No, the Title of This Post is Not Error 406, That Would Simply Be Sad

Worldbuilding. Playing god can be fun, but you run the risk of building a writing block the size of Texas for yourself if you spend too much time on it. Nevertheless, a nicely constructed, well thought-out, fantastically original world can make or break a story. An intriguing plot-line can only reach it's full potential when played out in an interesting world.

Now usually, in a fantasy book, there are a few aspects to worldbuiding: #1 - The actual world/universe. A.K.A. the topographical, climatological, astronomical, and ecological aspects. Translation: Topographical aspect - the structure of the world, including mountains, trenches, and other features akin to those. For a list of interesting terrain configurations, you can visit this link - http://www.ck12.org/ck12/images?id=113643. Climatological aspect - the weather patterns. Astronomical aspect - the solar system the world resides in, or the space around the world. Ecological aspect - The lifeforms of all different kinds and species that live in the world. 

#2 - History. The history of a fantasy world can play a large part in the storyline, and also serves as a basis for whatever magic system you use. That brings us to number three. 

#3 - The magic system. Almost all fantasy novels utilize some form of magic - whether it's wands and incantations or more akin to superpowers, the magic makes the story more exciting and gives many more possibilities to what your characters can do. Also, it's insanely fun to make up a new form of magic, that you can do whatever you want with. This is the truth.


#4 - The government/power-structure/religion; this may tie in with the history. This is perhaps more important than the magic system, though not nearly as fun. Except for the slums/thieves/underground of the power-structure - that's just as fun. Choosing how the nobles of the governmental system are chosen, whether or not it is a democracy or dictatorship or another type of ruling, if there are beggars or slaves or everyone is equal; there are endless possibilities. Are the nobles noble because they have red hair? Are they worshiped because they can make it rain? Do they have three eyes? Your choice.


These categories can obviously be broken down into subcategories, and those subcategories can be broken down even further, as is always the case. These four, however, are the basic elements of worldbuilding. Okay, perhaps #1 wasn't so basic, but you get the idea. 


Time for the writing prompt! (This is in fact the first time I have used an exclamation point. And italics. Yes, I did bold the 'And' just because.) Alright, here it is, and you've probably been expecting this: Create a world using the four worldbuilding aspects we've discussed. But here's the catch - construct the world so that everything revolves around the topography. You can write as bullet points, as an omniscient narration, or any other way you choose. Email it to astonepublishing@gmail.com, and we might feature it on the next post!

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Last but not least, here is a response to the last prompt, which asked for the first page of a superhero/western story:

It was gonna be a slow day. Hot as a woman's scorn and dry as my Aunt Milly's corn bread, even the flies had surrendered and were sprawled listlessly around the slow drip from the faucet in the john. As I watched, one brave aeronaut launched himself aloft, determined despite the heat to spread the gospel of annoyance to the rest of creation. My eyes traced the devoted missionary's flight: first the takeoff, engines strong and buzz ratcheted to maximum irritation, then the first wide loop to survey the room before locking on to me, slumped back in my office chair, brim tucked low over my head. Target acquired, the fly tried for a strafing run, juking and dodging the deadly beams of sunlight lancing through the grimy shades of my office window. Go go! I cheered, roused from my heat-doze, but as it crossed over my beaten desk an errant wisp of air defied the stillness and knocked the intrepid flyer into a sunbeam. The fly collapsed onto my desk, overheated, and let out one last zealous buzz before growing still.

I lowered the brim of my hat further, the day's excitement exhausted, and then the explosion picked me up like a rag doll and tore my head and arm from my torso before smashing the various sections of my body through the wall and out into the alley behind my office.

Sighing, I went to pick up the pieces of my life.

Thank you to Mike Torres for this wonderful and intriguing piece of writing.

- The Error404 Team

Error 405: Post Contains Trace Amounts of Insanity

Aaron Stone: Get ready to have your mind blown, your socks knocked off, and...another expression referring to surprise and amazement.  I'll usually be the one writing the posts, but occasionally you'll hear from another member of the team.

Fillius: Howdy! Just call me Fil. A lot of the wacky ideas you'll be seein' and gawkin' at are gonna be comin' from me. Well, that's pretty much it. I'm not one for long talks.

Henry Tulluckin: I'm the editor of the Error404 team. I'm the one who spends all night retyping Fil's posts, demolishing Aaron's writing blocks, and overall keeping the team in order.

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We here at Error404 headquarters welcome you to a writing blog like no other. Post types vary - from crazy writing prompts to short fiction snippets. We'll leave your mind flipped upside and inside out, wondering about flying sandwiches or radioactive dolphins, and everything in between. 

Some posts will be interactive - as in a question or prompt to which we would like to see your answers - and you can just respond as a comment. Suggestions for post types or short fiction ideas can be emailed to astonepublishing@gmail.com.

And now for the first writing prompt:
Write the first page of a western/superhero story. Western as in gun-slinging cowboys, superhero as in superhuman abilities.

Try to establish a character, location, and maybe even the beginning of a plot. Email it to us, or post it in the comments, and if we like it, we might ask you to finish it as a short fiction - and we might even exhibit it in a future post!

- The Error404 Team