Worldcrafting Means People Too

Quite often, we writers forget that people and social situations for our characters are a large and very serious part of the world we are creating. Here in the USA the social structure is different than it is in other parts of the world. Not only do we generally not think we have one, but it is so misunderstood that many people in their own lives suffer tremendously because of it—all without having a clue about what has clipped their wings or allowed them to soar. Actual money in the bank is way down on the scale for how high a person’s perceived social level is.

Let’s start with this common situation. Clerks at quick stores quite often do not curl or fix their hair, attend to basic grooming, or wear enhancing but subtle makeup to the degree an office person does. They don’t iron their clothing and make sure it is crisp and well fitting with colors and cuts that flatter. They do not look like office personnel. Many display tattoos and piercings. Their speech patterns indicate they are concerned about people, not current events. They do not usually wear perfume or cologne and for some deodorant is a foreign concept. Good grammar and complicated word recognition is not usually widely used.

Their customers, however, are often business people, landowners, and travelers. Customers often have different value systems working than the clerks. These two sets of very nice and intelligent people quite often find themselves at odds over the simplest of things. Customers tend to not see beyond the surface and have no notion how complicated the job of a convenience store clerk actually is. It isn’t for the weak of back or mind. Customers regularly treat clerks with disdain whether it is quietly or not. Often clerks think customers are spoiled brats.

There are layers in our society. These are two. There are many more and are not difficult to find when you start looking. Each has its own dress code, speech, and position for where they go for entertainment, jobs, and living space. Public school mixes all of these groups together. However, public school will also divide itself into social groups. People can jump across lines going up or down by adjusting their physical behavior, dress, and speech faster than they can by which family they’re born into. Ever heard the phrase ‘dress like the job you want, not the job you have’? That refers to the fact that those in management heavily weigh outside clues to determine who gets new positions. They can’t help it, that’s how humans are built. Those who are passed over time after time even though very qualified, might want to consider whether they are displaying the right signals. Jumping into a different social strata is easiest when the expected requirements for both outside dressing and inside thinking are matched. That’s when we have secretaries marrying bosses.

This is a fairly controversial subject and I believe that no one set of people are more valuable than another, but I wish that there was more awareness of the ins and outs of our society—I’d like to see less heartache and heartburn over the seeming injustices that can be served up.

Our paper world can be whatever we dream it up to be with a social structure however we wish it.