@sophiaawrites / sophiaawrites.tumblr.com
Some writing days are surgical and precise. Every move is calculated and executed to perfection. Your paragraphs are crisp, clean and plentiful.
The rest of the time, you’re six years old, everything is written backwards in blunt crayon, you’re squirting way too much glue on the page and slapping irrelevant shit into the book, the pages are stuck together, the house is on fire, you’re screaming–
If your characters have recently experienced something difficult and you want to expand on the emotions that they feel afterwards, I have a couple of tips for writing realistic emotions after the fact.
After a difficult event, people band together in ways you wouldn’t imagine. It’s hard to stay by yourself when you’ve gone through something hard. Your characters will be much closer, and they’ll work on healing next to each other.
– This is a continuation of a series that began with 20 Mistakes To Avoid In Young Adult Fiction/Romance. I included a couple exterior sources throughout the article that covers certain points in more detail for those who would like further advice. I hope this is helpful. Happy writing!
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Not all references to pop culture are misplaced in sci fi. For instance, in Ready Player One, it’s integral to the plot. However, it’s random references to political things or important people that do not have anything to do with the movement of the plot or are misplaced within the context of the universe. This can bring your reader out of the story and confuse them in terms of world building and basic information about the history of your constructed universe.
Do your research about space if you’re writing about space, and learn about how different planets work, the rules of physics, the laws of gravity, the conditions in other parts of the galaxy, etc. This information is available to you in may places and in many formats that are broken down simply for you to understand, especially for writers. You just have to look for it. I actually have a resource master post called “Resources For Writing Science Fiction” that would be really, really useful for this.
Aliens shouldn’t just be modified versions of humans. Coloring a human purple doesn’t make them interesting. Think about the environmental factors on the alien’s home planet and how those conditions would affect their biological makeup and physical/mental features. Take the time to do this, because readers appreciate it when it’s done well.
This is just a word for technological-sounding gibberish that writers put into their book to make it sound legitimate. However, what a lot of them do not realize is that science fiction readers are often interested in science, and therefore know that it’s 3 sentences full of nothing. This is okay in some circumstances, but it can never hurt to do 10 minutes of googling to maybe learn a bit about what you’re about to feed to the reader before writing it. Technobabble is really useful for writing the first draft (where you’re just telling yourself the story to have something to develop), but it shouldn’t live past that point.
Do not take on constructed languages if you aren’t ready for years and years of study and practice with linguistics, because your conlang will flop. J.R.R. Tolkien, who is famous for not only his series Lord of The Rings and his novel The Hobbit, but also the invented languages within them. He had a long career in linguistics and was well-versed in it, and that is why they’re such a sticking point of his works in Science Fiction. It took years of study and practice to create the conlangs in those books. Conlangs are no game.
Most authors do not like prologues for a plethora of reasons, but with science fiction there’s really not a good justification for having one. Start where the action is and input the important highlights from the past as they become important to the reader’s understanding of the present.
Long paragraphs or pages upon pages describing the setting or the way the character is feeling and so-on has no place in any book, let alone science fiction which is already packed to the brim with detail no matter what. Sprinkle detail in as it becomes relevant instead of getting it all out in one spot and then expecting the reader to see the significance in every one.
It’s good practice to avoid over-description of things that don’t matter. The general rule of thumb is show, don’t tell, but also, don’t bore the reader with 3 sentences describing each button on a control panel that the main character walks past once and never appears again.
This is simply a pet-peeve of a lot of people, and it doesn’t really add anything to your story. It’s cliche and kind of laughable when a writer names their character “Celeste Apollo Saturn” or something like that. Sure, it makes you feel original, but it doesn’t add to the reader’s experience much. It’s okay to have unique, space-themed names, just don’t overdo it.
Overthink your world. Overthink your characters. Overthink the details. Explore all the possibilities. The better you know your world and everything in it, the more vivid your storytelling will be, even if 80% of the details you’ve explored are left out. You should be an expert in your story, because that will make you tell it better.
Please don’t rewrite Star Trek, Star Wars, The Avengers, etc. and just change the names. There’s a difference between taking a trope or a popular type of science fiction story and putting your own twist or speculation on it, and handing your reader a book version of an existing story.
“Apply logic in places where it wasn’t intended to exist. If assured that the Queen of the Fairies has a necklace made of broken promises, ask yourself what it looks like. If there is magic, where does it come from? Why isn’t everyone using it? What rules will you have to give it to allow some tension in your story? How does society operate? Where does the food come from? You need to know how your world works.”
