Worldbuilding - Races

Okay, here you have a brand new world, with towns and everything, but no one to populate it. Another important element in worldbuilding is creating people, your races. Good development of races can add flavor to any story. One very important tip, though: try to avoid clichés. This page isn't going to focus on individual charactarization, since that is not exactly worldbuilding (not that much of this is). I'll have a characterization help page up elsewhere.

Most likely, one of your races will be human. If you don't use humans, it becomes harder for the reader to relate to the story, and to compare it to his or her own life. If you are dealing with completely alien races, it also becomes harder for you as a writer to describe things a completely alien race deals with, because alien races don't have human experiences. Their methods of comparison are different from those of humans. It usually helps to have humans in your story, whether or not they're the main characters, though you don't have to follow this method, especially if you can manage just fine without it. As for developing humans, simply place them in the time period you are working from, and you're set. Humans are probably the easiest to develop, because we are human.

Some other common fantasy races include elves, dwarves, halflings (or nelwyns, hobbits, or kender, depending on which story you're looking at), centaurs, fairies, goblins, ogres, and various other mixed and mythical races. Here's where the "avoid clichés" advice is key. Cliché is not necessarily a bad thing. However, not every elf needs to be tall, slender, and effeminate, and not every dwarf needs to be stocky, gruff, and carry an axe. If you write elves and dwarves into your story, write the clichés well, or write them the way you want to see them. Toy around with the connotations of each race's name, and then develop your own style to create a new connotation.

You aren't limited to basic stock fantasy characters for your story, either. You are perfectly free to create your own races. After all, you are the creator in this world. What populates it is entirely up to you and your story idea, not to anyone else (except, maybe, your editor, but we won't go there). When you create a race, you have to try to make it plausible. One of the easiest ways to create a race is to take an existing fantasy race and change some of the characteristics to fit what you want or need. For example, you can have elves, but they can be mortal, and short like leprechauns. Maybe they have blue skin, or work in mines. Or maybe you have ogres who look like large bears, rather than trolls. Or, perhaps, your goblins prefer living in the bottoms of lakes, and have gills, and can claw out the bottoms of boats to sink them. It is completely up to you. Another way to create races is to take humans and change characteristics, or mix them with animals or plants. For example, you can have a clan of horse-men who have hooves instead of hands, and horse heads. Or you could have falcon-people who have large wings like birds, but have the bodies of humans. Again, it is up to you. Let your imagination run wild.

How does this connect to the worldbuilding? Well, each race needs a place of origin, a native land. First, make a list of the races you wish to include in your world. Try not to make it too long, unless your world is deeply imbedded in fantasy, where anything can happen. NBC's The Tenth Kingdom is a good example of this. Once you have a good list of your races, decide where each one comes from. Take into mind their basic characteristics. A falcon-race is not likely to be an ocean-faring race, unless they're from steep-cliffed islands, or joined a different ocean-faring race. Likewise, mermaids aren't likely to be found in the mountains (unless there is a large lake or sea there that can support their lives). Traditional elves aren't likely to be from the mountains either, and traditional dwarves aren't usually forest-dwellers. Thick-furred creatures don't usually roam deserts, and thin-skinned creatures don't live in the tundra. Be careful where you put your races. If they're out of place, you're likely to lose an audience.

Geography Cities, Towns, and Villages Races
Languages Nomenclature (Naming) Religions
Cultures Music and Storytelling Non-sentient Creatures
History Magic Rules

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