World Building: Climate by Diane Burton

 

One of my favorite topics to blog about is world building. Some writers develop their entire world before writing a word of their story. My stories usually begin with a scene in my mind.. Since I'm more of a pantser (writing by the seat of my pants), I'll plunge into the story. My first draft looks more like a script--dialogue and stage directions. Then, I need to fill in the rest of the story. Descriptions, emotions, action. Somewhere in all this filling in, the setting must be dealt with.

Where are they?

In contemporary fiction, we tend to call it setting. In science fiction and fantasy, we call it world building. Same thing.

I love building my own world. My characters can inhabit a starship for the entire story. They may talk about their home world but never go there. A bit boring. It's even better if they go dirtside and experience the world itself--the customs, governance, geology, religions, climate, etc.

Many places on Earth experience changing seasons. Since it's my story, I decide if the planet has seasons. Or is it closer to the equator and experience the dry and wet seasons? Is the landscape lush and green or a brown desert? Does the planet have violent weather changes? 

Or . . .

Have scientists figured out how to control the weather?

In my first published novel, Switched, the hero's home world has controlled weather. Imagine how that would benefit farmers. They could plan their planting and harvesting, knowing the best times. No getting caught in a downpour while harvesting grain. No flooding immediately after planting that washes away the seeds. 

When the first settlers arrived on that planet, they had to endure violent storms, harsh climate swings, that made their lives miserable. No wonder one of the first scientific priorities was controlling the weather.

Not all climates need to be harnessed in our stories. Hey, it's our world. We can make it what we want. In my Outer Rim series, the premise is strong women on the frontier of space. Early settlers. They dealt with the climate as it is. Think about how a harsh climate affects the inhabitants. Only the strong survive. The others leave, if they can.

Since the setting for The Protector (Outer Rim Book 3) is a desert, I used extremes of desert climate found here on Earth. At the time I was writing that story, my son lived in Arizona. He sent a video of a haboob, an intense dust storm, as it blew over Phoenix. Haboobs usually last 10 to 30 minutes; some even longer. I had to use that scary experience with a twist. My dust storm lasted three days.

photo credit: Sonoran News

If the climate is controlled, who controls it? What if war breaks out over which faction controls the weather? Can you see the story possibilities?

As you develop your world, use your own experiences, especially the emotions you felt during the event. I've never been in or near a forest fire. I can't imagine the force, heat, smells, terror of a fire. Even a good imagination would find that difficult. Now, a tornado is a different story. I felt one pass overhead and, another time, experienced a straight-line wind of over 100 mph, while sitting in my car on the side of a road. Yep, I could use that experience. Hurricanes and earthquakes, no.

What about floods? Snow storms that last for days? Is your world a city, in the country, a desert, a water world? Do the people live on the surface, underground, or in domes?

credit: Mars One Project

It's not enough to just describe the climate, the characters have to experience it. You need to project your emotions into your characters and make the world real for the readers.

Diane Burton enjoys the changing climate in west Michigan. Her books can be found at Amazon and other book venues.