Best of: N.K. Jemisin

Simplicity and understanding the inner workings of things can lead to great success, whether it's in business or creative endeavors. Mercury's financial solutions help businesses simplify their workflows, while Wise makes managing money across different currencies easy and transparent. For writers like N.K. Jemisin, understanding complex concepts and the intricacies of people and worlds is essential for creating captivating works. Her approach to world building in science fiction and fantasy is a masterclass in deep thinking and modeling, enabling her to create intricate and entrancing new worlds.

World building is an essential part of creating a science fiction or fantasy story, but it should not overshadow the narrative. World building is the process of creating the rules, history, and environment of a fictional world. It's not a substitute for writing a story, but rather a tool to provide context and depth. A well-built world can enhance the story by creating unique settings, characters, and conflicts. The amount of world building details shared with the audience depends on the writer's style and the story's needs. It's recommended to approach world building like an iceberg, where most of it remains hidden beneath the surface, and only the necessary details are revealed to the readers. When building a world, one can start at the universal level, such as the laws of physics, or at the planetary level, assuming an Earth-like planet. The number and shape of continents, presence of magic, and other unique features can be decided by the writer. World building is a crucial aspect of science fiction and fantasy writing, but it should not overshadow the story itself.

When creating a fictional world, it's essential to understand its geography and climate as thoroughly as we do our own world. This understanding is crucial for making the world feel authentic and realistic to readers. For instance, if your world includes a vast interior continent, it's important to consider that such areas often lack sufficient water sources, leading to arid conditions. This knowledge will help you avoid creating a "giant outback" in the middle of your continent, which could be confusing or unbelievable for readers. Additionally, the location of your continent near or far from the equator significantly influences its climate. These geographical considerations are vital to building a believable and engaging world for your readers.

Creating a functional society requires careful consideration of the environment in which it will exist. Using the example of desert regions, the speaker discusses the challenges of establishing a society in the Black Rock Desert, which is known for its extreme alkaline dust and aridity. Despite its unique qualities, the speaker acknowledges that this area has seen the emergence of an unusual world during events like Burning Man. However, due to the harsh conditions, they suggest exploring alternative desert locations, such as the Sonoran Desert, which while still arid, has more potential for growth and the presence of adopted plants and fossils. The conversation also touches on the possibility of human beings having prehensile tails as an adaptation, which was a topic of confusion due to the speaker's childhood memories of Thundercats. Ultimately, the discussion highlights the importance of researching and understanding the environment when building a society or world.

When creating a unique world for a science fiction story, it's essential to introduce an "element x" that sets it apart from our own reality. This could be anything from a physical adaptation, like people with tails, to a setting, like a living ocean current, or even a cultural quirk, like a world shaped like a pizza. The element x serves as the biggest point of divergence and adds a sense of wonder and intrigue to the story. Examples of element x in popular science fiction include the spacers guild in Dune, psionic abilities in X-Men, and the discovery of ginger as an addictive substance for aliens in Harry Turtledove's "Intervention" series. The possibilities for element x are endless, and they can add depth and complexity to a story, making it truly unique and captivating.

The introduction of an alien civilization to a world can lead to significant cultural shifts and alliances. The interaction between humans and aliens can result in both parties changing and adapting to each other, leading to unique cultural developments. For instance, in a desert world with a population possessing prehensile tails, they might build cities into giant rock formations due to the lack of trees for climbing. This cultural difference could significantly impact how this world develops compared to our own. The key to creating a compelling first contact story lies in exploring the unique sociological, environmental, or other elements that shape the culture of the alien civilization and how it interacts with humans. These differences can lead to fascinating power dynamics, alliances, and cultural exchanges.

The development of a culture in an unfamiliar environment, such as a desert, can lead to unique societal differences. These differences may stem from syncretism, where elements of past cultures are still present, differentiation, where cultures strive to be distinct from their neighbors, and cosmogony, which shapes their beliefs about their origins. An economy is crucial for survival, and in this context, the desert culture might thrive as traders, offering resources or goods that are valuable to wealthier coastal or city dwellers. The desert culture's history of being economically disadvantaged might lead them to adopt a more communal way of life, like the Burning Man community, which has adapted to harsh conditions and maintains a distinct culture.

Cultures that have developed under harsh conditions, such as desert or extreme climates, have often created unique building techniques and ways of living that can be valuable to more resource-rich areas during times of crisis. For example, a culture that has learned to build dwellings that are well-designed for transportation and harsh climates could offer their expertise to cities struggling with floods or the need for advanced architecture. Additionally, cultures that have adapted to water scarcity could share their water reclamation techniques with areas experiencing droughts. However, it's important to note that the willingness of more resource-rich areas to listen to and learn from these cultures has not always been present in history. An example of this is the interaction between the Vikings and Inuit in Greenland (or Iceland), where the Vikings' refusal to adapt and learn from the Inuit's hunting and survival techniques led to their eventual downfall in that environment.

Mint Mobile offers affordable wireless plans by selling services only online, saving on retail store costs. Meanwhile, Wise simplifies managing money in different currencies with real-time exchange rates and no hidden fees. Both companies offer significant savings in their respective industries. Furthermore, understanding world building requires recognizing that societies and their development are not straightforward or logical. Human nature and power dynamics play crucial roles. It's essential to consider both the physical and social sciences when creating new worlds. In essence, Mint Mobile and Wise demonstrate the importance of innovative business models and a deep understanding of human societies and their complexities.

