Category Archives: world building

Building Your World With Biomes

Posted on June 8, 2015 by SharonJoss

Several people have asked me about the world-building in my Writers of the Future award-winning story, “Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light”.  It’s about a human colony living on the planet Hesperidee, a rocky, arid planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, … Continue reading →

Posted in #WOTF31, 2015, Arrakis, Avatar, biomes, Dune, Pandora, Sharon Joss, Stars That Make Dark Heaven Light, world building, WOTF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seven Fundamental Lessons I’ve Learned About Being a Writer (So Far)

Posted on September 14, 2013 by SharonJoss

When I first started writing, my only goal was to write a novel, get an agent, and get it published. The way I figured things then, was that I’d gotten decent grades in my English classes in school, and I’d done plenty of writing … Continue reading →

Posted in authenticity, award-winning author, Best Sellers, character development, don't give up, editors, emotions, extraordinary, famous writers, fiction, manuscript, pitching, self-publish, submission, world building, write every day; writers write, writing | Leave a comment

Worldbuilding: Geography

Posted on February 25, 2013 by SharonJoss

One of the key elements of sci-fi and fantasy world building is developing a culture for the people who live in that world.  Whether your world is earth-based or not, the people who inhabit your story need to be provided … Continue reading →

Posted in belief systems, biomes, culture, fantasy, feudal, geography, nomad, solar, steam, world building | Leave a comment

Experience Planet Earth

Posted on February 18, 2013 by SharonJoss

My sister and I visited the Tualatin Nature Park and Interpretive Center this weekend, and as we walked along the forest trail, I was struck by how primeval the place felt.  Other than the occasional jogger and the lone call … Continue reading →

Posted in nature park, triceratops, Tualatin, world building | Leave a comment

Ain’t No Such Verb as Riffing

Posted on December 3, 2011 by SharonJoss

Riff.  The word doesn’t exist.  Not as a noun, a verb, or an adjective.  Not in my Oxford English Dictionary, not in my Synonym Finder, nor my online Microsoft Thesaurus, or my Roget’s Thesaurus.   I finally found it in the … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, making stuff up, riffing, shifting, staking, world building, writer | 1 Comment

Urban World Building

Posted on September 15, 2011 by SharonJoss

The good thing about Urban Fantasy is that the setting takes place on earth, and the ‘normal’ basic rules of physics (gravity, sunlight, weather, etc) pretty much apply, albeit with a few author-intended specifics.  But as I develop the general … Continue reading →

Posted in market research, serving the plot, world building | Leave a comment