What Do Tolkien and Breakfast Bars Have In Common?

 Nothing.

I am, however, bad at titles. It's Monday, so you know what time it is. Instead of a writing prompt today, I'm going to talk about a bit of world building. I've done this before in the past, but I'm really passionate about it so I'm doing it again.

I've been reading the Silmarillion lately, which I'm told is quite the task. I read it as a kid and the only bit I remembered is what a bummer Turin Turambar was (and that he married his sister) and that Gil-Galad and Glorfindel were awesome. Going back to it now as an adult, I can see what a masterful piece of writing it is and how deeply Tolkien thought about the history of his world. Bless Christopher's heart for going through all of his notes to share it with the world.

Reading it (again) has made me consider the other ways to world build rather than what I do. I do a lot of "society standard" building. I consider the things that I believe are "normal" to a society and what makes them work/run/function and I make a list. Then for the peoples of whatever world I'm working with? I do that for them too.

For instance, The Aftermath is comprised of one continent split into 8 countries. Those countries consist mostly of individual races, so I broke it down to races after that. Then I put in descriptors- things that would make those of a certain race look different than others (like eye color, skin color, height, build, features when aging, attitudes, etc.). Then I would go through fashions, metals, the way they build their homes, the way their cities are comprised, the way they govern, how they handle religion, what days are special to them, what do they celebrate? How do they work? What do they export? What do they import?  How do they hunt? Eat? Are there any specific rituals that they perform? Do they interact with other races in a certain way? How do they learn? Do they prefer practicality? What trades are they known for? What do they take pride in? What kind of jewelry do they prefer? What do they find sacred?

Reading the Silmarillion has got me thinking... how did they get there? I always have a creation story, it's one of the first things that I do, but I'm sure that each race has a story of how they wound up in a certain place and how those places have changed over time. It's wild to me to think that way because I have always taken such an analytical approach to world building- something more character/present-centric.

Again, with Tolkien, it's amazing to see how his mind worked and how he built these huge societies and created these amazing characters and then how they lived their lives and the world changed around them. I just got to a part where the layout of Arda has been changed forever and it is both fascinating to me and heartbreaking. Overall- it's plain ol' inspiring!

So, now for the question: What do you consider when world building? I'd love to see your thoughts and discuss it again in a future post. Expect more Tolkien thoughts in the future. I'm going to be running a LotR D&D campaign soon and have been making my way through the History of Middle Earth.

Anyway, that's the Monday Mood folks. Have a good one. Much love and remember- you got this.