asking questions like those. In short, the questions were awesome, and your the best admin I've met to date.

Neil,

From your answers, I can proudly say that your idea is a go! I would be glad to have you start your series.

You will need to register at the blog to be able to post your articles.

I will be eagerly awaiting your first installment here in this forum.

With joy and peace in Christ,
Jay Lauser

P.S. Thank you for the complement, it was very encouraging.

Thank you Emeth! I started work on the first article earlier today. It should be ready for the mods and HRMs in a few days.

Alright. I will make a subforum for submissions.

Alright guys, this series has been completed. It wil now be archived.