Many fantasy writers tell me they become so engrossed in world building that they find reasons not to write. World building must not come at the expense of your story. If you’re like me, you may have to spend more time planning than you’re used to. If you’re an Outliner, draw a...
Today,world-buildingis most often used to describe a component of a work of fiction, much likeplotorcharacter; unlike the wordsetting,world-buildingemphasizes that the world being created is entirely new. For this reason, it's typically associated with fantasy and science fiction: You can spend...
World building is an important component of fantasy writing because your fantasy world must be grounded in a history and abide by certain rules in order to persuade your readers to suspend their disbelief when you bring in magic, fantastical beasts and other implausible elements. Below are some o...
Five celebrated speculative fiction authors give their best word-building tips, demonstrating how different world-building approaches can be.
World-Building 101: How to Construct an Unforgettable World for your Fantasy or Sci-Fi Story! Thisguideis for all the writers out there who want to construct an unforgettable world that your readers can't help but get lost in! Learn how to invent species, gods, monsters and more in our...
Epic and High fantasy worlds all partake in world building, but Tolkien was the first great world builder. I suggest that his groundbreaking world-building techniques have served as the models for modern authors' creative practices. In particular, I argue that Robert Jordan's world-building ...
World building can take your setting from a painted plywood movie set to a living, breathing place on the map. Tweet this Tweet Map For me the most logical place to begin was the map. As a child playing JRPG's like Final Fantasy or adventure video games like Zelda, I'd always spend ...
If you’re writing science fiction or fantasy, your world probably has gods. Consider how every society on Earth has a creation myth, an end-of-times myth, and more. Myths are powerful tools in your world-building arsenal. They’ll help you decide how many gods you need, if you need ...
I'm always surprised when one of the first things other writers say when I tell them I write science fiction is, "Oh, you have to do world building. I could never do that."News flash!Every writer must build the world their character inhabits so readers know how that world operates. ...
The cast to this story is not huge, and I want to make every name count like I did with myFallen Princebornnovels. Just as every culture here on Earth has names that signify wisdom, strength, or loyalty, so should the world beyond the stars that I am building. ...