The World You Want To Live In

Different people have different desires in life, different fantasies they would like to live out.  But think about the world that your fantasies would take place in.  Are they a world you would really want?

People who want to be adventurer/warrior heroes live in an epic world of evil.  It's always clouded and gloomy.  People live short, wretched lives.  The fate of the world rests on 1-4 people.  Sure, it may be cool to be the one to save the day, but as a whole, is that really much of a pleasant world to live in?

I want to live in a world where everything has a tinge of zany.  I want a flower shop called Pistils At Dawn.  I want a cybercafe based on Mediterranean food named PetaBytes; they would sell a special snack called Pita Bites.  I would buy my bed at the Sleep With Me Mattress Store.  I want to buy candy full of anesthetics called Numby Num Nums.  I want to work out at the gym owned by Stephen Roids (SteRoids Gym).  I want pizza that has dillweed in the dough for the crust (dill dough pizza).  I want to buy graphic tees from a store that specializes in Shirt Art (or Sh'Art).

Of course, if I lived in that world, it would be very frustrating.  Sure it's witty, but the people in this world have no idea they've done anything funny.  If I had to live in that world, I can't even imagine these people would have a sense of humor, or at least not one I would go well with.  This world is great for a reader or explorer of the world, but it's not really a world I would want to live in.

When we read a story, we are really only exploring a world, sort of taking a vacation or driving through.  But the worlds that suck you in, absorb you into them, make you truly wish you could stay there, those are the worlds that are more than just entertaining at a glance.  Those are the powerful worlds, the fully-developed and fleshed out worlds that make people read and reread, just to stay in that world a little longer.

If you can create a world you would want to live in (rather than one that would be interesting to check out for a bit), that will be a sure sign it is a world other people will be interested in.