- Terry Pratchett
Your audience can deduce things, and doesn’t need every implication explained to them. You don’t need to beat the symbolism and implications into their brain by constantly alluding to it or reiterating it in a million different ways. Subtext is important, and it should be left as subtext, otherwise there’s no need for thinking about the story and your reader will forget it (or worse, be irritated by it).
Don’t do this. Just don’t. There’s always going to be someone who notices even the most minute details that are not explained when they should be, and then shares with a friend, and then it becomes a thing. If the thought “eh, I don’t have to include this detail because nobody will notice that this whole scene is ridiculous without it” crosses your mind, kill it. However, there’s a difference between a plot hole and a detail that was cut due to irrelevance, and that’s explained in the next point.
You, after months or even years of planning, may forget to include important details for the reader’s understanding due to the fact that overtime they seem so obvious to you. Be careful about this, and make sure that every scene you write is set up with the information the reader needs to know in order to understand what’s going on. This is easy to do as long as you have someone on the outside who can tell you where things get confusing and where the holes are.
You’re telling a story, and it’s important that you have an actual story to tell before you develop the world around it. Not every detail you plan out will be relevant to the story and won’t make it to the final draft, and that’s okay. Put the story first, and don’t sacrifice the reader’s focus to add detail that doesn’t enhance the story, because it will take away from it instead.
point of view, tense, person You should be very careful about the stylistic decisions you make about the way in which you will deliver your story to the reader, because this is often what makes sci-fi convoluted and boring. The three main details you need to decide on carefully are which point of view you tell the story from, so which character you’re choosing to focus on, the tense (past, present, or future), and person(first, second, or third). Most stories are told in third person surrounding the main character in past tense. Future tense and second person are pretty rare, but can be pulled off by authors who are willing to take on the challenge (though I don’t recommend it if you’re not willing to do a lot of problem solving and workshopping in following drafts).
When your story deals with something like, say, time travel, you need to not only imagine the implications for your characters’ present, but their future along with everyone else’s. You also have to recognize that small changes may have a butterfly effect, but the universe has a way of straightening history out, and not all of them will have eternal lasting effects on the future. You’re speculating, and speculating doesn’t stop at how your characters’ situations change at the immediate moment, but also in the long run, as well as what implications come with each new detail you change between your world and ours.
This genre is not for the writers who identify as pantsers rather than planners. This genre is very, very difficult to approach as even a very organized author, and its readers are typically very observant and nit-picky. That isn’t a bad thing. It’s a great thing, as long as you’re prepared for what you’re in for.
Mark Vorenkamp actually explained this really well in this article, so I recommend heading over there because he articulates it way better than I ever could.
Accept that you’re not a world-famous scientist and that you don’t have all the answers or all the research to back up the speculation and estimation that comes with science fiction. That’s okay, and as long as you do your best to know what you’re talking about and do as much research as possible to add substance to detail, you’re fine. This is fiction, after all. Not a dissertation.
This article is really, really detailed and extensive, and it’s a good continuation of what I’ve covered in this article. I recommend giving it a read if you’re about to sink your teeth into the editing or second-draft onward of your story, because it further examines things like the use of passive voice in sci-fi, and other, more advanced details of writing for this genre specifically.
Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here.
How to apply Writing techniques for action scenes:
- Short sentences. Choppy. One action, then another. When there’s a lull in the fight, take a moment, using longer phrases to analyze the situation–then dive back in. Snap, snap, snap. - Same thing with words - short, simple, and strong in the thick of battle. Save the longer syllables for elsewhere. - Characters do not dwell on things when they are in the heat of the moment. They will get punched in the face. Focus on actions, not thoughts. - Go back and cut out as many adverbs as possible. - No seriously, if there’s ever a time to use the strongest verbs in your vocabulary - Bellow, thrash, heave, shriek, snarl, splinter, bolt, hurtle, crumble, shatter, charge, raze - it’s now. - Don’t forget your other senses. People might not even be sure what they saw during a fight, but they always know how they felt. - Taste: Dry mouth, salt from sweat, copper tang from blood, etc - Smell: OP nailed it - Touch: Headache, sore muscles, tense muscles, exhaustion, blood pounding. Bruised knuckles/bowstring fingers. Injuries that ache and pulse, sting and flare white hot with pain. - Pain will stay with a character. Even if it’s minor. - Sound and sight might blur or sharpen depending on the character and their experience/exhaustion. Colors and quick movements will catch the eye. Loud sounds or noises from behind may serve as a fighter’s only alert before an attack. - If something unexpected happens, shifting the character’s whole attention to that thing will shift the Audience’s attention, too. - Aftermath. This is where the details resurface, the characters pick up things they cast aside during the fight, both literally and metaphorically. Fights are chaotic, fast paced, and self-centered. Characters know only their self, their goals, what’s in their way, and the quickest way around those threats. The aftermath is when people can regain their emotions, their relationships, their rationality/introspection, and anything else they couldn’t afford to think or feel while their lives were on the line.
