OWS CyCon Worldbuilding Showcase: Science Fiction Romance Writer Hywela Lyn and The World Of "The Destiny Trilogy"

Welcome to another fantastic stop in our World-building Showcase blog hop! On this stop, we’re highlighting a story that isn’t dependent on the Earth for the action, but you can find a full list of authors and topics on the OWS Cycon website. Let’s dive in!

Welcome Hywela Lyn!

Before we dive in to the nitty gritty, what is The Destiny Trilogy about?

The Destiny Trilogy is three separate full length stories linked by some of the same characters and the starship Destiny. Each story has its own hero and heroine and each story has a different theme and setting.

Does language play any role in your world? Does everyone speak the same language, or is there variety? Did you invent any new slang or terminology during your world-building process?

Although the language used in the books is English, there is a Universal language in force, called Common Universal.

What kinds of climates do your characters experience? Do they see a lot of change or is it always the same? Has your world always had this kind of climate, or has it changed over time?

There are several different planets in the three books, but the planet Niflheim is featured in the first book, Starquest and most of the second book, Children Of The Mist, takes place on this planet too. It is a planet of ice and mist. Only certain areas are habitable, but the temperate areas are very beautiful and produce crops and flowers, when the harsh winter gives way to a slightly gentler climate in the planet’s summer.


What do people in your world do for fun? Are there sports, games, music, or other activities they do in their free time?
The inhabitants of Niflheim are artistic and musical, but their main activities are based around their telepathic and telekinetic talents.

What kinds of transportation and other interesting technology do your characters have access to? Are they ahead, behind, or a mix of different kinds of tech compared to where we are now?

They have renounced all technology and destroyed the ships that brought them to the planet. They rely mainly on the descendants of genetically engineered ponies brought in cryogenic suspension with the first colony ships for their transportation. These ponies are capable of traversing the harsh, frozen landscape and surviving the freezing weather conditions.

Do you have different races or enhanced humans with their own unique abilities inhabiting your world?

Most of the inhabitants of Niflheim have developed psychic skills of varying degrees.

Your Process

When you build a world, what is your process like? Do you do a lot of research upfront, wing it completely, or something in between?

I tend to start with an idea for a world, and gradually build it up, researching where necessary.

How central is the setting of your story to the story itself? Is it more of an interesting backdrop, or is it integral to the events of the story?

The setting is part backdrop for the characters, but sometimes, as with the case of Niflheim, becomes almost a character in itself.

When helping the reader get to know the world you built, what techniques do you use? Do you tend to be upfront about things, or keep the reader in the dark and feed them only bits at a time?

I may describe enough of the world for the reader to get a ‘feel’ of the planet, but I think it’s more interesting to reveal certain details bit by bit.

How much of a role does realism and hard scientific fact play in your world-building? Do you strive for 100% accuracy, or do you leave room for the fantastical and unexplainable in your world?
I draw a lot on my imagination, but I do try to have a rationale for everything and usually there is an explanation, although the characters (and reader) may not fully understand it.

How do you keep all of the details of your world and characters straight? Do you have a system for deciding on different factors and keeping it all organized, or does it live more in your head?

Most of it lives in my head, but when necessary, I will draw maps, in order to keep the details consistent. In Children Of The Mist this was especially important so I could follow the characters on their physical journey.


Where can people find you on the web?

Website: https://www.hywelalyn.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HywelaLynAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hywela_Lyn
Blog: https://www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com

All my books can be purchased here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/l/B002BMBXH4

And my Author Booth for the 2019 Our Write Side CyCon is here:

https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/hywela-lyn-author-booth/


Thank you so much for hosting me here today, I’ve really loved taking part in this event!


For more stops on our World-building Showcase, visit the tour page on the OWS CyCon website.