Tonight I took the family to the drive inn for their first experience and my first in a good fifteen years. This drive in had screens fanned out in a circle establishing the rim of the place. As I scanned the various films, all of them silent except the feed to one pumping from the truck speakers, I realized something. All the films were following the same precise pattern to develop the opening moments of the story. In other words, all six films were taking the time to establish the world from the perspective of the viewer and of the characters we would be viewing. This is an often overlooked aspect of writing. We build a world and we either want to talk about it or talk about the people in it, but rarely does this happen in context with new writers.
By context I mean showing the rules of the world in a way that pertains to how the character is presently interacting with the world. The rules of the world impact us every day. I cross at the crosswalk because I know doing otherwise might set me up to get smacked by a car. If I were to write this world building moment I would show me crossing as another person crosses inappropriately and I would take notice of them as they narrowly avoid a car or interrupt traffic–which can also show how a person is self-centered vs. someone who wants to blend in as a rule follower.
The best writing is that which strikes a cord in the reader–a moment where the reader gets what you are saying and is able to reference/connect it to moments in their own existence. World building is bridge building, because you are building a bridge of understanding between your world and wherever the viewers come from and wherever they keep their emotions.
Some Thoughts:
- I heard someone today (a commercial I think) argue about how we ought to keep dreaming when we are adults and not give up on the hope that we can be anything we want to be. It resonated with me because I think people do give up all too quickly. At the same time I think we all need to be a lot more honest about our skills and where we are at in the world. I’m a mediocre teacher, an occasionally decent writer who doesn’t take the proper time the craft deserves, and someone who vacillates between having his head stuck in the clouds and into too many projects/schemes to be truly effective at any of them. There, how’s that for honest.
- Okay, that felt freeing, but now what?