One of my favorite parts of writing is the worldbuilding. As a kid, I was drawn to the fantastical worlds created by Andre Norton, the European locales featured in Mary Stewart’s mysteries, the rugged western landscapes of Louis L’Amour. Yes. I read across the board. Those books fired my imagination and set me on the path to creating my own worlds, and peopling them with characters I wanted to know…or be. Back then, it was pretty simple to create a world and the people who populated it. Then I grew up and started actually writing down all the stuff in my head. The stories I made up about those people in those worlds grew more complicated and I realized, that while my imagination was fertile, the worlds still needed to be logical. Like Real Life. So I studied books and courses and other authors. And I learned. A teen, intersted in writing his own fiction, asked me once about worldbuilding. My answer was close to this, but the Universe says it in a much more fun way.

Whoops… I did it again. Took a little nap, had a few dreams, and worlds were born. Planets spun and cooled. Continents rose and fell. And civilizations clashed and united.

Actually, it’s quite good fun. But I also dreamed I was you, Silver. And in that dream, for a spell, I didn’t remember I was also the Universe.

It was frightful, actually. Just about scared me to death until, as you, I slowly remembered who I was. And in those waking moments, it was as if the earth shook, the seas danced, and the skies rejoiced almost as much as myself. As if they were waking up, too. It was the most beautiful, sublime, intoxicating rush of pure joy I think I’ve ever known.

How I wish I could tell you more. But like a farmer eager for the new crop, any rush to harvest would spoil the yield. Besides, words would utterly fail me.

Fidgeting madly,
The Universe
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Silver, oh-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h, Silver…

See what I mean? I do this a lot, even for books that I may never write simply because it is fun to dream, to create, to feel the earth shake, watch the seas dance, and all you have to do is look at a sunset to know the sky is rejoicing. Even if my books don’t have any of those things in them, I still want a solid world where my readers can picture themselves there, understand the logic in that place and time, and–with any luck and a bit of talent–they’ll want to hang out there while they’re reading my books. I hope y’all will come visit and stay awhile.