By Cindy Koepp
As a science fiction writer, I design alien races and the cultures
they live in. The trick is to create something new rather than just put a human
in a funny suit. Many times, the information I record has little bearing on the
story, but there have been occasions when details that weren’t mentioned
outright affected a character’s thinking and choices.
Here’s a partial list of some of the things I consider when I set
out to design a new race and its cultures.
1. What does the average member of the race look like?
This includes height, weight, sensory organs and what those look
like, visible gender differences, facial structure, body covering, and number
and type of appendages. You could also include typical clothing and adornment
here. Since no two individuals are alike, I also include major ways they would
vary from one person to the next.
2. What kind of planet do they come from?
Sometimes I figure this out before I figure out appearance. Other
times, I allow the appearance to dictate the ecology. This includes the
gravity, atmospheric conditions, climate, predominant terrain, the type of star
or stars, the distance from the star(s), and typical flora and fauna. The
amount of detail you need is partly determined by whether the story takes place
on the planet.
3. What is their society like?
Every culture has their accepted behavioral norms and taboos.
Often, there is a difference between stated norms and practical ones.
How do they communicate: pictures, words, telepathy, gestures?
Specifically, I consider how they greet each other, whether they have any
strange language quirks such as accents, and the sorts of idiomatic language
they might use. Body language is important, too. What do happiness, anger,
fear, and other major emotions look like?
What sorts of holidays to they celebrate? Is there a dominant
religion? That can have a huge effect on how they act and what they value.
Family structures, typical childhood and the transition to
adulthood, and interpersonal or interspecies relations can fall here, too.
4. How do they govern themselves?
If you get enough people in a certain place, some sort of
leadership and organizational structure will emerge. Consider whether there’s a
central ruling body and how the rulers get to be there. If leadership is more
decentralized, how is order maintained? How are laws made and enforced? How do
the citizens feel about the government, and what does the government do, if
anything, about dissention?
5. What is their history?
Where they have been will effect where they are now. There’s no
need to write an entire history book or come up with a cast of major historical
figures, but a general idea of major events in history or development would
help determine their values.
Try It Yourself
Cultures can be extremely complex, and this list is not
exhaustive, but if you keep these things in mind, you can lay a good foundation
for a new culture.
After hatching years ago in a
land very far away, Cindy Koepp tried to hide under a secret identity, but she
finally gave that up and started openly telling people she was an alien capable
of adopting many forms. To her surprise, with the exception of one class of
elementary students, no one believed her. They assumed she was joking, thereby
giving her the perfect cover story. She spent 14 years mutating the minds of
four-footers – that’s height, not leg count – but gave that up to study the
methodology needed to mutate the minds of adult humans. In her off time, she
writes about her adventures under the guise of telling science fiction and
fantasy stories, records her blog articles, and reads wonderful books in
exchange for editing help. Her books include; Mindstorm: Parley at Ologo, Remnant in the Stars and Language Arts Centers for Intermediate Grades. Here are Cindy’s social
media links: Twitter: @CCKoepp Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Koepp Blog: http://cindykoepp.wordpress.com Webpage: http://ckoepp.com
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