>> I did a University Bachelor's degree in Biology, so I have a decent base of knowledge but I never went into all the details, and some of it is fuzzy now. Enough to give a solid foundation though. <<
So pick up a biology book as a refresher, or read a website on the topic.
>> And I always forget about do something smaller than a whole world. I like the idea of just looking at one bit of it, then developing more details later if needed or I feel like it. <<
:D I'm glad I could help.
Often it's nice to pick a starting example from this world and imagine a different example from another. A food web. How sex works. Genetics. A species. That sort of thing.
>> That makes a lot of sense to me, though I'm quite confused as to how you would go about writing surface in. Don't you *need* to start at the core? <<
ROFL you are so adorable.
That is exactly how I feel too. Apparently, what most people do -- and this includes professionals -- is take something and copy its appearance. They do not do what I do: "Oh, that's cool. I wonder how it works inside?" and take the thing apart. This is a big reason why most modern entertainment sucks. The people doing it have no idea what they are doing. They don't grasp plot, characterization, setting, archetypes, the hero's journey and its analogues from other cultures, or what a mythic cycle is and how it differs from a canon let alone how to run either.
Seriously, Understanding Comics explains a lot about how comics work, how storytelling works, and why most people suck at it.
I should probably warn you that I can teach you a ton about storytelling, but it is likely to make you and your work wildly unsuited to mainstream markets. This may or may not be something you want.
Re: I'm going to try
So pick up a biology book as a refresher, or read a website on the topic.
>> And I always forget about do something smaller than a whole world. I like the idea of just looking at one bit of it, then developing more details later if needed or I feel like it. <<
:D I'm glad I could help.
Often it's nice to pick a starting example from this world and imagine a different example from another. A food web. How sex works. Genetics. A species. That sort of thing.
>> That makes a lot of sense to me, though I'm quite confused as to how you would go about writing surface in. Don't you *need* to start at the core? <<
ROFL you are so adorable.
That is exactly how I feel too. Apparently, what most people do -- and this includes professionals -- is take something and copy its appearance. They do not do what I do: "Oh, that's cool. I wonder how it works inside?" and take the thing apart. This is a big reason why most modern entertainment sucks. The people doing it have no idea what they are doing. They don't grasp plot, characterization, setting, archetypes, the hero's journey and its analogues from other cultures, or what a mythic cycle is and how it differs from a canon let alone how to run either.
Seriously, Understanding Comics explains a lot about how comics work, how storytelling works, and why most people suck at it.
See also how Save the Cat ruined movies.
I should probably warn you that I can teach you a ton about storytelling, but it is likely to make you and your work wildly unsuited to mainstream markets. This may or may not be something you want.