Do everything you can to keep the fight here and now. Maximize the physical, minimize the theoretical. Keep things immediate - no theories or what ifs.
If writing a strategist, who needs to think ahead, try this: keep strategy to before-and-after fights. Lay out plans in calm periods, try to guess what enemies are thinking or what they will do. During combat, however, the character should think about his options, enemies, and terrain in immediate terms; that is, in shapes and direction. (Large enemy rushing me; dive left, circle around / Scaffolding on fire, pool below me / two foes helping each other, separate them.)
Lastly, after writing, read it aloud. Anyplace your tongue catches up on a fast moving scene, edit. Smooth action scenes rarely come on the first try.
More for martial arts or hand-to-hand in general
What a character’s wearing will affect how they fight. The more restricting the clothes, the harder it will be. If they’re wearing a skirt that is loose enough to fight in, modesty will be lost in a life or death situation.
Jewelry can also be very bad. Necklaces can be grabbed onto. Bracelets also can be grabbed onto or inhibit movement. Rings it can depend on the person.
Shoes also matter. Tennis shoes are good and solid, but if you’re unused to them there’s a chance of accidentally hurting your ankle. High heels can definitely be a problem. However, they can also make very good weapons, especially for someone used to balancing on the balls of their feet. Side kicks and thrusting kicks in soft areas (like the solar plexus) or the feet are good ideas. They can also (hopefully) be taken off quickly and used as a hand weapon. Combat boots are great but if someone relies more on speed or aren’t used to them, they can weigh a person down. Cowboy boots can be surprisingly good. Spin kicks (if a character is quick enough to use them) are especially nasty in these shoes.
If a character is going to fight barefoot, please keep location in mind. Concrete can mess up your feet quick. Lawns, yards, etc often have hidden holes and other obstacles that can mess up a fighter. Tile floors or waxed wood can be very slippery if you’re not careful or used to them.
Likewise, if it’s outside be aware of how weather will affect the fight. The sun’s glare can really impede a fighter’s sight. A wet location, inside or outside, can cause a fighter to slip and fall. Sweat on the body can cause a fighter to lose a grip on an opponent too.
Pressure points for a trained fighter are great places to aim for in a fight. The solar plexus is another great place to aim for. It will knock the wind out of anyone and immediately weaken your opponent.
It your character is hit in the solar plexus and isn’t trained, they’re going down. The first time you get hit there you are out of breath and most people double over in confusion and pain. If a fighter is more used to it, they will stand tall and expand themselves in order to get some breath. They will likely keep fighting, but until their breath returns to normal, they will be considerably weaker.
Do not be afraid to have your character use obstacles in their environment. Pillars, boxes, bookshelves, doors, etc. They put distance between you and an opponent which can allow you to catch your breath.
Do not be afraid to have your character use objects in their environment. Someone’s coming at you with a spear, trident, etc, then pick up a chair and get it caught in the legs or use it as a shield. Bedsheets can make a good distraction and tangle someone up. Someone’s invading your home and you need to defend yourself? Throw a lamp. Anything can be turned into a weapon.
Guns often miss their targets at longer distances, even by those who have trained heavily with them. They can also be easier to disarm as they only shoot in one direction. However, depending on the type, grabbing onto the top is a very very bad idea. There is a good likelihood you WILL get hurt.
Knives are nasty weapons by someone who knows what they’re doing. Good fighters never hold a knife the way you would when cutting food. It is best used when held against the forearm. In defense, this makes a block more effective and in offense, slashing movement from any direction are going to be bad. If a character is in a fight with a knife or trying to disarm one, they will get hurt.
