About The OWSCyCon Fantasy Blog Tour
As part of the OWS CyCon 2019, we asked our fantasy authors to write about what makes their world, or the world of another author unique. Each of them has come up with very different answers which reflect their writing processes, their research methods, and their views on world building.
We hope you find these insights interesting, and that they maybe give you some new things to think about when you pick up a new book, or even start writing your own.
After reading this post, be sure to check out the responses from our other fantastic writers: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/fantasy-events-at-cycon/fantasy-blog-tour-what-makes-an-authors-world-unique/
What Makes an Author’s World Unique?
By Kayla Krantz
Worldbuilding is an important part of every book, regardless of the genre. Some genres, however, such as dystopia, fantasy, and science-fiction may rely more on worldbuilding than others to establish their story, but it is the way that an author approaches the world that they have created for their characters that determines the entire feel of their book.
For example, what would Harry Potter be like without Hogwarts?
Different approaches to worldbuilding give authors a chance to explore similar concepts with their own thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. The idea of angels versus demons has been done to death on television and in books, and yet, no two series are quite the same. This is because the author creates a world that reflects themselves.
Worldbuilding helps us to understand the characters by seeing how they must live their lives day-to-day. Characters aren’t going to live the same way in a dystopia novel that they will in a contemporary after all so even if you pull the same characters out of one book and plop them into another, they will be different for the experiences around them.
Witches and elemental magic are very, very popular topics for books in the world of fantasy. Ever since Harry Potter boomed onto the literary scene there have been tons of books written like it, but never the same. A lot of people wonder what it is about books that make them unique, what makes them stand out?
Worldbuilding is the number one answer.
My series, The Witch’s Ambitions Trilogy, is focused on different Covens of witches, set in a world centuries after our own modern world has collapsed. These witches classify one another as either Equipped or UnEquipped. Those who are Equipped have powers while those without are UnEquipped. UnEquipped witches are responsible for keeping the Coven running while Equipped witches fight to protect it. In this idea, each Coven consists of witches of an elemental type—fire, water, earth, air, and spirit. The sixth Coven is one that is meant to rule over all the others. In this world, they know all, provide all, and choose all of the fates of the witches within the five Covens. When Lilith comes into powers that do not match her Coven’s, she shakes up the entire system.
As you can see, even though my books have a lot of the same ideas as other books—witches, magic, Covens—the way in which they interact with one another, the “normalcy” of their world, is different from the setup of books dealing with the same subject. Having the defined world for the characters to move in makes it more impactful to see exactly how the character’s actions will affect the world later on. THIS is where the uniqueness of a book comes from.
In the example of my own books, when the truth of Lilith’s powers comes out, she is given a choice to either move to the appropriate Coven or to be an UnEquipped witch for the rest of her life. Her choice does not just affect her but all the witches around her. Seeing how the actions of just one character ripples through the world will also be unique to the story at hand.
I don’t think it’s possible for two authors to create worlds that are identical and even if they somehow do, the way that they use them to tell their stories will inevitably be different because the authors will have different purposes for the story they are writing. Keeping this in mind, no matter what the genre of the book or the theme, it will most definitely be unique because the author will have a purpose in mind for the story and that will show through every page.
About Kayla Krantz
Kayla Krantz is the proud author of a number of fantasy and thrillers. She is fascinated by the dark and macabre. Stephen King is her all time inspiration mixed in with a little bit of Eminem. When she began writing, she started in horror but it somehow drifted into thriller. She loves the 1988 movie Heathers. She was born and raised in Michigan but traveled across the country to where she currently resides in Texas.
Meet Kayla Online
OWSCyCon2019 Author Booth: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/kayla-krantz-2/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaylakrantzwriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kaylathewriter
Author Website: https://authorkaylakrantz.com/
Author Blog: https://authorkaylakrantz.com/
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Learn More About the OWS CyCon 2019 Event
CyCon is the biggest online book event of the year, bringing together authors and readers from all over the world for an entire weekend of book-related fun. Between the organizers, and 230+ writers, you’ll be able to:
- view live (and recorded discussions),
- listen to samples of their stories,
- vote in the various genre tournaments,
- browse the author booths, and
- discover some amazing books and writers.
We hope you enjoy this event as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. For more information, and links to all of the activities, visit us at: https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/about-ows-cycon/
You never know, you may just find your next best read!
Be Afraid of the Dark 
Reblogged this on Author Kayla Krantz.
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