World building is different for everyone. Some people like to have the parameters all set up before they ever start to write. Others like to let the world evolve as they write. For me, it’s a little of both. I always did have an idea in my head about what I wanted the Darkworld to be, but there are things that have just naturally occurred as I wrote.

There are also writers who never read fan fiction because they don’t want the vision of their world and characters muddied by what others might envision. There are some who never read their own genre for the same reason. I don’t happen to have those issues. In my head, the Darkworld remains firm regardless of what I read, perhaps because it’s been there so long. I’m sure some people would tell you that it’s because I am so strong minded and strong willed. (A polite way to say I’m a stubborn bully. LOL) I actually like being open to new ideas and getting ideas for things from unusual places. One of the places I get a lot of ideas is Twitter and Yahoo Instant Messenger.

Now, you might think that’s rather odd, but perhaps you don’t know the people I talk to. The friends on my Twitter and YIM are mostly uber intelligent folks. Thinkers. Believers in logic and the inescapability of the impact of emotions on our lives. I don’t think a one of them is afraid to feel or to consider new ideas or voice an opinion. Mostly, these friends are bloggers. Some are message board whores. Others are strictly IMers. Their personalities are wide ranging. Their sexual orientations and politics the same. The one key thing I find to hold true about all of them though… their spirit. It’s their beauty of spirit that is just indescribable. It’s those quirks of personality and spirit that are inspiring to me.

So as I build the Darkworld and the characters who inhabit it, it sometimes just seems wholly appropriate that bits of my friends end up in this world, in these characters. In the Wiz and the Chair, I asked a blogger friend on Twitter if I could use his name. He agreed but what happened as I wrote the Justin Scott character is that I found myself imbuing him with little things I knew about the real Justin. The real Justin is creative and fun, with a deep appreciation for his friends. He likes to spend time with them often and has deep seated emotions that he freely communicates to them. I envisioned my Justin character to have that same deep appreciation for the people in his life.

When I wrote the Pixie Prince, the character of Marty began to take on the characteristics of another of my blogging pals, Marty Mankins. Marty was thoughtful, and helpful, willing to go out of his way to help Max just as the real Marty does with his friends. I decided that the Marty character HAD to be in the sequel even though the sequel to the Pixie Prince is a darker, not as happy story. Then I started thinking about the third book. So far, all I had was my hero. I had no clue who the heroine would be or what conflict they would have.

As I was discussing the Twilight books with people (which BTW, I don’t like – the books, not the discussing) it dawned on me that in the first book of the Darkworld series, I had stated Alexa’s intense dislike for books that portray vampires as the undead. The conflict became apparent to me then… the heroine of the third book would be the author of the books Alexa so hated. I wasn’t completely sold on this until I started talking to Marty about the Darkworld on YIM, and Gooster on Twitter started tossing characters from fairytales at me. BAM! My heroine for the third book, was my feisty, snarky pal Hilly of Snackie’s World. Her sidekick would be her pal Karl of Secondhand Tryptophan.

Hilly and Karl are friends IRL, so this helps to envision the whole thing. Hillary, the snarky undead vampire novellist and her friend Karl, the cynical newspaper gossip columnist. Two writers from different parts of the journalistic world, with a biting (pun intended hee hee) commentary on the Darkworld. This whole thing led to a number of really great ideas for the third book, along with ideas for expanding Marty’s character and other realms of the Darkworld.

So, I guess you could say I’ve been world building on Twitter. My friends are feeding my creativity which in turn helps build the Darkworld. Take a gander at my blog Sunlight Sucks on Saturday and you might find some excerpts about the Darkworld and the characters based in part on my pals. They’re wonderful people so you won’t regret the read!

World Building is a post from: Lex Valentine