Soft areas hit with hard body parts. Hard areas hit with soft body parts. The neck, stomach, and other soft areas are best hit with punches, side kicks, elbows, and other hard body parts. Head and other hard parts are best hit using a knife hand, palm strike, etc. Spin kicks will be nasty regardless of what you’re aiming for it they land.
Common misconception with round house kicks is that you’re hitting with the top of the foot. You’re hitting with the ball. You’re likely to break your foot when hitting with the top.
When punching, the thumb is outside of the fist. You’ll break something if you’re hitting with the thumb inside, which a lot of inexperienced fighters do.
Also, punching the face or jaw can hurt.
It can be hard to grab a punch if you’re not experienced with it despite how easy movies make it seem. It’s best to dodge or redirect it.
Hitting to the head is not always the best idea. It can take a bit of training to be able to reach for the head with a kick because of the height. Flexibility is very much needed. If there are problems with their hips or they just aren’t very flexible, kicks to the head aren’t happening.
Jump kicks are a good way to hit the head, but an opponent will see it coming if it’s too slow or they are fast/experienced.
A good kick can throw an opponent back or knock them to the ground. If the person you’ve hit has experience though, they’ll immediately be getting up again.
Even if they’ve trained for years in a martial art, if they haven’t actually hit anything before or gotten hit, it will be slightly stunning for the person. It does not feel the way you expect it too.
Those yells in martial arts are not just for show. If done right, they tighten your core making it easier to take a hit in that area. Also, they can be used to intimidate an opponent. Yelling or screaming right by their ear can startle someone. (Generally, KHR fans look at Squalo for yelling)
Biting can also be used if someone’s grabbing you. Spitting in someone’s eyes can’t hurt. Also, in a chokehold or if someone is trying to grab your neck in general, PUT YOU CHIN DOWN. This cuts off access and if they’re grabbing in the front can dig into their hand and hurt.
Wrist grabs and other grabs can be good. Especially if it’s the first move an opponent makes and the character is trained, there are simple ways to counter that will have a person on their knees in seconds..
Use what your character has to their advantage. If they’re smaller or have less mass, then they’ll be relying on speed, intelligence, evasion, and other similar tactics. Larger opponents will be able to take hits better, they’re hits may be slower depending on who it is but will hurt like hell if they land, and size can be intimidating. Taller people with longer legs will want to rely on kicking and keeping their distance since they have the advantage there. Shorter people will want to keep the distance closer where it’s easier for them but harder for a taller opponent. Punching is a good idea.
Using a person’s momentum against them is great. There’s martial arts that revolve around this whole concept. They throw a punch? Grab it and pull them forward and around. Their momentum will keep them going and knock them off balance.
Leverage can used in the same way. If used right, you can flip a person, dislocate a shoulder, throw out a knee, etc.
One note on adrenaline: All that was said above is true about it. But, in a fight, it can also make you more aware of what’s going on. A fight that lasts twenty seconds can feel like a minute because time seems to almost slow down while moving extremely rapidly. You only have so much time to think about what you’re doing. You’re taking in information constantly and trying to adjust. Even in the slow down adrenaline gives you, everything is moving very rapidly.
Feelings will be your downfall even more so than adrenaline. Adrenaline can make those feelings more intense, but a good fighter has learned not to listen to those feelings. A good fighter may feel anger at being knocked down or in some way humiliated - their pride taken down. Yet they will not act on the anger. Acting on it makes a fighter more instinctive and many will charge without thinking. Losing control of anything (adrenaline rush, emotions, technique, etc) can be a terrible thing in a fight.
Just thought I’d add in here.
YES. YES.
Such good writing tips! @myebi
@jmlascar you’ve probably seen this already, but in case you haven’t, it’s got some good info on fight scenes :)
Pretty important for the scenes I’m focusing on right now. Thanks for the writing tips!!
This has crossed my dash before, but I forgot to reblog it.
Anger:
Sadness:
Oh thank the gods
You could always nip it in the butt too if that makes you happy.
You gotta have a plan…
This is the mist motivational and inspiring thing I’ve seen all goddamn week
This is incredible.
I was inspired from a discussion with @desperatlytryingtowriteabook to talk about this more in-depth.
Let’s talk about food
Food is an integral part of any culture, and that’s what makes it so key for worldbuilding. Where other topics like history or religion can only really be explored in-depth by experts in the field (in a setting that makes sense anyways), food is universal. Everyone, for the most part, eats. And food is something that anyone could talk about with some degree of certainty.
