I am the creator of my own little worlds.

Since I was a child, my imagination has been quite vivid. I suppose growing up in a country experiencing a civil war would do that to a person.

As part of the American diplomatic community in El Salvador, I faced more restrictions than many of my classmates until I graduated from high school. I could not go to certain places, had earlier curfews, and my outdoor recreational activities were heavily restricted. This meant I often missed out on the parties and events my friends attended. As a result, I began imagining myself going to those places, experiencing those events, and meeting new people.

As a teenager, I would even imagine myself as the girlfriend of my latest celebrity crush. Somehow, they would meet me, fall instantly in love, and whisk me away on a grand adventure. Between my daydreams and the fiction books I devoured, I could escape the restrictions of my daily life and feel free, if only for a little while.

Creating my own worlds was empowering and fun. As I later discovered when I started writing, however, world building also requires careful thought and research. That is where my handy workbook comes into play.

My workbook contains several worksheets dedicated to different aspects of world building. The first step is creating the larger picture. For a world set in the future, I had to decide things such as what year it is, how humanity is faring during that time, what new technologies have emerged, and what aspects of our present world have survived the test of time and why.

I also had to consider my own optimistic vision of the future. Why? Because why not?

So many books focus on apocalyptic destruction, alien invasions, and corrupt people running the world. While those stories certainly have their place, they can also be emotionally draining.

Given the challenges people already face and the increasing levels of anxiety and depression in today’s world, the last thing I want to do is add to that burden.

I am not denying that suspense and danger are essential elements of a compelling story. However, I am drawn to hopeful endings and inspiring journeys. By the conclusion of each book, I want my characters to have grown, overcome obstacles, and celebrated their victories. I want them to emerge stronger and better prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead.

Getting back to my world building process, I have an entire worksheet dedicated to envisioning the SEARI universe. I started by looking at the big picture and asking myself several important questions. What does the political landscape look like? Is the world unified, or do individual countries and cultures still maintain their identities? Where is humanity living, and what does that environment look like?

Because aerospace is becoming increasingly commercialized, I imagined a future in which large corporations can afford to build massive stations in space. That is why, although each station is overseen by a single allied geopolitical organization, it is actually constructed and operated by a major private corporation. These companies work closely with the primary global space development authority, SEARI, and the Terran Allied Forces, with generous guidance and support from our extraterrestrial allies. After all, they want to see humanity grow, prosper, and explore the universe just as they once did.

I will not lie, a great deal of Japanese anime and manga inspired the SEARI universe. I have always admired the positive vision of the future presented by many Japanese creators. Their outlook often aligns with my own hopes for humanity.

That inspiration is reflected in my world through several Japanese owned space stations and characters such as Mori the chef. Including these elements is my personal tribute to the artists whose work has inspired me over the years.

And that brings us to the end of this blog. Stay tuned as I continue exploring my world building worksheets and reveal more details about the SEARI universe in the next installment.