Creating Believable Worlds

What does good fiction do? It transports the reader out of his world and into someone else’s. Sometimes that world is fantasy, sometimes it’s not. In either case, that world has to be believable or else the reader will roll his eyes, snap the book shut, and move on to something else.

So, how do we create strong, tangible, and believable worlds that will make the reader forget where he is?

Short answer: Research.

Long answer: throughout the years, I’ve heard varying opinions about writers doing research for their novels. Some have said this: “Of course a novelist should do research. Otherwise how can she know what she’s writing about?” Let’s call these people Team Yay. Often, people in Team Yay spend a good amount of time looking up the things they aren’t sure about or just plain don’t know. Some spend more time doing this than others, but when they’re done they are armed with a good amount of info to add to their stories.

Others have said this: “Why should you do research? It’s fiction! A novelist just makes it up as she goes.” Let’s call these people Team Boo. Often, people in Team Boo don’t want to get mired down in a bunch of potentially useless facts. As in, they wonder what’s the point of knowing a detail that never gets used in the story—if they happen to come across something they need to know, then they’ll will look it up. They are more interested in getting the story written rather than spending too much time gathering stuff they won’t need.

Which team are you in, Yay or Boo? Why? I think neither team is wrong as long as the information you include in your story is accurate. Sometimes a writer knows so much about the story that research isn’t necessary. But that writer still needs to pay attention to the details, and if she comes across something she doesn’t know, I think it’s imperative to research thoroughly. A cursory glance at info can result in a misunderstanding, which can lead to incorrect information.

I think anyone who regularly reads this blog knows I’m in Team Yay. Why? Because I need to have all my information up front before I write a single word. I also think anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I do *way* more research than necessary. I do this because I never know what I’m going to need, and I like to have a lot to choose from. I’ve also discovered that sometimes research can change my story’s direction. I may think it needs to go in a particular direction, but then discover something that makes that impossible. So, yeah, I’m all about the overabundance of research. :)

But what if you’re writing fantasy or science fiction? Those worlds are mostly made up by the author, and the rules and facts in real-world fiction may not apply. So, how do you create a solidly believable world in those genres?

Well, you still need to do research. There are some rules that apply to the universe that you just can’t get around, like gravity. Or the effects of massive heat or massive cold, the weight of snow and ice, which kinds of stones can create a spark, etc. You won’t need to do as much research with these genres, but you’ll likely need to do some. If you want these details to be different from what we know on Earth, then you’ll need to have a reason for it. For example, if everyone walks on the ceiling instead of the floor, then we need to know why. Saying ‘because I said so’ isn’t going to cut it for the reader (that only works for moms).

For the rest of your world, you need to sit down and define it. How does it work? What are its elements, weather patterns, levels of technology, etc? What holds it together and what can pull it apart? You need to sit down and create the rules that your world abides by, and then hold consistently to them as you write. Depending on where your story takes place, this may take as much time (possibly more) as it takes to research real-world fiction. But if you do this in earnest, you’ll end up with a rich and tangible place to transport your reader.

Researching The Agent Of Your Dreams

Okay, so, you’ve written your novel. You’ve revised it until it’s so strong that you can drop a two ton piano on it and not even make a dent. And you’ve polished until it’s so shiny that it’s almost blinding, and no agent or editor will be able to ignore it. What’s next?

Research.

Whether you are looking for an agent or a publishing house, you need to research all of them so you know where to submit your work. And there are lots of places where you can do this.

Agent Query – This is a compilation of agents, outlining what each agent represents, what he/she is looking for, professional history, and where to send a query letter.

Query Tracker – This is similar to Agent Query, except it also has a tool to track your submissions. And, it has average response times for each agent. If you take out a subscription ($20 per year), then you get to see raw data, which shows you the exact response times for each query rather than averaging them all together. I found this information invaluable when I was managing my queries and submissions.

Guide to Literary Agents – This blog has fantastic announcements about new agents, promotions, moves, interviews, and the like.

Publisher's Marketplace – This site has information on both publishers and agents, though it’s sometimes hard to navigate. But if you’re looking for information on a specific editor/agent, or publishing house/agency, the search functionality will almost always find it for you. There is an added feature on this website that will show you who represented a particular book. It requires a subscription, though, which is $20 per month, and you can subscribe on a month-to-month basis. I made a list of books I loved, got a one-month subscription, and did massive searches on those books for that month. It helped me to create a great list of agents to query. It also showed me what else those agents had sold, how recent the last sale was, and what kinds of books they were.

JacketFlap – This site is a great resource for publishing houses. It contains contact info, website info, and submission guidelines. It’s also a community, and a way to keep in touch with other writers.

Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market – This is a book that contains info on both agents and publishing houses. You will be able to find contact information, submission guidelines, websites, and more. You can also sign up for a monthly newsletter from the website, and get updates that happen throughout the year.

The Children’s Book Council – This is the nonprofit trade association for children’s book publishers. Its members are publishing houses, and the list contains information on what each of them publish, how many titles they publish a year, and whether they accept unsolicited manuscripts. The list also contains contact information, and links to websites.

