I'm currently working on a novel that has been bouncing around in my head for a while. It's gotten to the point that I have two distinct classes, one that is very exclusive and can control the elements of fire, water, air, and earth, and the other class can essentially cast spells. The spell casters can enter this other world which is a mirror image of the natural world. Everyone else cannot. My main issue I think is I'm not entirely sure how to populate the rest of the natural world. Who are the commoners? I'm having difficulty with that. I almost want to take a Tolkien-ish route and create only two or three other groups to populate the rest of the natural world, but I don't know if that would be the best way. Any advice in general on this subject would be helpful. Thanks!!
When determining races, think about what kinds of strengths and weaknesses the story calls for your characters to have, and this will help you determine what characteristics you should equip (or maim?) them with.
So the spell-casters are born able to travel between worlds, or do they gain that ability when they become one? Just to clarify, what are the two worlds? Ours and the fantasy world? Two worlds which are each ruled by the elite or the spell-casters? None of the above? I'm just a little fuzzy on the details here, but I'd like to help.
One world called Avonaire is the natural world, just like ours. The other is called the Void, only the spellcasters can travel there. The Void is essentially a parallel to the natural world. Some things are different, the senses are incredibly heightened, they can see the outlines of any other person or living creature in the natural world. There are a few dangers in the Void, what fun would it be if there wasn't any danger. The tricky part is that the spell-casters have always been born into the class, and one of the higher ups sees that the line is ending, so to say, and wants to teach commoners the ways of the spell-casters. As for who rules, it's kind of a dual system, both groups rule over Avonaire, but they're dependent on the other to survive. So what I'm really in need of is a way to fill up the land with people other than the spell-casters and the elite class. I hope that clarifies a little bit.
Have you thought about vicious wild animal predators you could include? (The kind you make up, i.e. monsters) Those go a long way in fantasy settings.
I have a couple in mind that sort of presented themselves as I was writing, but that's about it. I'm really not sure where they would come into play. Should I create some to use at some point? What kind of creatures, given the very little that I've posted about my story world, would exist do you think?
It depends on the genre you want, really. If you want high fantasy like Tolkien, by all means make up your own versions of Orcs and elves and whatnot. If you're going for just your everyday fantasy, I would make them all the same race/species. From your summary, it seems like your story would be best suited to high fantasy, but that's just my opinion. Mallory's idea of vicious predators is good--they could be the danger in the Void, or even the natural world.
Ah, I never knew of the distinction. That actually helps a lot. There are plenty of new plot lines in there also. The couple of monsters that worked themselves into the story thus far are in fact dangerous in the Void. But it's a large world, some more monsters couldn't hurt. Thanks for all the advice guys!
Our planet is populated by hundreds of different cultures. Pick a few, read about their culture and history, make a few minor modifications and away you go! Tolkien did it. Hobbits, arguably are middle english people. The men of Numenor are arguably Arthurian, Dwarves are arguably welsh..sorry just kidding..and so on! Its your world - make it as rich and alive as you want.
