Jenna just needs to make a video screaming at us to " write the damn book" b/c my chronic procrastination wants it lol And then someone can edit it into an hr long song to listen to while writing .
@@jonathandelange259 I almost did the same lmao but ended up clutching it so that magic can't be used outside of the body of the person/creature/plant using it, though really skilled peeps can also put magic into other living things and control that magic so long as contact is maintained.
The first time I’ve ever said “But Jenna” defensively. I usually draw a basic map and fill in the details (lakes, mountains, rivers, borders, etc.) as I go along.
I write my whole story then start creating the map according to the story.. Later, get it reviewed by friends & enemies (enemies give the best ideas ngl) and make it better.. Works well for me
@@lovebite4486 don't gotta be, grab a ruler and a pencil and start drawing lines that you think would maybe exist on real world maps, that's what I did and it helped me work out which real world civilisations would influence where and which country would inherit weapon and fighting style and societal customs from where they're placed. Such as southern countries being inspired by more Egyptian and Indian cultural standpoints but more northern being European and central being a mix of the two.
THIS. One time I wrote a short story about a Queen who fell in love with a Princess from another kingdom and they got married and lived happily ever after. Some person commented that they liked the story, but it wasn't "historically accurate" because it had no homophobia. Like... come on! The Queen literally had magical powers and the kingdoms' names were made up. It was obviously *not* our universe and therefore didn't have our history.
Trying to establish an arbitrary limit, for example, no more than one, four-sentence paragraph *at most,* is one way to keep descriptions and info-dumps short. Any more than that, and your reader is likely to get bored, though by isolating the "problem," you make it easier for them to skim past it, too. =^[.]^=
@@Raycheetah that can be hard, people can have conversations in the book longer than that and explain maybe stuff about a world, a bandit, a magic item etc, but maybe its a diffenrent story if the characters are explaining a thing rather than you as the narrator explaining it!
I do it the other way around. Write the story first, then see what information is required so I can go dump it somewhere before the reader needs to know.
@@Bashbroder Dialog is far superior to simple exposition, though it can sometimes be difficult to write exposition *in* dialog which flows naturally. =^[.]^=
No, no no no no, NO! The info you give your reader shouldn't be the trimming of something large, it should be adding to something until it becomes minimal.
@@plague_doctor0237 Well there's no one right way to make art, and in my case I had a story BEFORE I got obsessed with worldbuilding, but if you're looking for advice, what I would do in your position is ask myself what kinds of unique emotional and philosophical struggles might occur for people living in my story world, then ask which of these struggles is the most interesting and/or intense, then figure out the kind of character most likely to experience said internal conflict and build said character, my protagonist, into the world alongside supporting characters designed specifically to highlight the protagonist's strengths and weaknesses and to continually escalate both a larger external conflict in the world and the protagonist's internal conflict. After that, you just have to iron out a structure, which is a different process depending on whether you're a gardener or an architect, but it's never that hard once you have your characters and your conflicts. Also, The Anatomy Of Story by John Truby is a pretty great resource to help with this kind of conceptual work.
@@andrewparsons2391 That's a great idea as well, and is exactly what Ty Franck originally did with The Expanse. Even better, the crew of the Roci and their initial storylines were actually inspired by the longest-surviving group of characters created by his friends who played the game while he served as DM.
*Me, an ADHD human who has spent the last 15 years worldbuilding and accidentally discovering plots and characters and has absolutely no system in place except chaos, computer tabs, screaming, and loose paper* 👁️👄👁️
I hear you, only in my case the whole mess has been going on for the past 36 years (I started thinking/plotting etc. before I could actually write and I was quite young, so a certain amount of evolution has been going on). Trying to even sort the characters is like herding cats as they seem to have minds of their own and can be downright uncooperative. I do write about it, but its still not quite ready yet for a book. Its fun writing, though, which is the only reason I write.
Currently having a worldbuilding week for my novel series (helps me to manage my time and take breaks from my daily word count without procrastinating). I love it when I get help with exactly what I need!
I did a big brain move and made a map and basic world history at the start and then started writing cause I then don't have to do the main worldbuilding later. it works surprisingly well.
I feel so called out. I love worldbuilding, but I also use it as an excuse to procrastinate without feeling guilty. I guess I actually have to write the story now.
@@thejadedcommenter7371 I think they mean make the discrimination something related to the world. For example, a world where there are two species, one is treated with more respect and the other is treated like their lesser than. If that makes sense.
@@amityblight3650 That makes sense but the way that they wrote it made it sound as though homophobia was something that didn’t exist, like saying that gay people aren’t discriminated against, y’know?
I feel like the world building kinda comes on its own when a new plot point comes along, because we ourselves start to see our characters in specific situations. For example: My MC secretly watches a man being murdered by the guard of her husband. From the conversation she gathered that the man had secrets. So she decides to go look for the body the next day since she suspects it just gets hidden with the other deceased in the city. So I had to imagine how the society deals with the dead. Where do they go? Who prepares them? How and where do they get burried/burned etc? Are they any restrictions? Is my Mc able to be seen near the dead or does she have to sneak there in secret? What do the dead themselves tell about the society? How are the bodies treated? Who seems to die in an unhealthy amount? Does this show a problem of any kind? Bam! New Plot point. With this I kinda went from Plot, to world building, to exploration to new plot. The whole thing around the plot can create whole new Ideas. We just have to follow our characters and take an eye out on their surroundings while they are busy with their own stuff. At least that's how I imagine it. Way easier than to sit down on a blank page and type down burial customs lol.
