Social Organization, an Exercise

This is probably going to be the only exercise for this section this week. It goes back to the idea that social organization is going to be extremely individualized but also that I never spend time on this section. Sure, I'll do a quick outline of who / what is in charge but this is the part of world building that I spend the least amount of time on.

There's also the fact that, if you're doing a real world novel, this section is already done for you. Sure, you'll have to research local laws and so on unless you make up Small Town USA but it's there. I would just use the questions as a guideline. Also, you might have to call people in order to get information. I know it might seem scary - it does to me - but it'll help you a lot in the long run. Make sure you have questions ready and be willing to call back at another time if nobody can talk to you. Be as flexible as you can and do not forget to get the name of the person who talks to you. You'll want that for your acknowledgements when you finish your novel.

Now, for us Earth AU people, we've got it a bit easy but it's still hard. How much of the real world social organization are you going to use? Are you going to keep the government as is or has something changed? Is the power of the world still the same? If you're jumping way into the future, do we still have what we have now? Or has it changed for something for the better? These are just base questions and you might find more when you start to dive into this part of your world building. I know, for me, I did change power structure and government but you don't really see it in the novel right away. It's more subtle until it's called for, which is a way that you might want to go when you're writing your novel.

Now, second world writers, you have the hardest task because you're creating something new. However, that doesn't mean you can't base it off of the government structure you're living in. Or another country that you like. Let's say that you really like how England is structured with the royal family, the Prime Minister, and parliament. You could use that as your model and put your own spin on it. Or you can pick and choose what you like about your own government and laws and put that into this world you're creating.

At the end of this, I'm trying to show that, while this is the hardest section, it doesn't have to be in the end. It just feels hard because you're having to stretch in ways that you haven't before. Once you get through it, you'll probably coast the next time you need to come back to this section. I hope it helps and, until next time, keep on plotting (and writing)!