Building A Story World

Culture (Atmosphere-Part Two)

Mystery writer Elizabeth George says that the details that show a person’s landscape “imprint an impression of a character in the reader’s mind.” The external and internal are achieved through specific and telling details. These are details with a message attached to them, the kind of details that no reader forgets. She keeps a long list of jobs, skills, learning opportunities and day-to-day actions at hand to keep her characters real and grounded in daily life.

I’ve picked out a few from her sample list that would be considered common across cultures and at the same time with completely diverse possibilities. Think of them in relationship to different species too. Here’s a brief sampling of categories she and her students developed: eating a meal, cooking a meal, building a campfire, drinking, doing laundry, getting a tattoo, fishing, moving, building a structure, sculpting, knitting, cleaning, catching a lizard, and going through photographs.

Exercise: Pick an activity that can be both personal and an art form, such as food dishes, or weaving, or photography, and use it to track possibilities through the following culture connections.

Here are three potential culture worlds to explore for communication and atmosphere.

1.         Cross-culture—within the same environment.

2.         Cross-culture—within the same era.

3.         Cross-culture—across time dimension.

Share: Which cross-culture did you choose and why?

Building A Story World

“Physical symbols, whether secular or sacred, are intended to convey intangible truths, moral values, and spiritual values.” David McKenna

Culture (Atmosphere-Part One)

Last week we looked at the ability to communicate person to person. Language and communication within world settings will have a strong influence on the emotional safety or danger for our characters. This is often communicated in and through culture as well where a vast array of influence from the arts: crafts, food, clothing, holidays, celebrations, mores, etc. develop attitudes toward the art expressed, and those who create it. These arts portray the public expression of the people. Music and/or art can become a mirror, reflecting a spiritual alliance. It translates the character’s soul landscape for him. It can also become a bridge of communication across cultures. Sometimes responses come in action, sometimes in desire or longing, sometimes in a symbol. These images often find a ‘voice’ through music or art. When we listen to, or build, our worlds we often find its heart expressed through its art culture.

Or its absence. When we look at our own world history (across cultures) we see evidence of regimes that chose to destroy artistic expression such as slashed paintings, burned books, smashed sculptures, and destroyed architecture.

Exercise: Choose one activity and explain it to someone who has never seen it before.

Share: What was the most difficult to explain?