I'm in the process of developing a writing/brainstorming software of my own for a school project, and your "How To" videos have been beyond helpful. I don't tend to start with a world in mind when I'm writing, I tend to focus more on character and plot based stories, so I genuinely forgot that some people prefer to start writing with a world in mind. Your video reminded me of that and gave me some really good tips that I hope to implement in some way or another. I honestly can't thank you enough for helping me to catch that before it was too late.
Thank you for all your tips, Jenna! I’m fifteen and writing a young adult fantasy novel, and your videos are so helpful. I really appreciate it, and I hope you have a wonderful day! :) Edit: I am now sixteen and have written and edited two full novels, and I’m moving through the querying process for my first one! Never stopped watching these videos :)
I don't fully agree with "worldbuilding to the story". This is how you get flat, dull, unrealistic worlds. If you're going to do this. Worldbuild things that don't relate to the story. Stuff you can drop in to make your world feel alive. I like to do this through passing conversations. Hearing news of events in other lands or nations. Also, you never know, you might just find another story to tell in this world.
^ This. And also: The worldbuilding influences the story. In the worst case scenario, your plot and worldbuilding contradict each other at one point, but if you would change one of them they would contradict each other at another point. :( Or you're not saying anything about some element that would usually play an interesting part in your world but doesn't have a place in your story. People might wonder "How does this work?".
This tip actually don't exclude worldbuilding bigger than the story. I find the solution in the middle. For example, it's useful knowing all the nations and people and the relationships between them, but I don't really find useful to know the vegetation of the whole continent, I'll make the plants and the animals only for the territories I'll need to visit with the story. If one country finds normal a wedding between siblings, sure the other countries will have opinions about that, and I need it, but I don't need to know every detail of the wedding ceremony if I'll never need to show one. I need to know everything I can to make the world dynamic, but there are things that have an impact outside the single countries and things that don't, and exploring the latter only when you need it makes just the work faster
@@Angela-jv4sz It really comes down to what each person is going for. My point was that worldbuild to the story new inexperienced writers could take literal and thus end up with a world that seems dead. This only matters if the author doesn't care about this. I do because I'm pretty good about picking when an author hasn't a world built beyond the book. Something seems missing.
I get what you're saying but this is a pretty complicated process. I love a living and breathing world as much as anyone, but over-worldbuilding leads to contrived and forced writing. IMO worldbuilding should never take priority over characters and plot. I'm like you in that I like dropping little nuggets of knowledge in passing convos to help make the story alive but we don't need 10 pages of their political situation. I love worldbuilding outside the story as well but I find it best to leave the details vague unless there's a major impact to the plot. I recently wrote a story about steampunk ninjas in Japan during the 1880s. One character mentions how the Civil War is still going on in the US and I just left it at that, hoping one day to explore that idea.
@@whosaidthat84 I agree and slight disagree. Some love over worldbuilding in their novels. I think it all depends on what someone is trying to accomplish in the novel that should determine how much worldbuilding is needed.
Well that depends. Is the MC perhaps one of the demons or vampires? If so, do those get along, or are the fighting with MC possibly being endangered by the other group? If they ARE fighting, but the MC isn't part of either group, they might do fine just keeping their head down and waiting for the vampires and demons to kill each other off.
I started writing as a teenager, and I recently found out I was already worldbuilding before I ever heard the term. ☺ My boyfriend and I once tried to write a story together and he started creating a planet and places, and I kept trying to prompt him into laying out story ideas. We couldn't do it because he creates a world and writes a story to fit it. I get a story idea, start creating a world, and they grow together. I'm glad to know that seems to be the way most writers suggest is best.
Thank you a lot for the Milanote advice - I've never heard of this website and since I'm in the never ending world-building phase I really appreciate having it all somewhere in one place AND with pictures :D. Thank you 🥑
Perfect timing! I was just revising my world building notes and ideas that I've been organising and trying to working on, this should help a lot! Thank you Jenna, gonna go watch the video now 😆 hope everyone has a good day 😊
Yeah, as someone trying to worldbuilding a high school (long story, wattpad), if I ever write a fantasy world, I'm going to take the avatar approach: introduce the main countries/kingdom of the world and give quick descriptions, then as the characters travel from location to location, I'll flesh out each place and part since I have a good basis on the six communities and countries. It's only 1000 words in because I have other projects on wattpad that need my attention but I'll try to get it started one day. Cuz worldbuilding really doesn't have to be as as expansive as some high fantasy stories make it out to be, write the world you want and think will help your story at the end of the day.
See I'm not writing a book, but a show, so the beats are a bit different, but I love building my world. I wrote out the basic beats for the first season, and built my world around it. It's fucking huge, but i haven't neglected to write the story
6:48 bro I stumbled upon a short that said “you should spend a decade of world building before you write your book. People say that makes them loose motivation to write the book but ain’t that what writing is all about” and audibly gasped and said “WHAT!?”
