Stories that handle world-building well

[SimonDoom]

I think we have a lot of sci-fi/fans here, along with historical fiction fans, so I'm curious whether readers have particular favorites among stories at Literotica that dive deeply into world-building. Feel free to cite your own story and discuss what you enjoyed about the world-building process, or any particular challenges you have faced.

This ISN'T something I've done a lot of. I engaged in some modest world-building 6 years ago with my tentacle sex story, set on a planet ruled by tentacle creatures. It wasn't that long a story, so, as I said, the world-building was not especially involved. I'm especially curious to hear from those who do a lot more of this.

 

[KeithD]

I've built a world for my GM stories--one in which casual cruising is acceptable and no society backlash is depicted--but I think that's too subtle for most folks to realize it's a different world.

 

[AchtungNight]

I have been praised for my world-building on multiple occasions. For a lot of it, you have to remember details and read between the lines.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I’ve done it a few times, such as in my Cordelia series. It takes some work, but common sense and a mental model help.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

World-building is paramount in my fantasy series. If the nature of publishing on this platform was less casual for me, I would probably delve even deeper into it. Still, I often get compliments for my world-building and imagination. There is a magic system, multiple fantasy countries, all with their own distinctive systems of rule and bits of culture, exotic creatures and beasts, gods and demons with a hierarchy of their own and without black-and-white portrayal in the sense that gods are good and demons are bad. Many things from the series that follow were teased, such as other planes of existence, more distinct cultures and races, and so on.
And I can tell you, it's not easy to keep all those things coherent and believable. You can't rely on readers' suspension of disbelief too much. They will call out any inconsistencies and logical fallacies they spot.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I think this is a really interesting subject and I would like to discuss it further, although not through my own series. I think it would be interesting and useful if we compared the world-building in well-known fantasy/scifi novels as many people here are familiar with them. Let's compare Tolkien, Martin, Jordan, Rothfuss, Hobbs and others in the sense of their world-building?

 

[TheRedChamber]

(Gah, I just wrote a long reply to this and my browser crashed. Here's the shorter version)

I would suggest that the important thing with world-building, especially with short-stories and especially with erotica, is to be really tough with yourself about a) how much you actually need to do and b) how much of what you do, your reader actually needs to know and c) how quickly you drip-feed it to your readers.

For Galaxy A-Go-Go I consciously avoided doing any world-building. He's in generic brand StarFleet. She's a tentacle alien go-go dancer. That's where the readers are going to have fun.

For The Demonization of Humberstone Road, my world-building actually ended up driving the story. I wanted a simple story about demon prostitutes. My attempt to explain where they came from led to a logical chain of decisions which spiraled out of control.

Why demons -> Botched armageddon -> Angels and Demons cut off from heaven and hell -> Souls of the dead also cut off from heaven and hell -> Government sponsored reincarnation -> Millions of dead from aforementioned armageddon -> Every woman of child-bearing age legally required to be pregnant -> Lust demons brought in to control this process -> Infant milk powder shortages -> Hucows

And then I got into thinking about what the angels were up to in all this. The point was that each stage of this design process seemed like fun and seemed to drive the plot forward in ways that would be fun for the reader and certainly were for me. Despite this I got deeply worried about whether or not I was able to bring everything together satisfactorily.

 

[Rob_Royale]

This is something I'm working on. My first few stories dabbled in it but I've pulled back on it, specializing in more character focused tales. Which really works great in erotica. But lately I've found myself inspired by the fiction I'm reading to get a little more immersed in world building, if for no one else for myself.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I’m working on a detective story, quite ‘noire’ in most ways. The world seems quite normal, but with a small twist - demons and such are accepted as real, Pope Janice (yes) has authorized exorcisms to be performed by trained laity and the protagonist specializes in succubi. But, other than that, totally normal.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think this is a really interesting subject and I would like to discuss it further, although not through my own series. I think it would be interesting and useful if we compared the world-building in well-known fantasy/scifi novels as many people here are familiar with them. Let's compare Tolkien, Martin, Jordan, Rothfuss, Hobbs and others in the sense of their world-building?

An author whose world-building I greatly admire is Neal Stephenson. He has an unbelievable imagination, and he creates stories that blend history, science, futurism, and elements of magical realism. Another impressive thing is that he's created multiple different worlds for different novels. I don't really know how he does it.

Snow Crash was, IMO, amazing. Hilarious and provocative. Set in the near future where everything has become corrupted and governments and large corporations all vie equally for power with one another. The hero, whose name is, appropriately, Hiro Protagonist, is a pizza delivery guy in the real world and a master swordsman in the "metaverse." The book is as immersive as the metaverse that it describes.

