1. Kitonie Bubblegum

    Kitonie Bubblegum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2017
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    25

    Creating a Fantasy Race

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Kitonie Bubblegum, Dec 8, 2017.

    I am looking for websites, personal input and any other type of information about creating races. I have been working on the main Character I enjoy writing the most off and on for over ten years, I've decided recently to redo her story for the final time (I haven't done it many times, just hiatus from writing). I've always wanted to start her off in her younger years and since I've been doing it, writing her has been easier. I do a lot of world building and want to get into building races because I have been terrible trying to find a race that would fit her. She's always sort of not known it.

    Once I find the paper I had and do a bit more work, I'll probably post here what I have so far.
     
    Simpson17866 likes this.
  2. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2015
    Messages:
    17,922
    Likes Received:
    27,173
    Location:
    Where cushions are comfy, and straps hold firm.
    It is a good idea to state early on what their species is, and then litter bits
    about the culture throughout the story to give the reader some idea about
    them, so the reader can better understand them. Unless you have a Species
    that is basically unknown, to which you don't neccessarily have to address
    such things, just kinda show around their past a bit to give them a bit of
    'culture' in that sense. Though it will not fully address what they are or
    their true origins or real culture and history. :)
     
  3. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    Is there any strong reason why she can't just be human? I feel that non-humans should exist for some reason; if you don't have a reason, why not just go human?
     
  4. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    3,406
    Likes Received:
    2,931
    Welcome to the site!
    I've always tried to put my own twists on familiar to semi-familiar species – my favorite being the psoglav, a one-eyed wolfman from Slavic folklore – but in general, the two main approaches for developing a species from scratch seem to be:
    • Form Begets Function: What real-life creatures inspire your fictional species, what strengths and weaknesses do these real-life species have, and how do those strengths and weaknesses work at an anatomical/physiological level?
    • and Function Begets Form: What strengths and weaknesses do you want your species to have, what real-life creatures have similar strengths and weaknesses, and how do those strengths and weaknesses work at an anatomical/physiological level?
    How much do you already know about your character? Which direction do you think would work better?
     
    Cave Troll likes this.
  5. Kitonie Bubblegum

    Kitonie Bubblegum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2017
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    25
    @Cave Troll Thank you for responding! I understand what you are saying, I've tried that before and it didn't work for me. That is why I am being so detailed now. I am just beginning to work on this new race thing :)
     
    Cave Troll likes this.
  6. Kitonie Bubblegum

    Kitonie Bubblegum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2017
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    25
    @ChickenFreak - The importance of me figuring out all the details is because her race is able to do something specific that others can't, I needed to spice up an idea I had and thought it would be a good way since I wanted to create her race anyway. It gave me more purpose to do it.

    @Simpson17866 Thank you for the warm welcome! Form Begets Function seems to fit a bit more, I will have to think about it before I decide. My brain has been over worked from school work! lol........
     
  7. OJB

    OJB A Mean Old Man Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,282
    Likes Received:
    1,264
    Location:
    Chicago, IL.
    Welcome, Kitonie,

    What a lot of authors do is they use their fantasy race (or if you write horror, your monster) as an allegory for some type of theme or philosophical concept.

    Here is an article I wrote on Clive Barker's Rawhead Rex. His monster is used as an allegory for a certain theme, and everything from the monsters design, weakness, strengths, and backstory is based on the theme.

    https://www.writingforums.org/entry/horror-a-study-on-cliver-barker-part-14-rawhead-rex.63836/

    Read, digest, then think of your own themes and philosophy and how you can craft these ideas into a tangible form that represents something.
     
  8. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    3,406
    Likes Received:
    2,931
    Happy to help! What do you have so far?
     
  9. MythMachine

    MythMachine Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2017
    Messages:
    198
    Likes Received:
    141
    Location:
    Arizona, US
    When I've designed my fantasy races, I've always considered the fundamentals, such as their environment and sociology. How did this race develop to where they turned out different from other races? What function do they serve to the story, and how does being this particular race hinder or help the character in question? Now, my approach to character design might be different than many other writers, because I'm also an artist, and I plan for my story to be integrated into a graphic novel. I took the vague idea of what I wanted my race to be, then sketched it out, refined it, and came up with a final image of what they look like. As I did so I kept in mind the key functions of the race that I wanted to include and its potential weaknesses. Not all of this information would be necessary to the reader, but because I'm a sucker for details, I wanted to have it available in case there arose some sort of situation where that info might be useful.

    I understand though that not everyone can/needs to draw, so physical details might not be as important. But I do think having some idea to their form allows you to understand how they would fit into the world you create. If you create a fantasy race, I believe the most important goal in its design is to make it as organic as possible. "It's not that I simply want this race in my story. This race BELONGS in the story, or else it won't progress as I envision it." As ChickenFreak stated above, if you can't find that justification, there isn't much reason to not make them human.