I've got a very strange world for my comics. See, it's the whole universe, but it's got a unique structure to it. At the very epicenter of the universe is the Beacon of Light, where it all began. Surrounding the Beacon of Light is Heaven, then followed by another afterlife layer called Spectrum, then followed by Hell. Just beyond Hell is the Mortal World, split into equally-sized thirds. Asura, Beoma, and Yecta. They are essentially just copy and paste versions of each other (meaning there are three Earths), but locations of the Star Systems are all very different (Like the Solar System is in Andromeda in one of them) resulting in very different outcomes for the different versions of the same planets. Just beyond the Mortal World is the Ratchet Realm, the chaotic, energy-filled, might-be-radioactive edge of the universe where all the expansion happens. It's basically just a perpetual neverending explosion, and there are actually creatures that live in this domain, meaning the Ratchet Realm is home to some hardy ass creatures. Beyond the Ratchet Realm is the Void, where there is nothing but darkness and mysterious beings known as Anomalies, who actually created the universe.
I'm definitely more into world building than into writing plot. I started out years ago with a vague idea for a story and a vague idea of where it took place, then built and built and built the setting while only making minor advances in the story. Eventually when I finally decided on the thrust of my story I realized that much of my worldbuilding was extraneous. Fortunately my characters are still in high school so I can do a few info dumps as class lessons, and there's some exploration in the mid- and late parts.
I finally took the time to learn how to describe the inside and outside of a house, but after i had described everything in one chapter, I realized I was info dumping and had to go back and trim it down. 😭 im also learning how to weave backstory into a story without info dumping.
I believe it to be a double-edged sword, don't fully flesh out the world so you can improvise and change as you compose the story but having a fully fleshed out world puts you within a kind of limit.
#9: THANK YOU. I keep my descriptions to a minimum, adding only what matters. I have mild aphantasia, but I also think this lends to a cooperative effort with my readers that helps them invest themselves more thoroughly in the writing. If I say someone has a plain face, that means different things to different people. So if I describe my version of a plain face, that's going to strike home with fewer people than if I just say it's a plain face and the reader can envision what a plain face means to them. They get to personalize my writing.
I had pretty severe character building disease, but never world building. I made a full recovery and am now going to work on character, plot and world building together.
What most writers forget about is the economics, trade and currency. How do people make a living? How do your Heros pay for expensive armour or the fuel for their spaceship? How do they pay in the tavern or in the space cantina? Often the heroes just wander around, not working, having no income. Or, related to that, the environment. The castle in the desert is guarded by a monster. Wait a minute. How can it survive there? Solely on the tomb raiders coming by every hundred years?
Honestly watching Jenna and reading her shut up and write a book help me get going and writing. I may not read her other novels but her: shut up and write the book (so glad I have it thank you for its right up my alley with the tone xD ) I love it's one of my textbooks/bibles. I am really bad at English and I have a hard time reading. I am like at a middle school level and I'm an adult, with and learning disability. I could come up with millionths of stories and pitches (I also have weird dreams worth writing sometimes lol ). So I am learning how to write a novel and I tell you for a procrastinator it's hard, but Jenna you keep me going even if I write a few pages. :) Thank you for being there for us we need you
Than you. I needed this. I've been playing around with ideas for a particular story for years, but I've been afraid that if I don't have the world built before I start with I'll mess it up. But working on it, a chunck at a time, as I write seems far less terrifying.
I did the opposite of this I just started writing and then I’m like “shouldn’t I world build or something? That’s a thing right?” But I loved what you said about how many people want to write homophobia into their stories because other stories have that. What made me want to make my own world was even stories I loved had prostitution, men are always above women and animals being hurt. I’m like why do those things come up so much? I am not having that in my story. Even if I just write it for me. And definitely no homophobia. I loved your video. This is the first one I’ve seen.
And just like that the cyborg queen comes through yet again with exactly the kind of video I was in dire need of. I’m trying to create a new world for a story and I was about to go and build an entire world when all I really need is two kingdoms, an island and the ocean. Thank you oh glorious cyborg queen
the message here was very needed! This was my first time viewing one of your videos and i gotta say, great video, message but very pushy about subscribing is a turn away
You are genuinely hilarious, you had me fully engaged and entertained throughout the entire video. While also giving some really good tips quite clearly! I definitely have world builder’s disease.. but I keep telling myself creating the information about my cities plumbing is important! Hahah
I love your videos and they have helped me put some of my over-writing away. The world you make, is your world so do with it what you will. I have a society built in which flowers are the focus and each flower represents your rank.
I tried Milanote and holy cow!! IT is awesome!!! I am also an illustrator and it is perfect for that as well as story writing organization! thank you for recommending it!
Thanks for the tips Jenna. I absolutely love your books 'The Saviour's Champion' and 'The Saviour's Sister' I have both of them and I also listen to them on Audible. Cannot wait until the next book is out, I think your an amazing person.
6:56 yep, while not for writing exactly, I have found that rewriting what I thought the world was going to be in order to solve a particular problem is a great way to get around screwing yourself. The only thing you need to be careful of is how your changes will affect the world, changing the home village of a particular character to keep them out of the action during a particular event, probably not going to have too much of an effect. Changing how the economy works, on the other hand will affect everything.
One thing I'm finding useful for worldbuilding has been by creating other stories aside from my main series which are primarily designed to explore aspects of my worldbuilding - creation, magic system, etc. I feel that it really injects life into my worldbuilding to have a story with fully fleshed out characters deciding what goes into my worldbuilding, and I feel like it's going to be very useful when I reference these things in my main series. I don't even have to finish the stories, just develop them with an eye toward the characters and narrative.
