World-building is key for speculative fiction, but it’s also challenging. Taking cues from the real world has inspired settings for my writing, and hopefully it can for you, too.
Most writers and readers will agree that the most important elements for creating a well crafted story are plot and character. But while an engaging plot and memorable characters are what maintains a reader’s attention all the way through to the end of the story, it’s a speculative fiction tale’s embellishments that first capture a prospective reader’s attention.
By definition, it’s the magical or futuristic or impossible elements of science fiction and fantasy stories that place them into their respective genres. Magical powers, faster-than-light space travel, alien creatures—these are but a few speculative attributes of stories that leave us fans in awe and amazement, or make use feel like children discovering new worlds in books, or that make us simply think, “Wow, this is awesome!” But in addition to futuristic technology, sorcery, and grand, thought-provoking concepts of space and time, inspiring settings are key to immersing a reader in a science fiction or fantasy story.
Middle-earth. Narnia. Hogwarts. Westeros. Arrakis. These settings are iconic because, yes, they’re intimately tied to the deeds of unforgettable characters, but also because they’re so unique and immersive.
While I was writing my last blog post—a very personal account of my family’s trip to Iceland a few years back and the fond memory of listening to some amazing tales during that adventure—I revisited countless photographs. I routinely browse through old photos when I’m working on a new story or writing project, particularly those from my travels. Oftentimes I’ll discover a unique architectural element of a building or a strange feature in a natural landscape that inspires some element of a setting.
I realized during my perusal of photos from Iceland that I frequently think back to that trip much more often than many others. This is for several reasons, I believe, not the least of which because it involved my wife and I traveling to three foreign countries with an infant. But I also think back to my mental and photographic images of the Icelandic countryside because, quite simply, it’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever visited. And I’m certainly not alone in being inspired by Iceland. There’s a reason that so many film and television studios regularly shoot footage there—its landscape is otherworldly.
So I wanted to share a few of my photos from my adventure in Iceland in hopes that perhaps you can find some inspiration in them, too. (I mentioned Westeros earlier, and I’m excited to note that two photos below feature locales used in the filming of the television adaptation of Game of Thrones.) Or, at the very least, hopefully you’re encouraged to look back upon your own travels, or even towards the unique areas of your hometowns and neighborhoods, to discover elements to help inspire you to create your own fictional settings.
