“Power Franchise – a franchise that has reached such a legendary status that it has been adopted into mainstream society. e.g. Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter.”
A power franchise is the key to building a great career as an author.
The World Building School is here to look beyond just 1 book, videogame or campaign. It is about helping you build the foundations to a “Power Franchise”.
3 Elements Of A Power Franchise
- Character
- Story
- World Building
The Window To An Audience
Every franchise requires a way to introduce the audience into your world. I like to think of this as the window – a way for them to take a look inside before choosing to walk through the door and live in the house.
The window you use will change depending upon the area you specialise in:
- Writers – Novels
- Games Designers – Video Game
- Dungeon Masters – Campaign
- Script Writer/Director – Film
Once these windows have been looked through it is then down to the World Building to sell the franchise.
Characters and Story
Now I know the reason that each reader turns to the next page is because of the characters you have introduced them to, as well as they story they are experiencing. However a well built world is critical to these elements.
The characters will be tainted and moulded by the society they were brought up in. They are affected by geographic locations and limited to the scientific laws of their universe.
A reader first falls in love with your character, but then they become obsessed with the world as the story reveals more of it. It is that obsession which builds a power franchise.
The human desire to escape from the life we live in becomes so strong that the fantasy of your world bleeds through into our own. People have Star Wars weddings and Kids go to school wearing Gryffindor scarfs.
All of this is beyond your character. It is more than the story you have written. People are now living in the world you have created.
Developing Characters and Story
There are many brilliant websites that focus on the development of these two core elements. For this reason I won’t be writing much about either of them, however I will link to valuable articles and websites where it is appropriate (or if I find something I love and think you will love too).
World Building: The Third Element
- Lord Of The Rings
- Star Wars
- Harry Potter.
- Avatar
The key reason why the above franchises have done so well is because of the powerful world building behind them.
Fans were introduced to each of these worlds and became obsessed with them. A long with developing the ideas and concepts behind what makes a great world I’ll also use WB School to look at different ways to create windows into our worlds.
It’s Down To You
How much time you spend on developing your world before you start writing will depend upon a few factors.
- The genre you are writing in
- You as an Individual
If the thought of turning your imagination into a power franchise has you as excited as it does me then please subscribe today. Click here to subscribe to the WB School RSS feed and email subscription.