Literary Rambles – This blog is run by one person, Casey, who has done her own research, and shared it with the world. She has many excellent articles on agents, interviews, links to various industry websites, and a list of what’s coming up next on her blog. This is an excellent starting place for your research.

Cynsations – This blog is run by Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of TANTALIZE, ETERNAL, and other great books. She has amazing interviews with authors, editors, and agents, and lots of other great stuff. I have spent countless hours perusing the archives, and always walk away feeling smarter than I was before. This blog is a definite must-read.

What Casey or Cynthia don’t have, you can find on your own by doing a quick search of the internet. For example, entering the key words “Andrea Cascardi agent interview” will get you a list of interviews that Andrea Cascardi has given recently. You should also keep a list of books you’ve read and loved, then look up who published or represented them.

Since I write fiction for kids and teenagers, all of my research has been focused on places with that kind of information. But many of these resources include adult fiction and non-fiction.

Research is incredibly time consuming, and sometimes mind-boggling. But it’s a necessary evil. It will give you an edge when you are able to tell that agent/editor why you are sending her a letter and not someone else. Which brings us to the next step: the query letter.

But that’s for my next post. :)

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Plot Summary: Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

The premise of this novel is so powerful that, while I was reading, I had many an urge to fill every nook and cranny of my kitchen with non-perishable foods. Probably because I’m a mom, and just the idea of my family being in that situation makes me want to prepare for it. :)

As for the book itself, I enjoyed it. Most of the characters were interesting, some of the messages were a bit one-sided, but it’s still a very powerful story.

As with all my book discussions, there are SPOILERS below.

After finishing this book, I read several reviews that slammed the author on her lack of research in science, incomplete portrayal of religion, and flat characters. So, here’s my take on things.

First, let’s look at a few characters that, for me, really stood out. The rest of the characters weren’t nearly as interesting. I think they could have been if we’d seen more of them. But, as it is...

Miranda: a typical teen pushed into an atypical situation – natural events on the scale of the apocalypse. Some teens, when put into extreme situations, will grow up quickly and do what they need to do to help out. Especially in matters of survival, which is what this story is all about. Miranda doesn’t. Some may see that as selfishness, others may see it as denial and wanting to hold on to some semblance of normal. I think the second is what the author was going for, but it didn’t always come across that way. Still, I liked her and enjoyed seeing her grow as a person into doing everything she could to help her family survive.

Mom: I read a few reviews that really criticized the author for turning the mom into a snarling hoard-monster. I can completely understand why she kept food and supplies for only immediate family. Mom Instincts kicked in, and she *had* to provide for her family. That meant she would go without, which she did, and so would everyone else. She’s responsible for her family, no one else is. If her family starves, it’s her fault for not preparing better. That’s a huge burden to bear, and not many would handle it well. Mom didn’t, but her heart was certainly in the right place. Because of this, I thought she was very realistic, if not completely likable.

Megan: Initially, she was annoying, but clearly Miranda’s friend. After one particular scene, however, I hated her. It was the scene in the lunchroom, after Miranda has asked Megan to eat instead of giving half of her food away to the other kids. Megan looks right at Miranda, then gives away *all* of her food. That, plus her continuous holier-than-thou attitude made me wonder why Miranda was even friends with her. I can understand friendship loyalty, but this went too far. Megan went too far.

This leads me to the religious aspect of the book. Many reviewers have said this book paints a one-sided view of Christians. And, I have to say that I agree. The only Christians portrayed are Megan, who I’ve already discussed, and her pastor, who is a selfish extremist. There are Christians in this world who are like this. And there are other Christians who are the opposite. In this kind of story, I’d guess there would be many Christians doing good things, as well as the ones like Megan and her pastor. There would probably be atheists and agnostics converting as well, because that can happen in seriously scary times like this. I think a rounder representation of Christianity would have made the story deeper and richer, because I’d think everyone would be considering his immortal soul...even if he hadn’t believed in it before.

The last thing left is the science. This actually gave me great pause. When the meteor first hits the moon, the effects are instantaneous. Now, I’m not a scientist, or an expert, but I do know a little something about how things move in space. If the moon were hit so hard that it shifted orbit, I don’t think we’d see the effect immediately. There’s a lot of space in space, so, even if something is moving along at a good speed, it still takes a long time to get from point A to point B. Also, once something is moving, it doesn’t stop.

In this story, the meteor hitting the moon is described as pushing the moon sideways, and then it got sort of bigger. Essentially, it shifted into a closer orbit over the period of a few minutes. Realistically, we would see these changes take place over a few days, not a few minutes. If the moon was moving so fast that you could see it get closer to Earth in just a few minutes, that means it’s moving at a seriously fast pace. Which means the impact would have been so intense, large chunks of the moon would have come off. Plus, once it got that much momentum going, it’s not going to stop. It would crash into Earth, effectively ending Life As We Know It.

I do think the author should have made this more realistic. It would have made the premise that much more powerful. And, considering how powerful it already is, can you imagine how amazing the story would have been? Off the charts. Just goes to show how important research is.

Still, this is a story that’s tough to put down. I wanted to know how in the world they were going to keep on going with a disaster like this. I’m glad to say that the ending wasn’t fairy-tale-like, yet had a glimmer of hope that left me with a smile on my face. Good book.