Creating the world as you go?

[TheKawaiiGarden]

This is something I have been thinking about for quite some time for my comic Legends of Kayal if you are creating your own world with different continents, seas and such where your story takes place should you sit down and draw up the world and how it should be before you get far into the comic or is it something you just create as you go and later in the comic you will have a map of sorts of the world. Would the latter way work or is it just going to end up a mess?

[mariusthered]

well it's a good idea to have a basic map even if it's just for you, because it helps with the writing. your can always change things as you go

[TheKawaiiGarden]

Thanks for the quick reply!
Yeah that is a good idea, I haven't really planned out my world so far so even just a light sketch would be a great start.

[dojo]

I honestly don't have anything outside of a vague idea of what I want for the story. I personally feel really restricted when I plan things out too much in advance, because that's just how my brain works, so I mostly come up with things as I go, writing notes here and there when I get ideas. I don't even have one of the major characters in one of my comics fully designed up since they're not set to appear awhile yet, but I know their purpose they'll be serving in the story and why they'll be hanging around.

But yeah I don't think anyone should really sweat too many of the details for things that are far off when they're just getting started. I feel it can potentially turn into a "reason" to not just go ahead and just start working on a comic if people aren't careful about it and try to figure out every little detail of every little thing ahead of time.

[TheKawaiiGarden]

Thank you @dojo I pretty much 100% agree, besides a few crucial plot points for the story I don't really plan things out that far and it gives me ease knowing bigger peeps do that too.

[KoreanTacos]

I believe that creating a world as you go on isn't too bad, I mean is it really any different than a traveler discovering new places? When creating a new world I feel it's best to find it with fresh eyes, and if what you find isn't to your liking you can go explore somewhere else. I mean having a set map is nice, but then you already know what to expect anyways. Not sure if any of that makes sense at all, but I hope it helps.

[MidZM]

Well for me the world in my comic is technically based in real life but the cities and areas are made up as I go since my comic is made entirely in 3D before being drawn in 2D, though it's tedious it does make for an easy format with beautiful graphics. As for whether or not you should make the world around as you go or create it beforehand is entirely up to you, the only thing you should be considering when making that decision is what helps YOU out more? Would it be easier if you thought up the area as you went or would it be easier to make the whole thing beforehand? Which would be more time consuming?

My ability to focus is greatly hindered by my ADD so I wouldn't be able to sit down for hours at a time making out a map of areas because my mind sees that as extremely pointless since it would only consume time on something that I can easily think out a plan in my head and then put it in 3D with help from some reference images.

[SpavVy]

Ehhh I prefer to have my world planned out. Sure I may add a few things here and there along the way, but I think doing some world building and knowing your story well are important before you start.

[punkarsenic]

I'll be honest, i create a lot of my world as i go - but i would not recommend it. not unless continuity and plot arent your priorities at all (like, if it was a comedy, thatd probably be fine). besides the inevitable mistakes and details you change your mind on later, the unknowability is really stressful as a writer

[AnnaLandin]

Knowing the basics is good! Like, where a country is in relation to another country - is it to the north, or to the east? - and things like how travelling between them works.

But you can give yourself just a basic outline, and then fill in the details as you go - or you can put a lot of work into it from the start, and just reveal it bit by bit. It's really up to what suits you best as a creator!

[TheKawaiiGarden]

Thank you guys for the pointers, I got a pretty good idea how I'm going to continue from now.

[Marton]

I think it's impossible to sit down and make an entire world map filled out with every detail before writing the story and not change anything. George RR Martin didn't make a basic outline of Westeros until about 50 pages into the first Game of Thrones book.

Making up things as you go is totally fine, but having a basic idea before you start is helpful. Without any guidelines it's easy to lose track of what you're doing or have little to no connection between anything. Part of the fun is not knowing how things will turn out.

[Starfestival]

I pretty much do as I go. I only have a vague set of points to get to and as it stands now, I'm at the second to last major city/point where the main cast will live in for seemingly the rest of time. I don't have the entire city drawn out though(since I;m not good at designing cities or buildings so those will also be randomly generated with no real logic).

[sauropasquini]

I started my webcomic by creating the World as I go.
But with the flow of drawings and pages, I realized that, to maintain a decent coherence, I need a plan, a map, or better, a 3D world.
So I started to use Sketchup to create it. Next episode of my webcomic will take full advantage of a well designed environment.

[saykawkaw]

I think it's really dangerous for you to create as you go, unless you're a VERY experienced author. Even experienced authors sometimes get lost in their own creation when it's not planned from the beginning (for instance the LOST series, oddly fitting name isn't it?)
When you plan everything from the start you can easily identify plot holes and fix them before your audience do, as well as you can make your story stay consistent through every chapter, so imo that's the best option. But hey that's just my opinion.

[iddqd]

I find that some worldbuilding ahead of time is important, but it can easily slide into a research slogfest that never ends, while your story never begins. Same for me with writing, I have a general outline where I map out the key points, and fill in everything in between more or less as I go along. But as far as worldbuilding goes, I think setting in stone some of the fundamental differences between the fantasy world and the real world is important before you begin - for example, I decided that in my story the action takes place on a tidally locked planet facing a binary star. It took me a while to think through what that means for the narrative itself.

[TheKawaiiGarden]

@Marton @starfestival @sauropasquini @saykawkaw @iddqd Thank you all for the tips guys, you've all helped me out greatly! Really nice to see a lot of different views on the same subject.