It was not often that the snow queen received human visitors, and it was even rarer that they bore no ill will towards her. Seeing the small party before her, she withheld a sigh, prepared for the usual declarations of self-righteous justice of her would be slayers. This song and dance had been playing for a millennia, and had long since ceased to be even remotely amusing.
To her shock however, the leader of the group, quickly sank to their knees before her, followed by the rest of the anxious group. For the first time in quite a while, she was both surprised and intrigued. Turning towards the group, she gave them her full attention, the weight of her stare causing many of them to tremble, though strangely, they remained firm.
“Please” The leader finally spoke, voice laced with desperation. “We need your help.”
Sé que existen programas que hacen mapas de fantasía, pero yo soy una persona analógica y me aclaro mejor sobre el papel, así que os voy a explicar cómo hago yo los mapas. Vamos a hacer este mapa de una ciudad a la que he llamado Odenwood (nombre de la ciudad de un fanfic que escribí con trece años en la que salía un asesino a sueldo y una noble chica que era la mayor Mary Sue que plagado jamás una historia y cuyo nombre se parecía un poco al mío, pero definitivamente no era mi nombre).
Aviso: Este post es muuuuy largo. Es posible que penséis que he puesto demasiado pasos en todo esto. Prefería ir despacio y ser clara.
Bien, a mí me gustan los acantilados y los pueblos costeros, así que eso es lo que voy a dibujar. Si vosotros preferís montañas y ríos, eso está bien también.
Empezamos dibujando el terreno:
Primero lo dibujé a lápiz y, cuando estuve contenta con el resultado, lo pasé a tinta. Que nadie se piense que tengo la mano tan firme.
Ahora entra en juego la segunda hoja de papel. La colocamos encima de nuestro terreno de tal forma que se pueda calcar. No hace falta calcar el terreno en la segunda hoja de papel pero se tiene que ver dónde está el acantilado, la playa…
Sobre este calco situamos los puntos principales de nuestra ciudad. Yo he colocado un puerto mercantil en la zona Este porque en mi imaginación el mundo se extiende hacia el este y los barcos de mercancías vendrán por ese lado. Sin embargo, el puerto pesquero está al sur porque ahí hay mejores peces y no se asustan tanto con el trasiego de barcos.
El castillo siempre estará en la zona de más difícil acceso, porque es la más protegida. La parte alta del acantilado es el lugar perfecto.
Empezamos trazando los caminos entre los tres puntos que acabamos de situar y otro camino que venga desde el continente. La gente del castillo necesitará pescado, mercancías y viajar por tierra hacia el continente.
Los caminos largos tendrán más curvas, puesto que la gente siempre toma el sendero con menos resistencia al avance. Montículos, rocas y cosas así harán que la gente se desvíe y formarán curvas.
Luego trazamos los primeros atajos. La gente que va por el camino de arriba (en adelante lo llamaremos la Vía Real, que es como seguramente la llamarán los ciudadanos si el que vive en el castillo es un rey) querrán llegar a los caminos del puerto pesquero (Calle del Pez) y al camino del puerto de mercancías (Calle del Mercado) [Nota: como veis, nombrar calles es más bien intuitivo]. No van a pasar por el castillo cada vez que quieran hacer eso. Por eso dibujamos calles secundarias (morado).
Luego dibujamos calles que se dirijan a otras zonas, como bosques (que todavía no tenemos) y zonas de cultivo (azul).
Y por último, dibujamos atajos entre todas estas calles (verde).
Y ya tenemos una red de calles con la que podemos trabajar.
Otros nombres comunes de calles son:
En la vida real somos poco originales dando nombre a las calles.
Ahora notamos que hay puntos en los que se juntan varias calles. Esas serán plazas:
Volvemos al papel en el que teníamos el terreno y dibujamos el castillo y nuestros puertos:
(Se puede ver la red de calles en el papel de abajo)
Tener el papel con las calles debajo va a ser muy útil ahora porque vamos a dibujar la muralla de la ciudad. Tenemos que ver dónde están los caminos porque en esos lugares las murallas tendrán puertas:
Una vez que tengamos los límites de la ciudad, podemos empezar a dibujar bloques (barrios) respetando las calles y dejando espacio para los lugares en los que hemos acordado que habrá plazas.