0 comments??? Well don't mind if I do~ I'm currently trying, emphesis on TRYING, to setup a D&D campaign and this also requires world building (cus I'm not at all stubborn) and I am very overwhelmed but I still wanna do it XD So thank you~ This is al very welcome advice ♥
got hooked onto ur videos was doing blender and wanted to get into film and sotry writing to help create my own scenes and i love the way you explain things simple easy and funny af ahaha had to like/sub love when people get into their craft and zone about their passion.
Since watching your channel I have been super inspired by you and a few other reasons to really dive into working on my novels again! I have written nearly 33k words to start off the year. At this rate I may have nearly a full book written by the end of the year! I am so thankful for you and your channel! It helped me keep my sanity this last year around the time of my father's passing. So I truly and honestly want to say thank you for the time and effort you put into your content. Whith love prayers your family and your doggo are doing amazing 💝
Thank you, Jenna. I'm glad I was doing the right things. A few things I loved about worldbuilding, were the real challenges people actually run into when traveling in this environment, and geopolitical conflicts, and I could use as conflicts and plot points to further the character growth or death.
I did both Saviors books on audible and really enjoyed both narrators! I'm impressed in TSS how much the female narrator stayed true to the voices in the first book!
World building can sometimes be hard for me because there are so many different parts to it. This video is super helpful so thank you so much!! Maybe now I can really explore the world I'm building enough to actually write the book I've been trying to figure out how to write for years!!
Sometimes an infodump is needed, especially if it something that is needed for readers to understand something immediately afterwards. In those cases, try to limit it to a paragraph and make it seem like it wasn't infodumping
Yip, that is why I decided last year to rewrite my main book all thanks to the info I get here on Jenna UA-cam and other writer UA-camrs as well. And so far, I am enjoying the process of rediscovering the drama and other magical things I added.
Thank you for saying that you don't have to write discrimination. I'm uncomfortable with writing it and I don't wanna get shit for not being "historically accurate"
I created my magic system and a map of my world before I started writing and that was all I did. It only took my about two months mixed with school and that was all the info I needed not to get stuck writing. Two years later, my world is so much more intricate and its because the world built itself during the authoring.
I've never heard #9 discussed so well! "STFU" and "connect the dots." As much as I loved WoT, I was ready to smash my face against an 800 page hard-cover for every time Jordan described the embroidery on a dress. Some people seem to like this... but for the love of god, a big part of why I like to read a book instead of watch a movie is so I can use my imagination for visual and audio (faces and voices). It's not easy, however, and in editing my first novel I find myself running through scenes again and again trying to balance white room syndrome with Robert Jordan disease =P THANKS JENNA!
I found a way to explain the currency by using gambling as part of the story. Mostly cause I don't wanna really get in depth in economics. Many of these tips I sort of learn after decades of reading which has helped a ton.
For me, it's always the case of story comes first and world comes later. I definitely do it on accident every time but when I get a solid base of the story, I start adding world stuff to it. Idk how, but it works every time! 😂 I start writing a story and then the world just falls into place 🤷🏼♀️ then I start working in the details
"stop procrastinating and actually write your book!" - Jenna, knowing her audience.
*me watching these videos instead of writing*
@@Eucowlyptus-glowsticks same lol it helps me tho get going
Jenna just needs to make a video screaming at us to " write the damn book" b/c my chronic procrastination wants it lol
And then someone can edit it into an hr long song to listen to while writing .
Well you could probably make the hour-long video just by taking snippets of her existing videos, and Oh My God I want this.
We also need a "But Jennaaa" compilation
@@superraegun2649 lol true, right TTuTT
@@superraegun2649 she should make a compilation of all her videos oh god I would play it on loop
Testify!
Pfffft please my world building process of 1. Hallucinate and 2. Rationalise will always carry me forward to quality results.
Most of my story writing and world-building originate as my weird highly detailed dreams, so I can relate.
I rationalised my magic system into being not magic and now I’m sad.
@@jonathandelange259 I almost did the same lmao but ended up clutching it so that magic can't be used outside of the body of the person/creature/plant using it, though really skilled peeps can also put magic into other living things and control that magic so long as contact is maintained.
@@Amy_the_Lizard Same my world is based off a highly detailed really weird dream I had one night🤣
Seems legit to me. Some say we have mushrooms to thank for Herbert’s Dune masterpiece.
The first time I’ve ever said “But Jenna” defensively. I usually draw a basic map and fill in the details (lakes, mountains, rivers, borders, etc.) as I go along.
I write my whole story then start creating the map according to the story.. Later, get it reviewed by friends & enemies (enemies give the best ideas ngl) and make it better.. Works well for me
I'm not an ✨ _artist_ ✨
@@lovebite4486 don't gotta be, grab a ruler and a pencil and start drawing lines that you think would maybe exist on real world maps, that's what I did and it helped me work out which real world civilisations would influence where and which country would inherit weapon and fighting style and societal customs from where they're placed. Such as southern countries being inspired by more Egyptian and Indian cultural standpoints but more northern being European and central being a mix of the two.
>"You don't have to write a homophobic kingdom if you don't want to"
THANK YOU
Facts. Honestly, I'm surprised we don't have more fantasy stories where people can bang wherever or whoever they want without confidence.
