Tag: worldbuilding

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On Another Writing Kick

Back in July, I wrote about how I was on a writing kick. Well, it seems I’m now on another one. This is a new idea related to the Fun a Day Dundee challenge.

The challenge, also known as FADD, has run almost every year since 2012 and it’s strictly against yourself rather than a competition. The organisers encourage artists to create throughout the month of January, with the month carefully chosen to be relaxing after the chaos of December. I’m not an artist, as we all know, but they let me join in anyway with my text-based work.

Here’s where it becomes complicated. I already have an idea for the next FADD in January 2027. In fact, I’ve been working on it since January this year and it’ll be revealed in December. This means the project I’m currently working on won’t be fully revealed until January 2028.

This far-flung date, however, is more a blessing than a curse. I’m currently creating a whole fictional universe which is being expanded almost day-by-day as I write more text, even if its limits are now becoming apparent.

There’s also an element of digital artistry that fits alongside the text. It’s an incredibly simple design, but it will take some time to make sure it looks just right.

I’ve also made sure there will be an offline element. Many of my characters and blurbs started life in a paper notebook that future visitors will be able to browse, and it’s through writing this that some of the best background elements and details have been created.

I took the notepad with me on a train trip two Sundays ago. Every six weeks or so, I play a game of Dungeons & Dragons in Fife, but it was cancelled at the last minute after I’d bought my travel ticket. Instead, I stopped off at Leuchars, Ladybank and Cupar, walked around for a bit at each and scribbled down some more ideas.

I won’t forget about the project, but I might forget how I’ve filed this entry, so I’ll tag it with fadd2028 as a memo to myself.

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Writing a Character Backstory

On the weekend just past, I had a chance to play Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) after a substantial gap of around two years. This was to be a fresh game that required a new character.

The Dungeon Master (DM) is the person who both manages the game and reacts when a player takes an action. She asked each player to write a backstory for our characters that could then be worked into the game.

When writing a novel, it’s a good idea to write up the backstory of the main characters. This helps to keep the action consistent throughout the story, even if you don’t end up using every detail.

The same technique can be used with a D&D character. Mine is called Kat Herder, and she:

  • grew up in a small town and worked as a butcher’s apprentice
  • left to join the military so she could travel, and became a highly-ranked soldier
  • unexpectedly left the military after 15 years, but kept travelling and taking on casual work

But I also don’t have to think of every detail. We’re playing the game in a fictional world that already has its own story, and Kat simply needs to fit into it.

The DM has asked me further questions to enhance the story, so I’ll be working on that this week.