The Rules of Realms (or: The Pitfalls of World-Building)
As you may already know from the book one synopsis, the Realm Riders Series follows multiple storylines that take place in various, overlapping realms of existence. Characters called Exchangers can traverse between these realms to collect and exchange information. And despite where this entire project started a decade ago, the addition of the Exchange storyline has morphed the tale into something far grander and more complex than I ever expected.
In short: I have not made this easy on myself.
Forever, I’ve enjoyed tales of time travel, reveling equally in the stories and the seemingly unavoidable holes in their approaches. Still, given that I haven’t come across one time-travel tale that successfully addresses all the inherent issues, I specifically vowed not to write a “time-travel” story myself. And so far, steadfast gal that I am, I’ve kept my oath to me.
Instead, I created other, similar issues that branch both unidirectional time and interdimensional space. Because chronicling the far-reaching implications of screwing around with history is a super daunting scenario. But chronicling screwing around with inconsistent time and the overlapping space of multiple realms? That’s another bough on the madness-tree with a different name than “time travel.”
So, I opted for that.
While this seemed like a fun and intriguing idea when I first dreamed about it (literally), it turns out that the mechanics behind it are rather complex. (Who knew?)
For those of you familiar with the genre, you’re likely already aware that at least two types of fantasy readers exist: escapists, who read for the pure fun of it, and nerds, who tend to be rather scrupulous (read: borderline pedantic) analysts.
Look, I’m a nerd. And, as a finicky Virgo to boot, I use the word “pedantic” in the best sense (or I’d be a first-rate hypocrite). Those fastidious readers hold the bar high for authors, demanding forethought and thorough consideration of all aspects of a work to avoid any retroactive continuity edits that detract from the original world-building in a story.
They’re hardcore. And I like that about them. Even though they’re occasionally scary.
It also means that, as the author, if you screw something up, those readers will rip you a new one in a realming online forum that will haunt you for eternity like a notorious ghost…. Possibly even a poltergeist of infamy, if their stinging blows can be so anthropomorphized.
To this point, while my editor polishes book one, I’ve been working on book two, tightening up the storyline to verify that the seminal work in the series provides a good foundation for the books that will follow. While my beta readers helped me work out most of the bugs in An Heir of Realms, a couple technical issues showed themselves in book two and required correction in both books to maintain continuity. While the edits were relatively minor and wouldn’t have raised their glaring heads until a meticulous reader inevitably returned to book one to analyze it for flaws, I’m glad to have caught them now while I could still fix them.
Of course, I report all of this with mild trepidation.
Mostly because, as I am repeatedly told by those around me, who roll their eyes rather frequently: I am human and as prone to mistakes as anyone else. Certainly, back in my days of teaching at a local community college, I’d pore over my syllabi until I was confident that I’d outlined rules for my class with an iron fist… only to realize that metal hands don’t hold the sand of loopholes terribly well. How to describe the incomparable experience of watching my students poke holes in my plans within seconds of reading them…?! Perhaps I can best liken it to the hectic deflation of an untied helium balloon that careens around the room before finally landing in a pathetic and floppy heap on the podium at the front.
So, maybe for obvious reasons, it occurred to me at one time to write the entire series before the first book’s publication. And I did write the whole story over the course of the last ten years—well, in one realm at least.
When the Exchange became a part of the tale, it meant finding new breaks in the action in D’Erenelle and weaving the storylines together. It also meant doubling my character roster and building out their individual stories in an almost biographical sense.
I’ve written about my obsession with outlines before, and to tell you that I have twice as many supplemental documents as the trifecta of outlines described in that blog entry would be a bold-faced lie. I must have at least twice again that many.
So, while I know where the story is going, it turns out there is a lot more of it to be written, and as I’ve told you before, sometimes writing takes unexpected twists. There is a philosophy in the writer’s world that the purpose of the first book is simply to be published. Given that foreseeing everything is about as possible as general human omnipotence (and I need to loosen my grip a little for my own “sanity”), I’m trying to go with that.
The complexities of this story are actually what make writing it so rewarding. And while I don’t profess genius-level intelligence (as even when typing that, I lost track of what I was writing and briefly forgot the word intelligence), I hope that when the most assiduous readers tear apart my series, the escapists will still enjoy what I, of modest intellect, have tried to cobble together for them.
And let’s face it: fingers crossed that I didn’t realm this up too badly.
-HA
How’s your worldbuilding going? Any tips for the greater collective?
