Build a Story World

Heresy Cont’d

“It is a fantasy because fantasy is the natural, the appropriate, language for the recounting of the spiritual journey and the struggle of good and evil in the soul.” Ursula Le Guin

The struggle for good versus evil also occurs within a story world that embraces a common value system. For example, in the Harry Potter series, the Hogwarts School

educates children of magical ability. However the approach to the use of magic itself, the attitude of both students and faculty, and the choices made, run up and down a moral ladder of values toward the common magical bond. Choices need to be made all the time.

Unfortunately in our own world there is ample research material available for several examples of people who have chosen to cut corners for financial gain and caused injury to innocent victims. When buildings or tunnels collapse, for no apparent reason, one of the first areas of investigation is to discover whether the materials used were the approved version or a lesser quality substitute.

What about stealing from an employer re use of supplies or time or gossip. How could they become arenas for good versus evil?

Exercise:

           

            Make a list in your own life in the areas of work, or education, or personal situations (or experiences) that have the potential for moral choices.

Choose one from each category for your character. Have her make a decision in either direction for each choice.

Share: Which one has the potential to create the most difficult struggle for your hero?

Build a Story World

Heresy with Psychological Shadows Cont’d

Psychological shadows can be as basic as growing pains to outright terrifying death, even without any external threat. And sometimes overcoming them requires an act of heresy within ourselves, forcing action that instinctively we (our characters) would choose to avoid at any cost.

Also psychologically making the right choice can feel heretical because the character may have to turn away from a long held belief, or value, or relationship, and take steps either towards, or away from, in order to maintain truth.

In the BBC fantasy series Merlin, the young warlock, is hampered by the decrees of King Uther who has outlawed all magic. Yet, his higher call is to keep Prince Arthur safe, so he is continually battling mortal and magical villains while living a lie of his own abilities and his secret use of magic. With every encounter he must struggle with his beliefs and his actions and analyze the risks involved.

Exercise:

Decide how your character physically reacts to a stressful situation. Then put him in a psychologically challenging situation where he experiences these symptoms before he is aware of the situation/dilemma he is in.

What could be the moral consequences of a choice in either direction?

Share: Which moral road will he take?

Build a Story World

Heresy With Impact Cont’d

As you’re reading, researching and building your novel’s story world, look for all the places where heresy is possible or where heresy once existed. Start small within your character’s personal world and then expand out as it emotionally impacts your main character and the story question. Attach your personal feelings from last week's exercise to your character’s situation. 

For a series, maybe book one could include the seed for a heresy to explode in book five. Or book three will settle once for all a heresy that existed before book one.

Chart out a cause and effect graph for both viewpoints, along with a potential timeline for the consequences. Then, if using it in a series, you will have a better sense of where different “effects” need to be placed.

Exercise:

Take your primary setting for your character and make a list of all the ‘forbiddens’ that could affect that particular site. Go crazy. Make silly ones as well as serious.

What if a café refused service if a person did not have a tattoo? What if a prestigious art museum allowed a children’s birthday party (complete with gooey cake) at the foot of a priceless masterpiece?

Share: Which particular incident in your list appalls your character? Which does she think is ridiculous?

Build a Story World

Heresy With Impact

“Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma.” Wikipedia

 

For world building I think this definition can be extended to include any aspect of your world that is its backbone. What is being challenged? What will be the end result—for either victor? Where is the threat coming from?

The dogma includes science, history, customs, morals, politics, economics, geography and finances. It extends from micro changes, as in a character’s perspective, to macro changes, as in the destruction of a civilization. No wonder our worlds can be both exciting and intimidating to build.

And I’m using the term world here as our story world. The movie Phantom of the Opera is told almost completely within the opera house. We have only a few glimpses to the outside ‘real time’ and only where/how it impacts the internal story within the opera house.

Heresy is deeper than the conflict of values within the same beliefs. Almost every major early scientific discovery our world has known came at great cost. The sun is the center of the universe—not the earth. The world is round—not flat, both considered heretical claims of their time with serious consequences.  

Exercise:

           Choose a category that you have been curious about either vocationally or personally. Pick a decade or century and make a list of the issues that became a changing marker in the field.

Share: Which one is the most interesting to you?