Si os fijáis, la puerta de la Vía Real es más grande. Esta será la puerta principal de la ciudad, por la que vendrán dignatarios de dentro del continente. La llamaremos Puerta Real, aunque es muy probable que los ciudadanos se refieran a ella de forma informal como “la puerta grande”.
Las otras puertas pueden tener nombre también: la Puerta Oeste, la Puerta Sur, la Puerta del Mercado y la Puerta de la Costa. Por ejemplo…
Una vez que tenemos los barrios (sería corriente que se organizasen por gremios, aunque muchos servicios estarán en la vía Real, como posadas, tabernas, tiendas…), los partimos en bloques mas pequeños:
Y después de eso, cuando veamos bloques muy grandes, podemos hacer patios de luces o callejones de entrada:
(ignorad los cuatro tejados que ya están pintados. Me he venido arriba y me he olvidado de hacer foto antes).
Podríamos dejarlo así, si es que la estética blanca os gusta más. Yo quería enseñaros cómo quedaba con los tejados pintados así que he pintado el sentido de las aguas en los tejados. También he añadido monumentos en las plazas.
Nuestra ciudad ya está. Podríamos dejarla así. Si embargo, si nuestras ciudad es próspera y antigua, y la paz ha sido duradera, es posible que más gente haya querido mudarse a ella. el problema es que la ciudad ya estaba completa o vivir dentro de las murallas era demasiado caro. En esos casos, es posible que se empiecen a formar nuevos barrios fuera de los muros. Al fin y al cabo, en tiempos de paz no se necesita la protección de los muros.
Estos nuevos barrios se formarán alrededor de las puertas y se expandirán principalmente a lo largo del camino, aunque pueden crecer también a lo ancho (pero esto requeriría más tiempo)
Dicho esto, añadimos estos barrios y un bosque y ya tenemos la bonita ciudad de Odenwood:
The myth that panic, looting, and antisocial behavior increases during the apocalypse (or apocalyptic-like scenarios) is in fact a myth—and has been solidly disproved by multiple scientific studies. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, a research group within the United States Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), has produced research that shows over and over again that “disaster victims are assisted first by others in the immediate vicinity and surrounding area and only later by official public safety personnel […] The spontaneous provision of assistance is facilitated by the fact that when crises occur, they take place in the context of ongoing community life and daily routines—that is, they affect not isolated individuals but rather people who are embedded in networks of social relationships.” (Facing Hazards and Disasters: Understanding Human Dimensions, National Academy of Sciences, 2006). Humans do not, under the pressure of an emergency, socially collapse. Rather, they seem to display higher levels of social cohesion, despite what media or government agents might expect…or portray on TV. Humans, after the apocalypse, band together in collectives to help one another—and they do this spontaneously. Disaster response workers call it ‘spontaneous prosocial helping behavior’, and it saves lives.
I’ve been sharing this article a lot recently! I think it’s important
#stop believing capitalism’s myths about human nature#and start remembering that we are the descendants of the first animals to bury their dead with flowers#we are all alive because of kindness. because of cooperation. because of companionship. because of mutual aid.#we did not become the dominant species based on rugged individualism: we survived together. and that’s the only way forward. (via @robotmango)
the person above me steps on their own point by referring to humans as the “dominant” species
I don’t get the last one e.e
If it is empty and the other cars are full there is a reason you don’t want to learn that reason
^^^^^
[source: City-Building]
Every city provides an array of service, residential, and industrial functions. How these services are arranged in relationship to one another is what we call the urban structure, or the land use structure.
There are three modern models used to describe these structures, which were based on observations of the North American city, as well as some additional models that help explain unique situations and antiquity. However, it is important to note that not every city falls into one of these models. These models attempt to explain larger organizational trends of people/services seen in existing cities. They do not dictate ultimate city form. In other words, you couldn’t use these models to decide whether or not your street patterns are gridded or irregular, you couldn’t use it to decide whether or not your city is planned, circular, square, or organic in form. You could design a grid city that fits any of these models for example! City form is only influenced, not dictated, by your urban structure.
Thus we can conclude that an urban structure model is more theory on the spacial relationships goods, services, and people need and have to one another in a city, and city form is your physical implementation of these ideas.
I am going to explain each model and then point out the Take-Aways, or the critical content and concepts that will help you in deciding and designing your city. Consider it your TL:DR version.