 

[Djmac1031]

You mean you haven't heard me and Emily blather on endlessly about our shared Angels & Demons Universe enough around here?

Not too complicated; just our unique version of Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons. Rules on their powers. Backstories and histories for many of the major characters.

Oh and my next part will explain the origins of the universe.

No big deal.

 

[karina_jayde]

In terms of my preferences as a writer and a reader, characters come first. If a writer has developed an intricate magic system and thousands of years of history, I really don't care at all if those aspects don't create interesting characters or interesting character interactions.

I also find that the better-written the characters are, the more I care about the world. Characters are our windows to that world, and if the window is foggy, our viewpoint to that world will be as well. That's why the settings of Westeros and the First Law series feel so real and vivid and interesting to me. Yes, they are pretty standard medieval European fantasy, but because the characters are generally so well-developed, the world feels better developed as well.

**

In terms of my own fantasy writing, I did minimal worldbuilding for my first fantasy effort, the Duchess of Lust series. That was basically Scandinavia and the Holy Roman Empire with the serial numbers filed off. For the sequels I have planned, I'm going to do more worldbuilding, but not to try to upend things or come up with something novel. Instead, I'll be diving deep into the respective cultures and duchies of the Empire of that world, to flesh out the individual cultures and try to make them feel more lived-in. More details like cuisines that differ between the cultures, fashion choices that tell you something about the culture, and so on. Not trying to re-invent the wheel, just trying to make my wheel a bit shinier.

Just as one particular example, in one certain region, the person who teaches you an important skill (particularly in the realm of warfare), becomes almost an adoptive parent. So the person who teaches an aspiring warrior swordsmanship becomes their 'sword-kin,' which entails certain obligations and responsibilities from both parties. So it's kind of like having a godfather, but more intense, and specifically based off the imparting of military skills. This in turn creates all sorts of unusual relationship dynamics, as you end up having an almost sibling-like relationship with other people trained by the same swordmaster, and in some circumstances that bond is thicker than blood kinship. And drama can ensue if you and your sword-kin end up on opposing sides of a conflict. And sexual/romantic relationships between sword-kin are quite taboo, as it is supposed to be a bond solely about passing on martial knowledge.

Is it groundbreaking? Not at all. Is it basically like taking the knight-squire relationship and amping it up a little? Pretty much. But it's something that will aid character development and story development, and help it feel like a bit deeper than just another European fantasy ripoff.

**

For my Drowning at Dusk series (and the connected work 'Three Hunters, One Heart,') I just went with a bog-standard heroic fantasy setting. Basically what you'd get in a standard DnD game, a la the Forgotten Realms. Wasn't really trying to re-invent the wheel there, and I think if I'd gone real weird with it from the get-go, I might have lost some potential readers.

Rather than trying to completely re-invent a fantasy setting, instead I just took the general heroic fantasy stuff, and put a few little wrinkles into it, all of which were intended to enhance the characters and their relationships. I wasn't throwing in world details for their own sake.

For example, in that series, there is an orc character named Terakh. He is the son of a blood mage, but orcish blood mages are forbidden to have children. Children born of blood mages are considered 'hek-raath', which means 'One without birth' or 'A soul who should not be.' As such, he was not fully legally recognized as a true member of the tribe. It meant he was exempt from certain obligations, but it also meant he couldn't own land, marry, or fight in trials by combat, because he was something between an animal and a man in the eyes of the law.

I didn't just throw that detail in just to randomly flesh out orcish culture. It was included to show why he made certain decisions later in life, to include abandoning his tribe to serve a holy order that accepted for his talents and who he was, rather than judging him due to circumstances outside of his control.

That same series has a culture of dark elves (called dusk elves in that setting). Pretty standard stuff, really. Elves with purple or gray skin who lived in secluded forests. Nothing particularly groundbreaking. But I fleshed out details over the course of the story to show how a culture along those lines might shape one's life and choices. Parents don't raise their own children; children are instead divvied up into adoptive families depending upon the phases of the moon during their day of birth. Lunar rituals inform all aspects of life, and some of those lunar rituals ended up creating an intense bond between the two main characters. So those worldbuilding details were sprinkled in to create character motivations and interesting bonds.

**

My latest entry 'Crimson Clockwork' is a steampunk/magitech setting. Nothing particularly noteworthy yet (it will be expanded upon in the upcoming installments), but one notable detail is that according to legend, ancient humans overthrew the gods. Worship of the old gods is now banned, which creates a culture that worships in secret, in the form of illicit rituals (and in the case of the first chapter, a masked orgy). So on the surface, an advanced industrializing society, that still clings to half-remembered gods in secret. And the machinations of those rival cults (and those who want them stamped out), form the backbone for the adventure that ensues. And all of the details for those cults will be revealed as part of character motivations, not simply worldbuilding for worldbuilding's sake.

