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Creating Worlds

Setting Inspirations

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A Mirror for the World

Imagined and literary worlds are always, in some way, a reflection of the world around us. The bedrock of worldbuilding is a keen awareness of setting – this can be based on a real place known to the writer or even just an idea inspired by an image that fires the imagination.
Across the next 20 slides, you will see 10 modern real world settlements that may surprise you. Observe each of these and:

1. Describe what you see in as much detail as possible.

2. Boil it down to just one key idea that could be used in a piece of writing.

3. What sort of short story could you tell in relation to this setting?

4. What would this short story be about in a single word? (EG. Desperation, survival, hope, secrecy, etc.).

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Centuripe, Italy

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Centuripe, Italy

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Hashima, , Abandoned Japanese Island

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Hashima, Abandoned Japanese Island

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Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

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Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

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St Kilda, Abandoned Scottish Island

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St Kilda, Abandoned Scottish Island

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Mirny, Russian Mining Town

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Mirny, Russian Mining Town

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Floating Villages of the Uros

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Floating Villages of the Uros

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Cappadocia, Turkey

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Cappadocia, Turkey

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Shanghai, China

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Shanghai, China

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Saksun, Arctic Ocean

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Saksun, Arctic Ocean

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Larung Gar, Tibet

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Larung Gar, Tibet