So! before we delve into this, I want to explain what a city ‘core’ is, mostly because it gets referenced quite a bit when discussing the models. A city core is the area of the city where the flow of people, culture, goods, services, information, etc is most concentrated. Often times it is considered the center of business. Cost of living is the highest here, as is the magnitude of activity. Today we may refer to this as the ‘downtown‘ of a city, or the ‘hub‘ or the ‘heart‘. Examples in antiquity are the Agora in Athens or the Roman Forum, and Central London in the modern. Cities can have one core or several, depending on many different factors.
So now that we have an idea of what a core is, lets look at these models!
In this first model, the city is organized in a series of rings emitting concentrically outwards from the Core. As you can see above, that core of the city makes up the entire first ring, followed by (2) a ring of industry & factories, (3) a zone of transition intermixing working class housing & industry, (4) working–class residences, (4) middle–class residences, and (5) the commuter zone. When applied generally, you can see this either in play or in the past in many American and European cities.
In real-time practice, these zones would encroach somewhat on each other, and would need to respond to any cultural influences and demands made by the terrain. As with all models, it needs a reasonable transportation network (good roads, trains, etc). However, in a Concentric Zone Model, most often the transit system is expensive and use is thus limited to the wealthy.
The Core & Inner Rings of Chicago
This model was developed by sociologist Ernest Burgess in his observation of cities in the American pre-car, industrial age (specifically Chicago). This model was based on the (at that time) observation that the poor did not have access or money to bring themselves in and out of the city every day (because transit was expensive!), while the wealthier wanted fresh air & space.
Here is the concentric model overlay of Chicago, as Burgess observed in 1920:
If you are interested in seeing how Chicago developed over a span of 100 years, this site has some really great images and a quick overview! If you do take a look, notice how each year Chicago expands concentrically outwards, as does the rail road. This animated graphic goes through changing median incomes over the last 40 years, where you can still see present the observations Burgess made–a strong economic center, surrounded by poorer industry & working class residences, followed with the middle & upper classes always remaining even further outwards.
The First Take Away: This model really hits home the influence of a core, whether it is business, legislative, or religious. A core is a major organizational component of a city–knowing where your core (or cores) are in your city will help you decide your next major moves.
Though this model was developed in reflection of the early industrial city, where you had concentrated inner city poverty and outer wealthy suburbs, you can always adjust these relationships and ring definitions as you build your own city. And these relationships are different, depending on the city you look at. It is easy to make the case for a wealthy inner city that surrounds the core, with manufacturing and poverty towards the outer rings (See: New York, See: Ancient Aachen).
Aachen City Plan (Check out High Res here!!)
This model also has a single core, with social groups and industries arranged around it in a series of sectors or districts that are more defined by their relationship to major transit lines. In a way, this is just an evolution of the Concentric model–where, as a more complex and affordable transit network emerges, the city too responds.
The lesson here is that city form follows transit lines and that you need to think about who uses those lines: Industry? Low Income Residents? Commuters? Furthermore, Higher income neighborhoods tend to follow higher ground, extending along non-industry river fronts, along transit lines as well, and usually towards open country. This model also acknowledges that there is high-income residents interested in living close to the core.
An example would be Sunderland, England, as diagrammed below; read more here. The waterline here is a major transit line and you can see industry hugs this waterway. Lower classes in turn hug the industrial belt, where they would find a source for work. Middle and upper classes expand towards the open but still have relative access to the CBD (Central Business District/Core)
The Second & Third Take Away: This model is a little more realistic when it comes to more industrialized cities. People and industry pretty much always follow transit systems. That doesn’t mean you cant have several transit systems in place. Maybe there is one train line for industrial use and one for commuters? Maybe you have some major public boulevards for carriages used primarily by merchants and high-income and offshoot pedestrian paths for the low-income residents? Service roads and commercial streets?
This model also acknowledges that people of all income classes like to live closer where they work.
I am adding a map of Bruges, though it never really underwent any sort of industrialization. Here you can see how the city has expanded along major transit lines and water ways–the most along the major water channel, which happens to have a significant amount of industry surrounding it as you move north.
This model states that cities are composed of several cores-religious cores, industrial cores, business cores, cultural cores, etc. Around each of these cores conglomerate related services. For example, a university core may attract well-educated residents, pizzerias, and bookstores, whereas an airport may attract hotels, low-income residences, and warehouses. Incompatible activities will avoid clustering in the same area. (1)
This obvious acknowledges that different functions require different amenities. But, it also that a city requires a really strong transit infrastructure. This is most likely a system to exist on a large scale where cars or some other form of rapid transit are in place.