**

In terms of other worldbuilding that I really liked (not on Literotica) is the setting of the series Land Fit For Heroes, by Richard K. Morgan. For starters, it strays away from the more common European fantasy inspired stuff, and has a few pretty out-there elements, while still keeping enough familiar tropes to make it approachable. To go into further detail would spoil it, but it does include some elements that could be considered sci-fi, but are ambiguous enough that it's open to interpretation. Most of all, I like that it leaves plenty of questions unanswered. It leaves gaps, it allows the imagination to fill things in, and it doesn't beat you over the head with clear answers. But most of all, I just really loved the characters, so that in turn helped the world really come alive.

 

[Djmac1031]

As for other people's stories: The Dead World by @seraph_nocturne has some amazing world building, as well as just being a great series.

 

[karina_jayde]

I also asked sort of a similar question while hunting for a story (looking for works here with unusual settings), and got a few replies:

https://forum.literotica.com/threads/fantasy-stories-with-unique-unusual-settings.1605411/

 

[VerbalAbuse]

Set in the near future where everything has become corrupted and governments and large corporations all vie equally for power with one another.

So no actual world building. Just the world we live in.

 

[StillStunned]

My stories hint at a very detailed world, without bogging the story down with unnecessary detail. Just a few concepts and references to give the reader an idea. My stories aren't about the world, they're about the people in it. If something is relevant to what a character is thinking or doing, I'll mention it, otherwise I won't. Just like in real life, we only focus on the world and its history as they affect us in the moment.

 

[Bazzle]

I've done island building for one of my Smoking stories

https://literotica.com/s/smoking-paradise-island building a world on the small island for the inhabitants to survive in.

But I can't do sci-fi for toffee. Not my thing.

 

[HordHolm]

This is very pertinent for me right now. My two most recent submissions have involved a near historical version of the year 1900. This is easier to world build than sci-fi/fantasy in one respect - most readers will already have some basic visions and concepts of what the world looked like 125 years ago. It is also easier to add flavour (my browser is absolutely crammed with searches for furniture, music, what kind of campaign medals a 50 year old ex-soldier might wear, where various embassies were in London and what they looked like, fashion, various real people to reference in passing, and so on).

There's a downside to it to, though, and that is it is easier to actually get detail wrong. I'm waiting for someone to point out to me that the District Railway wasn't electrified until 1905, and that it wasn't called the Twopenny Tube (that was the Central Railway instead). This is just one anachronism of many I've thrown in, one in particular being massive and intentionally futuristic for the year 1900 (that being international airship travel). I've also included a nod to steampunk and Verne with robotic mining machines held together with big rivets.

I'm writing a third element of the stories right now with the heroine solving a murder-mystery on a transatlantic airship and again, the world building is something I'm thinking hard about. Fortunately there's a wealth of information about what the Hindenburg and the other 1930s airships looked like internally, how they were crewed and operated, etc, and it's easy to take that information and adjust it as needed.

As for pure sci-fi/fantasy, though, my hat goes off to good world builders there, because that is starting from scratch, and with all the dangers of cliche to fall into.

 

[RetroFan]

It wasn't world-building per se, but I put a massive amount of work into developing the aliens for a science fiction story I wrote last year called 'Cindy's Close Encounter'.

I had a home for the aliens (within the Jovian moon Europa), based their UFO on the one photographed in Oregon in 1950 and their written language on the markings on another UFO encounter at New Mexico in 1964. After establishing the aliens have an egg-larvae-pupae-adult lifecycle, I put extensive work into studying insects, arachnids (spiders and scorpions), crustaceans (crabs and lobsters), cephalopods (octopus and squid), echinoderms (starfish), jellyfish and even the long extinct trilobites to come up with a design with what they might look like. I designed a colour scheme for the aliens based on the balls in snooker plus, with a black alien their supreme commander, a leadership group consisting of a blue, yellow, green, brown, pink, white, orange and purple alien, with the red aliens more numerous in colour the drones and workers. I tied the aliens to several mysteries in the early 20th century, such as the lost British regiment in 1915 and the USS Cyclops in 1918, as well as a fictional mystery in the New England town where the story takes place.