I thought this way about Game of Thrones! People are like "but it's historically accurate!" And I'm like "It's fantasy!"
SHE SPOKE THE TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
THIS.
One time I wrote a short story about a Queen who fell in love with a Princess from another kingdom and they got married and lived happily ever after. Some person commented that they liked the story, but it wasn't "historically accurate" because it had no homophobia. Like... come on! The Queen literally had magical powers and the kingdoms' names were made up. It was obviously *not* our universe and therefore didn't have our history.
@@taniahylian3799 historically, it appears that large empires with millions of people never organize without a nuclear family structure.
Info-dumps are for first-drafts: just get it done, go back and trim it later.
Trying to establish an arbitrary limit, for example, no more than one, four-sentence paragraph *at most,* is one way to keep descriptions and info-dumps short. Any more than that, and your reader is likely to get bored, though by isolating the "problem," you make it easier for them to skim past it, too. =^[.]^=
@@Raycheetah that can be hard, people can have conversations in the book longer than that and explain maybe stuff about a world, a bandit, a magic item etc, but maybe its a diffenrent story if the characters are explaining a thing rather than you as the narrator explaining it!
I do it the other way around. Write the story first, then see what information is required so I can go dump it somewhere before the reader needs to know.
@@Bashbroder Dialog is far superior to simple exposition, though it can sometimes be difficult to write exposition *in* dialog which flows naturally. =^[.]^=
No, no no no no, NO!
The info you give your reader shouldn't be the trimming of something large, it should be adding to something until it becomes minimal.
"In the late stages of Worldbuilder's Disease..."
Lol I've been there. My doctors tell me I'm lucky it wasn't fatal.
For me it's fatal, seriously, i've been stuck for some years building various settings but still have no story. How do you end this?
@@plague_doctor0237 Well there's no one right way to make art, and in my case I had a story BEFORE I got obsessed with worldbuilding, but if you're looking for advice, what I would do in your position is ask myself what kinds of unique emotional and philosophical struggles might occur for people living in my story world, then ask which of these struggles is the most interesting and/or intense, then figure out the kind of character most likely to experience said internal conflict and build said character, my protagonist, into the world alongside supporting characters designed specifically to highlight the protagonist's strengths and weaknesses and to continually escalate both a larger external conflict in the world and the protagonist's internal conflict. After that, you just have to iron out a structure, which is a different process depending on whether you're a gardener or an architect, but it's never that hard once you have your characters and your conflicts. Also, The Anatomy Of Story by John Truby is a pretty great resource to help with this kind of conceptual work.
@@Inscriptions37 ok thanks
if you're into tabletop roleplaying games I suppose you could try to turn your worlds with no story into settings for a D&D game
@@andrewparsons2391 That's a great idea as well, and is exactly what Ty Franck originally did with The Expanse. Even better, the crew of the Roci and their initial storylines were actually inspired by the longest-surviving group of characters created by his friends who played the game while he served as DM.
*Me, an ADHD human who has spent the last 15 years worldbuilding and accidentally discovering plots and characters and has absolutely no system in place except chaos, computer tabs, screaming, and loose paper*
👁️👄👁️
I felt this comment in my soul.
Loose papers? Try post it notes, index cards, and the occasional napkin! I envy your organization. 😁
@@cmay7429 I'd try them, but they're not big enough for me to remember I have them XD out of sight out of mind and all that....
I hear you, only in my case the whole mess has been going on for the past 36 years (I started thinking/plotting etc. before I could actually write and I was quite young, so a certain amount of evolution has been going on). Trying to even sort the characters is like herding cats as they seem to have minds of their own and can be downright uncooperative. I do write about it, but its still not quite ready yet for a book. Its fun writing, though, which is the only reason I write.
As a writer with adhd i agree ;-;
Currently having a worldbuilding week for my novel series (helps me to manage my time and take breaks from my daily word count without procrastinating). I love it when I get help with exactly what I need!
I did a big brain move and made a map and basic world history at the start and then started writing cause I then don't have to do the main worldbuilding later.
it works surprisingly well.
I feel so called out. I love worldbuilding, but I also use it as an excuse to procrastinate without feeling guilty. I guess I actually have to write the story now.
I was literally just thinking... I need the best World building tips!
Same
jenna is psychic
Literally the same
Same!!!!
"Stop being a baby and do it! I support you."
👶📝💪
“You don’t have to write homophobia”
Finally, writing characters who are discriminated in their society is more realistic and interesting anyways.
I have stared at this comment for a solid minute but can’t figure out what point you’re trying to make
@Little Shroom same
@@thejadedcommenter7371
I think they mean make the discrimination something related to the world.
For example, a world where there are two species, one is treated with more respect and the other is treated like their lesser than. If that makes sense.
@@amityblight3650 That makes sense but the way that they wrote it made it sound as though homophobia was something that didn’t exist, like saying that gay people aren’t discriminated against, y’know?
