Build Worlds Coherently!

If there’s one thing about writing fantasy that I think I’m good at, it’s world-building. My overactive imagination easily creates cultures, races, religions, magic systems, languages, and so much more with minimal effort. I once created the skeleton of a broader continent for an RPG setting (general sketched map included) in under an hour. That being said, though, I think myself and many other fantasy authors struggle with one part of world-building: coherence.

What do I mean when I use the word “coherence” when describing world-building. I simply mean that the world must have an internal logic to its rules and systems. The logic does not have to follow our world’s paradigms, but the rules must be applied consistently. J.R.R. Tolkien called this the “inner consistency of reality.” In short, an author cannot break the rules of a world they create.

Before I go on, I must clarify one point. I say that an author cannot break the rules of their own world. I stand by that entirely. What I do not mean is that the author must share all of these rules within a story. In fact, there are many good narrative points where a world’s rule (whether it be a particular form of magic, a hidden race of people, or an otherwise unknown historical idea) must be hidden from the reader for dramatic effect. The issue I have is that the rules for some fantasy worlds I have encountered seem flexible or even breakable by the protagonist when it suits them. This is where the issue lies.

“Why is this coherence important?” You might ask. Again, I think the answer is simple, but somewhat harsh. A reader who encounters a world where the author breaks the rules for the purpose of their story will often stop reading. I believe that a coherent world is as crucial to the narrative as good grammar, well-thought out and deep characters, and an intriguing plot arc. Anyone would agree that the final three make a bad book in any narrative genre, but I wonder if people who are less familiar with fantasy as a genre would dismiss a book due to incoherent world-building. I think that if there is anything that is enough to jar the reader out of full immersion in the world and characters you are trying to share, the story has a major flaw that needs to be addressed.

Now that my point on how important coherence is to world-building has been made, it’s time to look at how to make that happen. I need to start this out with a caveat. I have not studied this extensively in anything that resembles academic rigor. What I’m sharing is what I have encountered across the many worlds that I have developed. That being said, however, I think I have something to say here because of how much I’ve read and how long I’ve been immersed in the fantasy genre.

Coherence in the creation stage of a world is easy. As ideas begin to flow, their interactions become clear most of the time. The greatest challenge to coherence, I believe, is in the story-telling. As the author spins their chosen tale, the rules of the world sometimes make it difficult for a character to get out of a particular bind. It can be incredibly tempting to break the rules–or hastily craft an incoherent rule–just to help the character along. Suddenly, the character discovers a new type of magic or unique latent ability that doesn’t fit in the rest of the world. When this happens, readers may think that the protagonist has “plot armor” or that the author is unimaginative and then choose to set the story aside.

I guess I’ve written all this to say one thing. When creating a brand new world in which to set a story, make sure everyone in that world is bound by its rules. There can obviously be discoveries, scientific developments, magical improvements, and the like, but all of them should have some reason or logic to them. What those reasons and logics are depend entirely on the creator of that world. Don’t lose readers to incoherencies in the worlds you create.