Haha, I just want to step in with a warning so you don't drive yourself crazy… I feel uniquely qualified to give advice on this since I just did a world with all mythologies coexisting, and I didn't add it up, but I'm pretty sure it took me something like 100 hours of research - not as a hyperbole, but literally, actually, at least 70 or 80 and probably higher. XD I have read so much on mythology over the last few months that the link tierfal left you is my already-visited color. And the worst part is that even with all that research, I still feel like I only managed to scratch the surface of all the different things; fleshing the whole world out and really knowing it probably would have taken me upwards of 500. So seeing someone considering doing the same thing I'm like NO RUN AWAY SAVE YOURSELF. XDDDD
My advice is that unless you have lots of time or are prepared to do a ton of research, it might be a lot easier to make up most of the creatures for this fantasy world you've got, which sounds cool - because the other problem I ran into was that having all these different things combining made it feel really patchwork until I did a ton of worldbuilding of their international magical treaties and stuff and really forced it to feel like all part of one world. Because even if they're not in their usual settings, just the names alone of some of those things evoke really strong setting-elements that conflict with each other and are hard to get rid of. It almost drove me insane. XD And after seeing your last big bang end up stressful I'm like NO DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT THERE'S A MONSTER DOWN THERE IT'LL EAT YOU TRUST ME I'VE BEEN IT ATE THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF MY LIFE. XDDDD ♥
....yeah, I'm probably gonna stick to the siren/merfolk angle and maybe make vague references to various other mythological creatures. Though I've been super into mythology since I was really young, so... I've got a headstart on the research areas.
Also, WHAT WORLD IS THIS. I WISH TO READ ALL ABOUT IT. ♥
Haha, that's the starting point my time estimates were based on; I didn't even bother writing about mythologies I didn't already know quite well, because even the ones that I've taken classes in and know better than the history of my own country ended up requiring way more research than I expected. XD Oh, god, I can't imagine trying to start that kind of research from scratch; /hides under bed :P
It's for the novel I started for NaNo 2011 and finished last month, which I'm now in the process of editing. :) I told tierfal to punch me in the face next time I plan something that takes place around the world, because I think the amount of time I spent on research and world-building exceeded the amount of time I spent actually writing the thing. XD'
My advice is that unless you have lots of time or are prepared to do a ton of research, it might be a lot easier to make up most of the creatures for this fantasy world you've got, which sounds cool - because the other problem I ran into was that having all these different things combining made it feel really patchwork until I did a ton of worldbuilding of their international magical treaties and stuff and really forced it to feel like all part of one world. Because even if they're not in their usual settings, just the names alone of some of those things evoke really strong setting-elements that conflict with each other and are hard to get rid of. It almost drove me insane. XD And after seeing your last big bang end up stressful I'm like NO DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT THERE'S A MONSTER DOWN THERE IT'LL EAT YOU TRUST ME I'VE BEEN IT ATE THE LAST SIX MONTHS OF MY LIFE. XDDDD ♥
Reply
Also, WHAT WORLD IS THIS. I WISH TO READ ALL ABOUT IT. ♥
Reply
It's for the novel I started for NaNo 2011 and finished last month, which I'm now in the process of editing. :) I told tierfal to punch me in the face next time I plan something that takes place around the world, because I think the amount of time I spent on research and world-building exceeded the amount of time I spent actually writing the thing. XD'
Reply
Leave a comment