@@thejadedcommenter7371 yeah, I get you, I had to re read it a few times and think about it-
I feel like the world building kinda comes on its own when a new plot point comes along, because we ourselves start to see our characters in specific situations. For example: My MC secretly watches a man being murdered by the guard of her husband. From the conversation she gathered that the man had secrets. So she decides to go look for the body the next day since she suspects it just gets hidden with the other deceased in the city. So I had to imagine how the society deals with the dead. Where do they go? Who prepares them? How and where do they get burried/burned etc? Are they any restrictions? Is my Mc able to be seen near the dead or does she have to sneak there in secret? What do the dead themselves tell about the society? How are the bodies treated? Who seems to die in an unhealthy amount? Does this show a problem of any kind? Bam! New Plot point.
With this I kinda went from Plot, to world building, to exploration to new plot. The whole thing around the plot can create whole new Ideas. We just have to follow our characters and take an eye out on their surroundings while they are busy with their own stuff. At least that's how I imagine it. Way easier than to sit down on a blank page and type down burial customs lol.
Lol same
(3)
yes to an extent
Same!
That sounds so cool btw!
I'm in the process of developing a writing/brainstorming software of my own for a school project, and your "How To" videos have been beyond helpful. I don't tend to start with a world in mind when I'm writing, I tend to focus more on character and plot based stories, so I genuinely forgot that some people prefer to start writing with a world in mind. Your video reminded me of that and gave me some really good tips that I hope to implement in some way or another. I honestly can't thank you enough for helping me to catch that before it was too late.
Thank you for all your tips, Jenna! I’m fifteen and writing a young adult fantasy novel, and your videos are so helpful. I really appreciate it, and I hope you have a wonderful day! :)
Edit: I am now sixteen and have written and edited two full novels, and I’m moving through the querying process for my first one! Never stopped watching these videos :)
@Julia Lerner yes hello my dudes:)
I’m 17 and i like writing too!
I'm 15 and I've written two books and working through the editing process right now. Jenna's videos are a lifesaver honestly
Hello hello my fellow teen authors :D
@@mineaxyie Agreed, she's the best.
The way I build the world is by having my major characters interact with it.
I swear I was just working in world building, and using Milanote! you are magic! Thank you so much! 💜
"You can fill in those details later, you know, while you're writing the book."
lmao, this is the truth we need to hear
I don't fully agree with "worldbuilding to the story". This is how you get flat, dull, unrealistic worlds. If you're going to do this. Worldbuild things that don't relate to the story. Stuff you can drop in to make your world feel alive. I like to do this through passing conversations. Hearing news of events in other lands or nations. Also, you never know, you might just find another story to tell in this world.
^ This.
And also: The worldbuilding influences the story. In the worst case scenario, your plot and worldbuilding contradict each other at one point, but if you would change one of them they would contradict each other at another point. :(
Or you're not saying anything about some element that would usually play an interesting part in your world but doesn't have a place in your story. People might wonder "How does this work?".
This tip actually don't exclude worldbuilding bigger than the story. I find the solution in the middle. For example, it's useful knowing all the nations and people and the relationships between them, but I don't really find useful to know the vegetation of the whole continent, I'll make the plants and the animals only for the territories I'll need to visit with the story. If one country finds normal a wedding between siblings, sure the other countries will have opinions about that, and I need it, but I don't need to know every detail of the wedding ceremony if I'll never need to show one. I need to know everything I can to make the world dynamic, but there are things that have an impact outside the single countries and things that don't, and exploring the latter only when you need it makes just the work faster
@@Angela-jv4sz It really comes down to what each person is going for. My point was that worldbuild to the story new inexperienced writers could take literal and thus end up with a world that seems dead. This only matters if the author doesn't care about this. I do because I'm pretty good about picking when an author hasn't a world built beyond the book. Something seems missing.
I get what you're saying but this is a pretty complicated process. I love a living and breathing world as much as anyone, but over-worldbuilding leads to contrived and forced writing. IMO worldbuilding should never take priority over characters and plot.
I'm like you in that I like dropping little nuggets of knowledge in passing convos to help make the story alive but we don't need 10 pages of their political situation.
I love worldbuilding outside the story as well but I find it best to leave the details vague unless there's a major impact to the plot.
I recently wrote a story about steampunk ninjas in Japan during the 1880s. One character mentions how the Civil War is still going on in the US and I just left it at that, hoping one day to explore that idea.
@@whosaidthat84 I agree and slight disagree. Some love over worldbuilding in their novels. I think it all depends on what someone is trying to accomplish in the novel that should determine how much worldbuilding is needed.
But Jennaaa we can't even survive in this world what are MC going to do in a world full of demons and vampires
Befriend a few demons and vampires sho you have Little protection?
@@AndrewHalliwell true... and most importantly-plot armor!!!
@@jasonyntig717 and then the MC from a maybe interesting character turns into another generic Mary Sue
Well that depends. Is the MC perhaps one of the demons or vampires? If so, do those get along, or are the fighting with MC possibly being endangered by the other group? If they ARE fighting, but the MC isn't part of either group, they might do fine just keeping their head down and waiting for the vampires and demons to kill each other off.
Well, what are the demons' and vampires' weaknesses?
I started writing as a teenager, and I recently found out I was already worldbuilding before I ever heard the term. ☺ My boyfriend and I once tried to write a story together and he started creating a planet and places, and I kept trying to prompt him into laying out story ideas. We couldn't do it because he creates a world and writes a story to fit it. I get a story idea, start creating a world, and they grow together. I'm glad to know that seems to be the way most writers suggest is best.
