Writers Creating Worlds

by Bert Carson

J.R.R. Tolkien - Jim Butcher - Edgar Rice Burroughs

The difference between creating worlds and describing imaginary places is as great as the difference between Hobbits and Orcs, Wizards and Ghosts, Chimps and Elephants.

You cannot crawl into my imagination and see what I'm imagining because it isn't fleshed out, and it changes with every breeze, every whim, every vague notion.  But if I create a world, complete in every detail, and live there to make sure everything works as I intended, then, and only then, can I can tell you about it.  When I do that, you'll know the world I've created as well as you know middle earth, the world of Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, and the realm of Tarzan, King of the Apes.

Creating worlds is no easy task.  A writer must layout and then walk his world, meet its inhabitants, inhale the air, eat the food... in short, a writer must live in the world he or she has created before it can be shared.
If a writer does that, then, and only then, can they effectively share their world with us, because then they are sharing a world, not offering a cheap, one dimensional description of a whimsical, made-up place. Sharing created worlds is simply describing the experience of living in one.

It takes guts to build a world and skill to share it.  It's not an overnight undertaking.  It is a serious endeavor that demands dedication and effort.

PS - Before I hit 'publish' on this post I checked my email and found a request by Amazon to review The Dresden Files Season One - I gave it five stars and said - It's amazing how many one season series I have fallen in love with over the years.  So many that its fair to say that my standard of appraisal isn't that of those who have the power to give, or take the life of a series.  I like depth of character, and I like consistency in the story line.  I love great acting.  I look for credibility and accuracy in details and the overall presentation.  Sci-Fi isn't normally a genre I choose, because it usually lacks all those things.  The Dresden Files is a major exception.  It gets the highest marks in every one of my areas of judgement.  Now, with one episode left to watch, I'm wondering if I'll ever find another series to equal it.  However, I'm the eternal optimist - I'll keep trying.  As for you, if you haven't seen The Dresden Files, don't miss it.  Then buy Jim Butcher's books, both the Kindle and the whispersynced versions - you won't regret it.  If you do have a regret, it will be that those with the power to pull the plug on a show of this caliber, did.

You probably know the works of Tolkien and Burroughs.  If you aren't familiar with the books of Jim Butcher, here is a link to his Amazon author page - enjoy.  

Now, create a world and take us there.

I am  learning the art of audio narration by recording each chapter of Lessons Learned.  I'd appreciate your thoughts on both the book and the narration: 

The Audio Files Are Here

Bert Carson