Wow, what a wonderful review of my upcoming release When Dark Waters Burn in this month’s The Tawny Frogmouth magazine! The full review is over here (on p44), but here’s how it begins:
“When Dark Waters Burn… cements Shapter’s reputation as a master of immersive worlds.”
Funnily enough, I love creating immersive worlds!
I usually start by (i) posing a ‘what if’ question about our world today, then (ii) imagining what kind of place would make that question central to everybody’s lives.
—> For example, (i) what if scientists discovered that when we die the electrical energy in our brains converts into another form of energy? (ii) A place that might make that central to everybody’s lives would be a country living exclusively by a scientific life-after-death theology, such as in my book Towards White.
—> Or (i) what if property was so expensive that people struggled to find a place to live? (ii) A place that might make that central to everybody’s lives would be a world covered in carnivorous tree swamps, making habitable land incredibly scarce. Such as in my Palude books, starting with When Dark Roots Hunt, and now with When Dark Waters Burn.
Out on 1 June:
This process of asking and imagining usually then leads me to envisage the types of people who might thrive in such a place and who might struggle, which introduces me to my main characters – what their personal journeys might be, what their goals and dreams might be, even how they might fall in love.
Then the worldbuilding really starts! How are my characters’ daily lives even possible in this new world – how does their access to the basic physiological necessities differ from our contemporary world, what about their ability to work, wash, sleep and eat? Who has power over whom and why? What kinds of technology and medicine would be present? How would people travel around and pay for things?
I recently had to ask similar questions of myself. I used to travel a lot, before having children who thrived on the routines of weekday school and weekend sport. Now that they’re older, I can venture overseas again and have been reminded that worldbuilding isn’t just a skill for the writer, it’s also a skill for the traveller.
For example, I wrongly assumed that everywhere these days would readily accept payment by card. Well, yes, during my recent visits to the UK, France, Greece and Singapore, I could use bank cards as easily as in Australia, even when travelling on the metro or by bus. No additional card fees either.
But then in Italy, I was suddenly faced with a motorway toll booth that only accepted cash!
And while bank cards were fine on the Dubai metro…
…in the city’s souks many shops were cash only, or shared a card machine with a shop around the corner, which charged a fee to use it.
In Cambodia and Thailand, while cards were welcome in some hotels and restaurants, it was not welcomed by markets, guides, taxis, tuktuks, activities and street stalls, which all wanted cash. I was back to using the ATMs and Currency Exchange shops I thought I’d left behind in the early 2000s!
Of course it is these little differences that make the ‘worldbuilding’ of each country unique. Not just the complex interplay of language, culture, history, geography, societal norms and political systems – but the way we have to adapt to the practical intricacies of visiting somewhere different.
It’s the same for my characters, because not only do I create unique worlds for them to inhabit – worldbuilding all the intricate little details that might be different for them – but my characters often have to travel to somewhere new within their worlds as part of their personal journeys, and it’s their ability to immerse themselves in and adapt to their new environment that charts their growing resilience and inner strength.
That and all the action, drama and romance my characters have to navigate! Which you could also say is true of anyone adapting to the little differences between one place and another in the real world. After all, it’s only once you have worked out how to use and pay for the metro that you can catch a train to the next landmark, then navigate the action, drama and romance of what you find there.
As with my books, an exciting adventure always awaits!