After so much hard work, I was most satisfied with my creations. It wasn't until some weeks after publication when I saw a girl wearing an old-style Sesame Street tee-shirt that I realized what my aliens looked very much like - the Yip Yip Martian aliens from this show. Still there are plenty of differences. The Yip Yips were highly amusing, the aliens in my story not nearly so much. They are not friendly creatures, are rather menacing and aggressive not to mention arrogant, have no concept of fun or fiction and apart from scientific research and developing technology their only interests are in 'the gathering' and 'the feeding', concepts they are obsessed with. The gathering involves the aliens travelling to Earth in their flying saucer, capturing humans which they paralyze with a sting, then return to Europa and feeding the captured humans to their larvae, ravenous grubs like giant centipedes or millipedes which devour the people captured by the adults with amazing ferocity.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It wasn't world-building per se, but I put a massive amount of work into developing the aliens for a science fiction story I wrote last year called 'Cindy's Close Encounter'.

That's a bunch of good work!

When I wrote about an alien angel on Titan, I used William Blake's The Fall of Satan painting as my visual inspiration, spent ten minutes searching on the name I thought of, to make sure it had no earthly legacy. Another ten minutes finding out how bloody cold it was, and what the atmosphere was made of, gases wise, and finally, took a punt on whether or not my critter could fly. Fortunately, Blake had given Satan a fine set of wings, so I reckon I got by.

What I completely forgot to do, was take into account the much lower gravity, and I got the ballistics of an astronaut falling from a high place completely wrong. It was okay though, because a kind boffin pointed that out. Apparent this bloke was cool with the idea of the alien angel somehow sex-melding with the female astronaut via touch, cool with a flight through a massive storm, but whoa, you got gravity wrong! Well, fuck!

 

[GrushaVashnadze]

At the risk of being accused of $eLf-Pr0m0t1oN, I am very proud of the world I built in Alison Goes to London. Briefly, it is 2050, and under the "New Enlightenment", Europe is ruled by Pleasure, free fucking is the height of chic, "love" is frowned upon, and any objectors to the status quo are considered "Undesirable". Alison Bates, butt-plug magnate's daughter, comes to London to study at the Royal Academy of Fucking. But when she meets Rob, who is black, and he declares that he has fallen in love with her, despite the fact that, under Enlightenment law, he and his entire race are also considered Undesirable, her worldview begins to crumble. How will she square this circle? Can she turn a blind eye to the injustice being perpetrated around her? And how does she, a young, ambitious, well brought-up fucker, cope with the forbidden spectre of "love"?

Young Cunts, set in the same world, is part sequel part prequel, less of a personal drama, but more focussed on fleshing out this world for the diehard fans: How did this "New Enlightenment" take hold? What happened to society as it did so? Who were the casualties, as well as the beneficiaries? And does a free-fucking society have a future?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

An author whose world-building I greatly admire is Neal Stephenson. He has an unbelievable imagination, and he creates stories that blend history, science, futurism, and elements of magical realism. Another impressive thing is that he's created multiple different worlds for different novels. I don't really know how he does it.

Snow Crash was, IMO, amazing. Hilarious and provocative. Set in the near future where everything has become corrupted and governments and large corporations all vie equally for power with one another. The hero, whose name is, appropriately, Hiro Protagonist, is a pizza delivery guy in the real world and a master swordsman in the "metaverse." The book is as immersive as the metaverse that it describes.

I must say I avoided Neal Stephenson due to that exact blend in his worldbuilding that was always advertised about his books. While it's possible that he manages to pull it off successfully, I have rarely seen it done right with other authors. I just gave up on reading a book that features a mix of SciFi and dark fantasy, even if the characters and the plot seem interesting. The reason is that the worldbuilding seems at moments childish to me. A blend of a Roman type of society where high technology and FTL drives exist, but there is also a church that has no god which bans technology for some castes (so there are actual rowing galleys with slaves and all that) Soldiers are armed with plasma rifles and swords(!)
I couldn't keep reading because a good part of worldbuilding makes no sense. Too much suspension of disbelief was needed.

 

[StillStunned]

I couldn't keep reading because a good part of worldbuilding makes no sense. Too much suspension of disbelief was needed.

I hate that. I'm quite willing to suspend disbelief, but don't ask me to pretend people aren't people. The world you describe comes across like something from D&D. Imaginative perhaps, and fun for a few mindless once every few weeks, but not great worldbuilding.

 

[intim8]

it's possible that [Stephenson] manages to pull it off successfully,

It's definitely possible. 100% likely, in fact.

Too much suspension of disbelief was needed.

Stephenson plays with that, with a sly wink.

 

[intim8]

I've had very good feedback on my world-building in short stories, but, alas, not here, and not anywhere I'm comfortable with linking from here, as it is under my IRL name.

I would like to do some here, but the ideas I have for science fiction don't overlap a lot with hardcore smut. Except now that I think about it, there is this one under-populated space colony that gets regular visits from trader ships that I have some sketches for...