Power dynamics play a significant role in shaping societies and cultural interactions. While those with physical force or inherent abilities might seem to hold the power, sociological power can shift the balance. Historically, people have reacted negatively to new ideas or practices coming from outside their culture, often digging in their heels rather than adopting them. However, the perception of power can be skewed, with those who speak less dominating conversations, for instance. Understanding power dynamics is crucial for creating believable and nuanced worlds in storytelling. N.K. Jemisin's works, for example, explore this concept by depicting societies where those with seemingly immense power are actually subjugated. These intricacies of power dynamics add depth to stories and reflect the complexities of human societies.

Power can manipulate and oppress through indoctrination, leading to self-perpetuating systems of oppression. This is evident in societies where a minority holds power over a larger population, making them believe they are inherently flawed and only worthy of existence through their betters' sufferance. This manipulation can be seen in various aspects of life, such as water usage, where those in power may waste resources to assert dominance, while those without may be stigmatized for their usage. The Broken Earth trilogy provides an example of this dynamic, where those with the ability to move mountains are oppressed and indoctrinated into believing they are harmful, while those without this ability hold power. Understanding these sociological mechanisms is crucial for creating believable worlds and exploring power dynamics.

Power dynamics can lead to the exploitation and stigmatization of certain groups, even when it comes to essential resources like water. In the discussed fictional world, desert dwellers may face blame and potential displacement as cities face water scarcity. Powerful entities or societies may deflect blame and maintain their privileges, leading to societal structures that prioritize certain standards and roles. These structures may include communal ways of living, unique standards of beauty, and distinct socio-economic status systems. Understanding these power dynamics and societal structures can help create more nuanced and complex fictional worlds.

Effective world building for fiction writing involves creating a deep understanding of the societal structures and dynamics that shape a story's world. This process goes beyond pure imagination and often draws from real-world studies and observations. For instance, observing the subtle ways people interact, like women spreading next to men on a subway, can serve as an inspiration for understanding power dynamics. Writers can learn from each other's techniques and resources, such as books on world building or studying historical and scientific texts. By developing a sophisticated model of how a world functions, writers can more easily adapt and manipulate it to fit their stories. Ultimately, the goal is to create a believable and engaging world that readers can lose themselves in.

Effective world-building in science fiction and fantasy requires a deep understanding of both the physical and sociological aspects of humanity and our world. This understanding serves as the foundation for exploring how science and societal structures impact human life and stories. The use of models, whether acknowledged or unconscious, is an essential tool for analyzing and interpreting the world around us, including in fiction writing. Additionally, recognizing and understanding our own biases and contributions to societal hierarchies and systems is crucial for personal growth and improving the world. Overall, the process of world-building in fiction mirrors the importance of self-awareness and understanding the world around us in real life.

Understanding the intricacies of different worlds, whether in fantasy and science fiction literature or in real-life societies, requires a conscious effort to analyze and question the systems in place. This is crucial for writers to create authentic and nuanced worlds, as well as for individuals to engage in meaningful debates and challenge their own biases. The workshop mentioned in the discussion aims to help writers do just that, by encouraging them to explore the reasons behind societal structures and human behaviors, rather than accepting them as natural or inevitable. Additionally, the importance of experiential learning, especially when dealing with differences, was emphasized. By immersing oneself in new experiences, we can gain a deeper understanding and empathy towards people and worlds that are different from our own. This principle can be applied not only to writing but also to various aspects of life, including journalism and personal growth.

Effective communication, particularly when dealing with complex or alien concepts, requires an immersive approach rather than a didactic one. This means helping others understand by sharing experiences and perspectives, rather than simply telling them how it is. Travel and exposure to different cultures can be powerful tools for bridging gaps in understanding, as they provide opportunities for direct experience and immersion. However, not everyone has the ability to travel or fully immerse themselves in other cultures. Therefore, it's important to be willing to try and make an effort to understand, even if complete comprehension is not possible. Additionally, cultural differences can be subtle and even seemingly insignificant interactions can reveal deep-rooted societal norms and biases. Ultimately, effective communication requires a willingness to engage, empathize, and learn.

Our interactions with different cultures can provide valuable insights into our own. However, these interactions often serve a hierarchical purpose in societies, including our own, which functions as a caste system. People quickly try to establish where they and others fit in this system through questions like "what do you do?" This can limit our understanding of other societies and the world at large. Through building various worlds in literature, I've become more aware of the provenance of rituals and performances in our own society, and I'm less patient with them as I recognize their performative nature. This increased awareness likely impacts how I relate to others.

We should strive to treat everyone as equals and not put people on pedestals based on their social status or perceived expertise. The speaker, Nora Jemisin, emphasized the importance of understanding the inner workings of people and not getting caught up in societal expectations and performances. She also recommended the Murderbot series by Martha Wells and the recently published works of Octavia Butler as great reads. Nora expressed her gratitude for the conversation and encouraged listeners to build their own worlds through reading and writing. Overall, the conversation highlighted the importance of authenticity and human connection.