Los Angels is a great example of this, since the city is so large. One can even make an argument for NYC–with a cores around Wall Street, Times Square, Central Park, and Downtown Brooklyn–though modern NYC is a little more complicated when it comes to analyzing form due to all the planning & regulation that has influenced development over time.
The Fourth and Fifth Take Away: Larger cities tend to have several cores. Consider cores for religion, culture, ethnic backgrounds, businesses and trades, classes and government. Though there may be one central pulling force for all of them, they all most likely also have their own centers of operation. Additionally, different cores/functions require different amenities and have different users.
Garden City by Howard
So the previous three were all conceived upon the studying of North American cities. Thus you may find this doesn’t always apply in Europe, modern day 3rd worlds, and elsewhere. (If applied generally, these cities may fit). I want to briefly touch upon a few other patterns and models as well.
Irregular / Organic Pattern
Favela, Rio De Janeiro, Brasil
Most likely you’d see this occurring now in third world countries, where there is no rhyme or reason as to what is getting built where and people are building for themselves. There is no clear plan for expansion–it just happens on its own when the population needs it to. City form can take all sorts of an appearance, industries can get mixed quite heavily (so there really is a complete free for all) but you still will most likely see a separation of high and low income.
Planned Models
Brasillia, Brazil
I wanted to include planned cities because they appear all the time throughout history. A planned city is often the product of a planner taking an urban structure (existing or invented) and allowing it to dictate city form. These types of cities have been in use for thousands of years–with deliberate premeditation to zoning, land use, ritual, administration, and critical city systems.
We will delve heavily into these later on in separate articles as well. But the take away here is that, if you wish, you can take (or design) any urban structure / model and allow it to inform all your decisions about placement of housing, streets, infrastructure, and services. A city can be completely preconceived, and there are examples of planned cities going back thousands of years.
Timgad, Roman City 100AD
Mohenjo-Daro, 2600 BCE
Evolving / Patterns over Time
Europe and Middle Eastern cities each have a lot of history behind them, which of course often gives them no easily identifiable city structure today (though many can broadly fit into one of the models above). These cities have often evolved out of previously large towns or ports and have seen their borders continually expand.
Originally, many were built for the pedestrian (vs the more modern cities in North America for the cart, car, & commerce). Their form and centers are also defined strongly by their original hook—Islamic cities tend to be centralized around religious grounds, whereas many of the cities in England are centered around their ports and rivers. With time they expanded to include other services, and perhaps other cores, but this ‘old city’ still remains present and active.
The Take Away? All cities evolve over time. The longer the city has existed, the more likely there are multiple designers, cores, and ideologies of planning at play, the more likely you will have a mix of modern & ancient infrastructure and materials (dirt, cobble, and paved roads all within radius, for example, or the old city vs the new city). Additionally, older cities are more likely to be pedestrian friendly, with pedestrian-only streets, plazas, and public space.
You can see here in this map of Bruges, the old city in pink and the new city extents in green, growing along major transit paths.
Milan, 1600s
And Beyondddd….
Erich Kettelhut – Metropolis
Gotham City Concept by Anton Furst and Nigel Phelps
I’m sure there are more theories of city structure out there–there are definitely numerous theoretical and unrealized designs for cities floating around in dusty tomes of history and the deep recesses of the net. I’ll eventually touch upon some of those, but as to general city structure, this should be a good place to jump off from. Realize that you can create your own city structure and logic to things. These models above are based on the observable reality here today on this earth.
The following questions will help you figure your city form.
Bonus Reading and Sources:
via weheartit
Sanderson’s 3rd law applies to more than just magic. It applies to story in general: “Expand on what you’ve already got before you add something new.” Rather than adding another character, see if you can bring back an old character. Rather than adding a completely new situation, see if you can echo a previous one. Instead of doing something new, have a callback. Or preview something that will come. As a general rule, you rarely want an element that appears, serves a purpose, and then disappears never to be seen again. As much as possible, everything should intermingle. Squeeze as much out of one thing as you possibly can. Explore how each element can be seen in a new light when juxtaposed with a different element. For instance, characters act differently and reveal themselves differently when interacting with different characters and in different situations. So instead of adding a new character, juxtapose a character with an old character that they haven’t thus far interacted with.
Roman emperor in a lower temperature
…Caesar in the freezer
…Ruler in the cooler
…Julius in the coolius