    Even if you won't write in the race's background, I feel it's important to understand their history and social elements, because that may gauge how this race interacts with the others, or how it functions in an unfamiliar environment. The reader is often limited to the information they are given and that which is gleaned through context clues, but as the authors, we have the power of the limitless information we can generate to suit our writing and plot progression. If you want statistics for your race, and if you think that information will be of benefit to you as the writer, don't be afraid to include them. Some might tell you not to write character sheets for characters, which isn't right or wrong, but I think that every writer has their own way of developing their characters, and using character sheets might be a useful tool to catalog your ideas. You can always cross some off the list later if you don't think they'll pan out. This is the same for developing races.
     
  10. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    3,406
    Likes Received:
    2,931
    I don't know, I've always felt that writers need a reason not to do something more than we need a reason to do it ;)

    "I want to tell a story about a non-human character that somebody else would enjoy reading" seems like a pretty good reason to me for doing it :)
     
  11. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    Perfectly good reason. The vibe I was getting--and I think I just read it wrong--was that the poster felt obligated to make the character non human.
     
    Simpson17866 likes this.
  12. MythMachine

    MythMachine Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2017
    Messages:
    198
    Likes Received:
    141
    Location:
    Arizona, US
    That's as good a reason as any.
    But the fact is that they still need a reason. I mean, it ultimately comes down to the writer's ability to invoke a sense of belief and a reader's willingness to suspend disbelief enough to enjoy it. When I write, I personally feel obligated to both myself and the reader to connect those two points.
     
  13. Kitonie Bubblegum

    Kitonie Bubblegum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2017
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    25
    @OJB Thank you for responding with a resource!! I am going to love reading your article, from what you've explained here it sounds like it could fit and fix some of the frustrations I have doing it the way I am now. :)

    @MythMachine Thank you!! I understand and practice a few of the non-drawing out points you've mentioned. I know a lot of people say and make others feel like they have to have a reason for their main character not being human. That frustrates me so much because, I want to read characters that aren't human and not many books have a main character who can do all the cool shit the other ones can do. Like, if it fits for the main character to be human sure, go right ahead but whatever. I don't read as much as I should because I am so /bored/ with human characters. Even the non-human characters have so many limitations that it's messed up, imo. Anyway, yeah they do need a reason to be who they are, just like human's actually need a reason to be human, it's all the same. I'm hoping I am not coming off as harsh or anything, it's morning and I haven't had my coffee. :3 I do appreciate the effort that went into your post.

    @Simpson17866 I am going to look at what I have today and get it organized so I can post it. :)

    @ChickenFreak I do not feel obligated, I am complete opposite haha. I have always felt pressured to make human characters but fuck that!! :) It's okay, I read things wrong all the time.
     
  14. Kitonie Bubblegum

    Kitonie Bubblegum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2017
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    25
    So I've lost some of the information, so I have to redo that, here is what I have so far:

    History:
    When was the race created?
    TC created them at the beginning.

    What is their purpose?
    TC needed certain magical abilities that would open a door to a room of portals. These fairies natural goal is to educate themselves in order to be strong enough, not every MF is capable of opening this door. Their second purpose is to help those in need, TC's wanted them to do their best to keep the peace.
    Relations:
    How do they interact with other races?
    For the most part MF get along well with other races. As protector's of the worlds, having a friendly demeanor is important.

    How does it affect society?
    The MF have kept crime dow, not long after they were created they began recruiting other races to become Protector's which is what started the difference between mundane's and insertnamehere.

    How do they interact with each other?
    They are generally as friendly with each other as they are with other races. There is more competitiveness between some but being malicious for this race is rare, they are capable of doing and choosing good easier.​
     
    Simpson17866 likes this.
  15. MusingWordsmith

    MusingWordsmith Shenanigan Master Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2016
    Messages:
    578
    Likes Received:
    474
    Location:
    Somewhere Over the Rainbow
    I'm a 'develop as I write' writer. I've got 6 fantasy races in my novel land in varying stages of development. One thought I try to keep in mind is stereotyping.

    I don't want to have my races fit into a stereotype, but anything that people are identified by has some sort of stereotype attached, so I try to think of like this.

    1. How would the other races stereotype them?
    2. What parts of their culture actually fits into that stereotype?
    3. How does the race as a whole not fit into the stereotype?
    4. How do they 'stereotype' themselves?
    5. How do they treat people that don't fit into that stereotype?

    Other stuff just kinda comes as I think about it. I don't really have a set system, but I'm pretty happy with what's being developed with how I'm going.
     
    Simpson17866 likes this.
  16. Kitonie Bubblegum

    Kitonie Bubblegum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2017
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    25
    @MusingWordsmith That's very helpful, thank you very much!! It will help me figure out how others actually see them, I hadn't written anything about that because I was lost! Now i've got somewhere to start :)
     
    Simpson17866 likes this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice