Fantasy Author Slated to Teach Worldbuilding Workshops

STATESBORO, Ga. - Oct. 19, 2017 - PRLog -- As part of the upcoming Write Place Writers Festival, William Timothy Murray will be teaching two workshops on worldbuilding.   Murray is the author of the epic fantasy, The Year of the Red Door.   Born and raised in Statesboro, Murray will be returning to participate at the invitation of festival organizers.

"Oh, it's quite an honor to be asked," Murray said.   "After all, my writing career definitely began in Statesboro."

When asked about the workshops, he was quick to point out that although worldbuilding is usually associated with works of fantasy, it is becoming a more important literary concept for a number of genres.

"Any time that you build for a reader some picture of a different time or place," he explained, "you are doing worldbuilding.   So, in that sense, worldbuilding is just as important for the writer of history as it is for writers of mysteries, science fiction, or fantasy."

The workshops will be Saturday morning, November 4. The first workshop will be about what worldbuilding is and how it works.   Murray will be offering perspectives and advice from his own experience.

"It will be about concepts," he said. "But I will also offer many tips and words of advice to help new and experienced authors.   The second workshop will deal with practical matters. Maps, chronologies, timetables, and other worldbuilding aspects.   And I'll talk about and demo the kinds of software that can help out with various tasks that authors face when worldbuilding."

Murray's epic fantasy, The Year of the Red Door, spans some five volumes, and it has spawned two other works set in the same world.   Although released to very little fanfare, The Year of the Red Door is already considered a masterpiece by some critics, due in part to the complex and rich world that he created for readers to experience.

"Well, I'm very fortunate that folks seem to like the story," he said.  "I wrote it for people who like the kind of stories that I like: long, engaging, and immersive.   That isn't exactly in vogue these days.  With everyone else's books getting shorter and shorter, mine just get longer and longer!   But that's the way I like it, and I'm very gratified that there are a few others out there that like it, too."

Just where those other people are is something that baffles Murray.   As it turns out, most of his readers are overseas, with Australian readers leading the way.

"Yes, it's very odd," Murray commented. "I really thought most of my readers would be from the U.S., particularly the South.   But for every copy I sell here, I sell three or four copies overseas.   I really don't know why.   That's completely opposite of what most U.S. authors experience.  I'm not complaining, mind you!"

When asked about his hometown's influence, Murray said that it could not be overstated.   Several of the characters are based on people that he knew while growing up in Statesboro.

"Besides that," he said, "the small town where The Year of the Red Door begins is somewhat modeled on the Statesboro that I knew growing up.   Agriculturally oriented, with many tradesmen, located on the crossroads of important trade routes, not very far from the coast or the mountains.   I moved away a long time ago to pursue my career, so I don't know how much things have changed.   But I remember how people helped each other out, and that's a big part of the story, too."

You can learn more about attending the Write Place Writers Festival, including the workshops, by visiting the Averitt Center for the Arts website at https://www.averittcenterforthearts.org/the-write-place.   And you can learn more about The Year of the Red Door by visiting www.TheYearOfTheRedDoor.com.