wherein Liz plays with inheritance rules and nomenclature

I build worlds for the joy of it. I am not in the least scientific about it; I am a fantasist at heart, and people interest me much more than orbital mechanics. All my worlds are pretty much like Earth unless I am making a particular point of some sort, and even then, I tend to forget the differences. (For example, there is atmosphere, water, and life on Firsthome's moon. You can see storms move across the oceans and land masses shade from green to brown and back again over the course of a year. But Ekanu does not make a point of watching the moon, so this has never come up and is not likely to.)

What I like best is to do thought experiments on social systems. I like to create groups of people and imagine their history for several centuries or millennia. I like to play with bits of languages and old-fashioned technology.

Usually I start from a vague story idea. Usually that story never gets written, either because it has no plot or because its premise is rendered impossible by the developing rules of the world I build off its bones. I don't mind. I love stories, but there is a reason The Silmarillion and the appendices are my favorite parts of Tolkien's writing.

I mentioned in my previous entry that I had finally figured out the overarching plot gimmick for a story I've been poking at off and on (mostly off) for thirteen or fourteen years. The thing is, while I made very little story progress, I did open the files and flesh out the world and the characters a bit each year. So my files are light on plot and full of notes like this:

( Inheritance rules and nomenclature of the Domains of Killian )

I have so much fun inventing stuff like that.

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And on a totally different note, it may finally have cooled off enough for me to get to sleep. Summer. Blecch.