Things I didn’t expect I’d do when writing a book

Forged Series: World-Building

Things I didn’t expect I’d do when writing a book

RESEARCH: The rabbit hole of research

Sure, I knew I’d have to do some research. But, wow, world-building for a story set 100 years from now is—no joke—research-intense. I have a folder with seventeen separate files of research topics. Technology, genetics, fault lines, water levels, and brain research are a few of the larger files.

I also have a surprising amount of information on types of precious stones… who knew THAT would be something I’d want to know more about?!?¹

Gathering info was a bit like being Alice in Wonderland; I’d jump into a thread of research, never knowing where I’d end up. Really, it just told me how little I knew about anything… and everything.

So, I made a spreadsheet (shocking, right?) to keep the world-building details straight. I started with the people, place, and culture. I tracked the names of locations, businesses, and organizations, including abbreviations. And because language is ever-changing, I created an entire glossary of teen slang.²

Questions I asked (or beta readers asked and I had to figure out) included:

1. What do the homes and buildings look like?

2. How do people get around in the Urban Centers? How about in the rural areas, a.k.a. the Wilds?

3. What does healthcare look like?

4. How has the power grid evolved?

5. What do people eat? How is it grown?

6. What bathrooms are in public places?

Did you know that there are now sustainably produced concrete options? And concrete that “heals” itself?³ Yeah, so I was surprised by the amount of research I’d do to write a single scene.

If you are also a writer, what is the most outlandish tidbit you have researched for your writing? (And do you think you are on any governmental watch lists because of your search history?)

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ROLE-PLAYING: Having my childhood stuffed animals comes in handy

Okay, so I didn’t actually learn jui jitsu, but I did watch a LOT of YouTube videos to find the exact move that I wanted to create in my scene.⁴ Plus, I needed to know what sensations would be experienced. Where was the pressure felt? How much effort was necessary? What about angle, trajectory, force?

The problem was I was at home all day with just the dog. And I needed to write the scene right. now. What could I do? I had to get creative.

I’m a person who learns best by doing.⁵ Which means I needed to try the moves myself. The dog was not about to help. She was hesitant to come into the room after witnessing my deranged muttering (more explained below).⁶ So I did the next best thing… I grabbed my toddler-sized teddy bear and got down on the floor.

I was the MC, and Teddy was the opponent who trapped me on the ground. Needless to say, Teddy was no match for my superior jui jitsu skills I’d just mastered by watching Mount Escapes videos. That, and it helped that Teddy weighs all of 3 pounds.

I also set Teddy up in my chair, propped up on my childhood beanbag, to determine exactly what part of a person’s head would be viewed through a partially open door.

Yeah, I was not expecting the amount of “acting out” of a scene that would be required.

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Low-tech tracing technique used to create the map of the future North American continent land masses. Bright skies required.

DRAWING: I am an artist…I mean, a writer.

Another component that aided my writing was having visuals of the locations. Knowing the exact layout of a room helped me “stage” the characters and block their movements in logical (and consistent) ways. Drawing floorplans for the school and homes, maps of the island and country, and sketches of the technology were helpful (necessary) when writing the scenes, especially when I got stuck.⁷ Most of these visuals are displayed on the board over my desk.

Luckily, I took basic drafting in high school, so I’m pretty quick at floorplans.⁸ And I’ve taken enough basic art classes that I can do a pretty mean rough sketch of stick figure trees, people, and vehicles.

In case you didn’t believe me, here is proof of my stick-figure prowess. See the trees? People in the boat? Car near the dock? All 100% recognizable. I rest my case.

Don’t worry, my artwork won’t end up in the published version of my upcoming novel. But you can be sure that the artist hired to make it “pretty” will have my amateur attempts as a starting point!

SUBSTACK: Start another platform (and actually enjoy it)

I knew I’d have to self-promote. I figured I’d up my game on Instagram, let it feed my Facebook page, maybe join TikTok, and make profiles on GoodReads & BookHub. But Substack? Nope. I’d never even heard of it before March 2024.

I’m still on Instagram (sort of—more for work and my side hustle than for my writing). I barely open Facebook. I created a TikTok, but mostly just to “grab” my handle so no one else can have it. And I haven’t even ventured to GoodReads or BookBub. Should I bother with any of that?

But now I start my day by opening Substack and scrolling Notes or reading from my inbox while I eat breakfast. I do the same at lunch (unless I remember to bring my iPad, in which case I’ll read an actual “book”).⁹ And I’m enjoying the exploration, the community, and the banter with others. (Thanks, Jack Backes for helping me spitball tech names! The final name to be used is pending the publisher’s input, but I’ll let you know!)

Highlights (since we last took a stroll in a circle together)

Last time, I had multiple to-do items checked off my list to share… Not so much this week. At least not in the world of writing. So here are other highlights:

• Survived a big work event that others have touted as a success. (My standard of “success” was that the only emergency was I forgot to pick up some decorations, and my husband—playing my personal assistant for the day—ran the errand for me. Plus, no blood or tears were shed, so SUCCESS!)

• I have dinner plans this week with a friend I haven’t seen much in the last six months AND plans to go to a bookish event with another local author. (That’s not until July, but still, it’s on both of our calendars, so SUCCESS!)

• I’ve started to tell more local peeps that I have a book coming out in August. Everyone is genuinely excited for me (which is always a good dopamine boost, so SUCCESS!).

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Good Stuff

Interesting reads you should check out!

1. In Olivia McCarthy’s May Writing Updates, she defines how she plans out her books: “by plantsing” — a wonderful description.

2. Maia gave me a good reminder that I will need to read again later this year (and every year after).

3. Carlos Greaves shared his response to an aspiring young writer loaded with great advice.

4. And I joined smallstack. Have you? Even if you are not writing on Substack, check it out—there are LOTS of yet-to-be-found Substacks that might interest you, leaving links to their writing.

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Before you go

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1. My mom would say that researching precious stones is not unexpected. I did have a small fetish for collecting rocks at one point in my life.

2. I’ll explain how I did this in a later newsletter. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out on some of my epic fails with language creation.

3. Solid Carbon and Bio-Concrete are two such forms of more sustainable concrete.

4. But you’ll have to wait for book 2 before you see who in the story knows jiu jitsu and why. Might as well subscribe now, so you can get an early peek at this and other juicy details!

5. Evidence of the previous statement can be found here.

6. See footnote # 7.

7. How do you get “unstuck” in a scene? My other tactic is to do walking lunges—in a circle—while talking out loud to myself. Hence, the dog starring at me like I’d lost my marbles.

8. Fun Fact: my first major in college was interior design. I lasted a couple of weeks. Then I realized that I would’ve probably been smarter to select Forest Ranger. The other students in the interior design major were all wives of politicians with big hair and long nails. (Hey, it was the early 90s, and big hair was still a thing.) I didn’t fit the description and realized they were not my tribe. I quickly switched majors. And no, not forestry or journalism or creative writing.

9. Currently, I’m reading Frozen by Erin Bowman, book 2 in the Taken trilogy.