Thank you a lot for the Milanote advice - I've never heard of this website and since I'm in the never ending world-building phase I really appreciate having it all somewhere in one place AND with pictures :D. Thank you 🥑
Perfect timing! I was just revising my world building notes and ideas that I've been organising and trying to working on, this should help a lot! Thank you Jenna, gonna go watch the video now 😆 hope everyone has a good day 😊
The saviours army! Casual name drop for next novel.
I NEEDED this! Building a fantasy realm is more daunting than I thought
Yeah, as someone trying to worldbuilding a high school (long story, wattpad), if I ever write a fantasy world, I'm going to take the avatar approach: introduce the main countries/kingdom of the world and give quick descriptions, then as the characters travel from location to location, I'll flesh out each place and part since I have a good basis on the six communities and countries. It's only 1000 words in because I have other projects on wattpad that need my attention but I'll try to get it started one day. Cuz worldbuilding really doesn't have to be as as expansive as some high fantasy stories make it out to be, write the world you want and think will help your story at the end of the day.
The tough love in this video is splendid. Thank you 😁
See I'm not writing a book, but a show, so the beats are a bit different, but I love building my world. I wrote out the basic beats for the first season, and built my world around it.
It's fucking huge, but i haven't neglected to write the story
Good luck with it
That's awesome. Do you plan on pitching it or making your own show?
"STOP BEING A BABY AND DO IT!! 😤 I support you 😇"
I love her 😂😂
Can you do a worldbuilding series in how nations, kingdoms, and factions interact with each other? like politics or something.
Did you just said the title of your new book? DID YOU?
*The Saviour's Army?* Jeeeeennaaaaaa !!!
6:48 bro I stumbled upon a short that said “you should spend a decade of world building before you write your book. People say that makes them loose motivation to write the book but ain’t that what writing is all about” and audibly gasped and said “WHAT!?”
I've got a very strange world for my comics. See, it's the whole universe, but it's got a unique structure to it.
At the very epicenter of the universe is the Beacon of Light, where it all began.
Surrounding the Beacon of Light is Heaven, then followed by another afterlife layer called Spectrum, then followed by Hell.
Just beyond Hell is the Mortal World, split into equally-sized thirds. Asura, Beoma, and Yecta. They are essentially just copy and paste versions of each other (meaning there are three Earths), but locations of the Star Systems are all very different (Like the Solar System is in Andromeda in one of them) resulting in very different outcomes for the different versions of the same planets.
Just beyond the Mortal World is the Ratchet Realm, the chaotic, energy-filled, might-be-radioactive edge of the universe where all the expansion happens. It's basically just a perpetual neverending explosion, and there are actually creatures that live in this domain, meaning the Ratchet Realm is home to some hardy ass creatures.
Beyond the Ratchet Realm is the Void, where there is nothing but darkness and mysterious beings known as Anomalies, who actually created the universe.
I LOVE Milanote. I discovered it because of you and I love it! Thanks for being a spokesperson for them!
thank you very much. Im going to implement at least 9/10 of your grat tips.
I'm definitely more into world building than into writing plot. I started out years ago with a vague idea for a story and a vague idea of where it took place, then built and built and built the setting while only making minor advances in the story. Eventually when I finally decided on the thrust of my story I realized that much of my worldbuilding was extraneous. Fortunately my characters are still in high school so I can do a few info dumps as class lessons, and there's some exploration in the mid- and late parts.
I finally took the time to learn how to describe the inside and outside of a house, but after i had described everything in one chapter, I realized I was info dumping and had to go back and trim it down. 😭 im also learning how to weave backstory into a story without info dumping.
Jenna: "Don't build your world before you have a story"
*Me who already made a map, mythos, and culture to my world* : "OK"
I believe it to be a double-edged sword, don't fully flesh out the world so you can improvise and change as you compose the story but having a fully fleshed out world puts you within a kind of limit.
#9: THANK YOU. I keep my descriptions to a minimum, adding only what matters. I have mild aphantasia, but I also think this lends to a cooperative effort with my readers that helps them invest themselves more thoroughly in the writing. If I say someone has a plain face, that means different things to different people. So if I describe my version of a plain face, that's going to strike home with fewer people than if I just say it's a plain face and the reader can envision what a plain face means to them. They get to personalize my writing.
I had pretty severe character building disease, but never world building. I made a full recovery and am now going to work on character, plot and world building together.
I literally just worldbuild for fun and don’t write much anymore. I just like mapping out new lands and nations and stuff.
I made up a and drew a bunch of characters 15 years ago and now I am struggling to create a story and world for them.
It can be very surprising what arises out of our daydreams... =*[.]*=
SAME but three years ago 🤣
And Jenna strikes again! It never fails to amaze how on point you are. Loved the video 💘
I'm super hyped for the Savior's army!
6:47 *exists*
Me after spending 5 years building the world and magic system ._.
What most writers forget about is the economics, trade and currency. How do people make a living? How do your Heros pay for expensive armour or the fuel for their spaceship? How do they pay in the tavern or in the space cantina? Often the heroes just wander around, not working, having no income.
Or, related to that, the environment. The castle in the desert is guarded by a monster. Wait a minute. How can it survive there? Solely on the tomb raiders coming by every hundred years?
I swear, Jenna always uploads content about the exact stuff I need to hear! Always so helpful! 😊
I used Milanote to plot my trilogy and I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to try out its other features.
