Science, Economics, Government, and Religion: Fodder for Change!
The real-world world-building of Neal Stephenson
Let’s take a look at how we can use people within our world-building. Yes, as characters, but also as background pieces and plot devices.
When it comes to character world-building on top of the real world (dealing with individuals, groups, and governments in this version of “character,” all people-centered), my hands-down hero on the subject is Neal Stephenson. Not only does he possess a microscopic perception of the nuances of the real world, but he has also mastered the craft of communicating those nuances in a way that can turn dull subjects such as history, philosophy, economics, government, cryptography, mathematics, and linguistics into enthralling and captivating adventures.
He is especially deft at blending wholly fictitious characters alongside historical figures, or just blending well-known people into familiar, but new, amalgamations. And characters, dear friends, are how we create that oh-so-vital emotional bond with our audience.
Let’s take as example his Baroque Cycle novels, beginning with Quicksilver. In this series — a long prequal to his much more contemporary Cryptonomicon — a who’s who of 17th and 18th century European figures1 frolic through the very real history around them and against a backdrop of a rapidly changing European political landscape. All the while fictional characters dash about on a fictional treasure hunt and eventual fictional caper at the Tower of London centered around — among other things — Newton’s very real 1710 Trial of the Pyx!
It’s an incredible whirlwind of new scientific discoveries, religious conflict, the complexities of royal inbreeding, war, economics, time, cryptography, pirates…. In short, if you’ve been looking for something that feels like The Princess Bride, but deeper, I highly recommend the series.
Another stellar example of Stephenson’s ability to slightly shift real world people to fill his world-building needs is Seveneves, wherein the moon is destroyed by an unknown agent2 thereby forcing governments (run by — and influenced by! — people) and scientists to take action. While the characters in this epic are all fictional, they are obvious amalgamations of familiar archetypes, and even celebrities. For instance, if you were to blend Everyone’s Favorite Science Communicator with Everyone’s Favorite Astrophysicist, then you’d end up with one of the main characters from the book.3
Because of his in-depth knowledge of the social studies (political science, psychology, philosophy, religious history, etc.), he’s able to depict with frightening accuracy exactly how the modern world would deal with the cosmic consequences of suddenly having seven potato-shaped rocks where the moon once was. Nothing in the characters, societies, and governments he writes about is in any way shocking when held up to how people tend to be people.
So tell me, how are you handling characters in your real-world world-building projects? Are you shying away from famous people, or tackling them head-on? Are you giving them rich personal histories, or learning about them as you write? Are they amalgamations of people you know, or are familiar with?
Hit me up in the comments, in notes, or in DMs and let me know!
Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke, Christopher Wren, Christian Huygens, Sophia of Hanover, Czar Peter I, King Louis XIV, Gottfried Leibniz, and on and on!
This is not a spoiler; it’s page 1 of the book.
This has the benefit of providing motivation, “how would so-and-so in the real world react, then that’s probably how this character based on so-and-so would react.”
My stories always start with character. Great advice on how to incorporate more world-building into them.
Some of my characters are amalgamations. Not all but some.
For me, the easiest way to write that character is figure out their flaws and desires first. If I know what they struggle with and what they want, it is easier for me to stay true to them.