Building Worlds

J. Ryan’s inspiration for creating unique worlds in both contemporary fiction and historical YA stems from her experiences working in a school, where she witnessed the strength and resilience of young people facing tremendous adversity. This deep connection with real-life challenges shaped the themes of courage and friendship in her stories, which are central to her "Missing Dad" series as well as her historical narratives. For J Ryan, world-building takes on different approaches depending on the genre: for contemporary fiction, she grounds her stories in the relatable everyday lives of teenagers, while for historical YA, she immerses readers in meticulously researched settings, like ancient Sparta and the time of Alexander the Great.

What inspired you to create unique worlds for both your contemporary fiction and historical YA books?

Working in a school, I witnessed the courage of young people whose lives were incredibly difficult; some had come from war-torn countries and lost their families; some were looking after a sick parent and missing many hours of school. 

Movingly, if one of these young people was having a bad day, there was always a friend at their side. So the twin themes of courage in adversity and looking out for your mates drive the ‘Missing Dad’ stories - and these themes also shine in the historical narratives. 

How do you approach world-building differently for contemporary fiction versus historical fiction?

The contemporary world of ‘Missing Dad’ is instantly familiar to my teenage readers - school, friendships, mobile phones, always feeling hungry; the shocking moment is Joe and Becks’ discovery of the deadly criminal underworld where his father disappeared. 

With the Spartan trilogy, a whole ancient world had to be built from research; and how different Sparta was from other Greek city-states! In ancient Spartan society, girls were educated and trained alongside boys to be super-fit, and they were expected to speak out and be heard – not that different from Joe’s best mate Becks!

What are the key elements of world-building that you focus on when creating a setting for your stories?

With ‘Missing Dad’, it is Joe’s unhappy interior world and his desperation to find his father that drives the plot. How Joe feels colours the language; so when he sees the lights of the Clifton suspension bridge where he has fond memories of being with his dad, he sees a string of shining pearls against the night sky.

In the Spartan novels, the world-building is full of the Greek gods: as Lycon and Zena climb Mount Taygetos to lure away the wolf from their sheep, the goddess Selene is with them when the moon emerges from behind the clouds; when Leon claims Lycon for the Krypteia, the elite youth spy corps, Lycon’s apprenticeship in the forge follows the tradition of Hephaestos, the god of fire and metalwork and an ingenious inventor - which Lycon becomes, when he creates a new chariot design based on the shield of Achilles. 

Can you walk us through the process of developing the world for your YA historical books? 

The geographic research was massive. With The Wolf Cub of Sparta and I Am Lydia, there was Lycon’s journey from Athens to Persia and Lydia’s campaign with Alexander on his conquests. The ancient names for regions had to be compared with today’s names, to work out what the scenery would have been like.

With The Troy Legacy, I had to work out whether it was a real wooden horse and not a siege engine; and – linked with that – what the Troy of that time must have looked like. Thanks to some quite recent archaeological research, published online, I was able to paint an exciting and authentic picture. In the process, I concluded that the creator of the wooden horse must have been a shipbuilder.

What challenges did you face?

With ‘Lydia’, I realised that the reader had to have a map to chart Alexander’s conquests. The Book Guild team responded 120% as ever, and a wonderful cartographer produced the map that graces the beginning of the novel. 

With ‘The Troy Legacy’, I was struggling to discover what actually happened in Troy, knowing that Homer’s Iliad is a superb work of fiction. I struck gold when I read Herodotus’s Histories; they gave me a plot twist that perfectly suits the dark mood of the novel.

How do you ensure that your world-building feels authentic and immersive for readers, especially in a historical context?

In ‘Wolf Cub’, it was essential to sit the reader on the back of a mighty horse that can cross deserts, ford rivers and traverse mountains. I was a keen rider for years, so that was fun.

With ‘Lydia’ it was vital to get engineering details correct, like how a torsion catapult siege engine works and the fact that it was Alexander’s father Phillip II of Macedon who first adopted this design. 

In ‘Troy Legacy’, the reader needs to be convinced that the narrator is an expert shipbuilder and also an experienced sailor: my years crewing in our wooden clinker-built dinghy served me well here. 

What role does research play in creating the historical world for your trilogy, and how do you blend factual history with fiction?

The research is your toolbox for engineering the plot authentically; very often it will throw up new ideas as well.

How do you balance creating an engaging world without overwhelming readers with too much detail?

Stick to what is relevant to character, plot and atmosphere.

What are some of the most rewarding aspects of building a fictional world, and how do they enhance the storytelling?

I love doing author visits to schools – the students’ enthusiasm reminds me why I write.

How do you keep your readers connected to the world you've built, and what techniques do you use to make it feel real?

Many authors write in the third person as the ‘omniscient eye’, but I always have a narrator writing in the first person and mostly in the present tense. Suddenly the reader is inside someone else’s head, seeing with their eyes, feeling their emotions. 

What advice would you give to aspiring authors looking to create their own immersive worlds, whether contemporary or historical?

It must be something that you are fascinated with to the point of obsession: planning my upcoming Roman trilogy, I have been gazing at my screen saver of Gaius Julius Caesar in pensive mood for nearly a year now.