Out-Of-This-World Storyworlds

January 26, 2022: Romance, Tips
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You don't write what you know, or you would write one thing. I never understood that. You write what you want to find out.
— Nora Roberts

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Storyworld, or world, is the place, time and set of circumstances in which your narrative occurs. It is the setting for your story, and much, much more.
It influences who and what your characters are, and provides themes and often reasons for conflict. As such, it also impacts how your plot unfolds (more on that later). A great example of this is Romeo and Juliet. It plays out one way in 14th century Verona, but what if it moved to 1950s New York City? Oh wait...that's West Side Story!!
What place, real or imagined, has special significance for you? Captures your heart, or mind? Let's explore it together.

This post is part of Bardsy's free ​Romance Toolkit, which includes plenty of resources and videos. Click here to see all the pieces:

Romance Toolkit
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Romance can take place anywhere! Don’t limit yourself. Instead, think about where you’d like to go.

Nora Roberts puts it well:
Great storyworlds provide an escape for the reader, which is a major reason why people read romance novels. Just try and pick one that hasn’t been done to death. Surely there are new worlds/times/places for you to conquer. Choose an enticing locale or a place and time that serve as a backdrop for a major historic event. Even another galaxy will do.
But wherever you go with your story, do your homework, so your reader can fully immerse themselves in that world.
We’ve included a great World Activity sheet here to help you get going with your storyworld. Whether fictional, real or even fantastical, a good storyworld is consistent; it has an internal logic that allows the audience to willingly suspend disbelief. In other words, it makes sense. It includes a history, geography, architecture, culture and society.
That does not mean every detail of your storyworld will, or should, make it into the story. Nevertheless it must be cohesive in the storyteller’s mind to make it believable to the audience.
Here’s what Nora Roberts has to say about how she develops storyworlds for her novels:
Part of my process is that I have to be able to see it. I have to be able to feel it and smell it. What does it look like when the sun comes up? Even if you're not necessarily putting that into the story, you just have to know. I have to see it myself in order to translate that and paint that picture in the story…
It’s worth noting that sometimes a desire to write about a place or time precedes specifics about your characters. For instance, I’ve always had a strong interest in Elizabethan England. Maybe you want to set your story in eighteenth-century Tahiti, but haven’t fleshed out your characters yet.
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The good news is that the unique characteristics, mores and time of your story will strongly inform who your characters are, and how they interact with each other.

When discussing her most famous storyworld, Julia Quinn notes:
One interesting thing about Bridgerton: The Duke and I is that the world is fully formed, and it's different than contemporary society. As such, there are rules on how many dances a couple can have together at an event, what is considered appropriate in behavior, and the level of knowledge about taboo subjects such as making love and how babies are created.
As mentioned earlier, storyworld can also have a profound effect on themes and narrative structure. Quinn expands on this:
The same world also forces Simon's hand in getting married to Daphne, though he's still sure he won't give her any children. In fact, for Simon's arc especially, expectation (and wanting to thwart that expectation) seems to motivate him through most of the book.
Indeed, one cannot imagine the Bridgerton family books set in any place or time other than Regency England, or, conversely, Nora Roberts's Dragon Heart Legacy series set anywhere but in parallel worlds!
Storyworld is a powerful tool and a wonderful lure. It’s a living, breathing place that interacts with every other part of your story.
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The world of your story provides atmosphere and context. It attracts the audience, and reels them in.

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The more richly developed it is, the more it will elevate and differentiate your story, and the more likely your audience will be hooked.
But regardless of where your story takes place, you need a reason to keep the lovers apart. This will provide a great deal of the conflict for your story, the focus of our next and final installment.
For more great specifics on creating your storyworld, click on our Romance Toolkit, which includes a nifty handout and video. Click here: Romance Toolkit
Stay tuned for Part Four, where we’ll discuss love, sex and happy endings.
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