Honestly watching Jenna and reading her shut up and write a book help me get going and writing. I may not read her other novels but her: shut up and write the book (so glad I have it thank you for its right up my alley with the tone xD ) I love it's one of my textbooks/bibles. I am really bad at English and I have a hard time reading. I am like at a middle school level and I'm an adult, with and learning disability. I could come up with millionths of stories and pitches (I also have weird dreams worth writing sometimes lol ). So I am learning how to write a novel and I tell you for a procrastinator it's hard, but Jenna you keep me going even if I write a few pages. :) Thank you for being there for us we need you
If this is a long ad for the app, congrats it worked
Than you. I needed this. I've been playing around with ideas for a particular story for years, but I've been afraid that if I don't have the world built before I start with I'll mess it up. But working on it, a chunck at a time, as I write seems far less terrifying.
I did the opposite of this I just started writing and then I’m like “shouldn’t I world build or something? That’s a thing right?”
But I loved what you said about how many people want to write homophobia into their stories because other stories have that. What made me want to make my own world was even stories I loved had prostitution, men are always above women and animals being hurt. I’m like why do those things come up so much? I am not having that in my story. Even if I just write it for me. And definitely no homophobia.
I loved your video. This is the first one I’ve seen.
And just like that the cyborg queen comes through yet again with exactly the kind of video I was in dire need of. I’m trying to create a new world for a story and I was about to go and build an entire world when all I really need is two kingdoms, an island and the ocean. Thank you oh glorious cyborg queen
the message here was very needed! This was my first time viewing one of your videos and i gotta say, great video, message but very pushy about subscribing is a turn away
You're so great at making videos and communication! Amazing work ❤
You are genuinely hilarious, you had me fully engaged and entertained throughout the entire video. While also giving some really good tips quite clearly! I definitely have world builder’s disease.. but I keep telling myself creating the information about my cities plumbing is important! Hahah
Just want to say I absolutely love milanote I just wish they had more templates for beginners
I love your videos and they have helped me put some of my over-writing away.
The world you make, is your world so do with it what you will. I have a society built in which flowers are the focus and each flower represents your rank.
I tried Milanote and holy cow!! IT is awesome!!! I am also an illustrator and it is perfect for that as well as story writing organization! thank you for recommending it!
Thanks for the tips Jenna. I absolutely love your books 'The Saviour's Champion' and 'The Saviour's Sister' I have both of them and I also listen to them on Audible.
Cannot wait until the next book is out, I think your an amazing person.
#6 build as you go is the best one
6:56 yep, while not for writing exactly, I have found that rewriting what I thought the world was going to be in order to solve a particular problem is a great way to get around screwing yourself. The only thing you need to be careful of is how your changes will affect the world, changing the home village of a particular character to keep them out of the action during a particular event, probably not going to have too much of an effect. Changing how the economy works, on the other hand will affect everything.
I have been writing for years for my own entertainment but now I want to write something to publish hopefully one day get recognized for
One thing I'm finding useful for worldbuilding has been by creating other stories aside from my main series which are primarily designed to explore aspects of my worldbuilding - creation, magic system, etc. I feel that it really injects life into my worldbuilding to have a story with fully fleshed out characters deciding what goes into my worldbuilding, and I feel like it's going to be very useful when I reference these things in my main series. I don't even have to finish the stories, just develop them with an eye toward the characters and narrative.
0 comments??? Well don't mind if I do~
I'm currently trying, emphesis on TRYING, to setup a D&D campaign and this also requires world building (cus I'm not at all stubborn) and I am very overwhelmed but I still wanna do it XD
So thank you~ This is al very welcome advice ♥
How tf did u write all this in less than 30 seconds????
Early access ^___^** Patreon and all that
@Adiba Sutrisno patreon
Weirdest comment I've ever seen
got hooked onto ur videos was doing blender and wanted to get into film and sotry writing to help create my own scenes and i love the way you explain things simple easy and funny af ahaha had to like/sub
love when people get into their craft and zone about their passion.
Your videos always give me all the motivation I need! Thank you!!!
Since watching your channel I have been super inspired by you and a few other reasons to really dive into working on my novels again! I have written nearly 33k words to start off the year. At this rate I may have nearly a full book written by the end of the year! I am so thankful for you and your channel! It helped me keep my sanity this last year around the time of my father's passing. So I truly and honestly want to say thank you for the time and effort you put into your content. Whith love prayers your family and your doggo are doing amazing 💝
I can't tell you how long I've been stuck trying to worldbuild everything before writing the story.......
Thank you for this. I’m new to your channel and this has helped me simplify my process. I’ve been so Intimidated by world building!
Thank you, Jenna. I'm glad I was doing the right things. A few things I loved about worldbuilding, were the real challenges people actually run into when traveling in this environment, and geopolitical conflicts, and I could use as conflicts and plot points to further the character growth or death.
I did both Saviors books on audible and really enjoyed both narrators! I'm impressed in TSS how much the female narrator stayed true to the voices in the first book!
World building can sometimes be hard for me because there are so many different parts to it. This video is super helpful so thank you so much!! Maybe now I can really explore the world I'm building enough to actually write the book I've been trying to figure out how to write for years!!
You can also create your world and use it in multiple stories, not just one.
Sometimes an infodump is needed, especially if it something that is needed for readers to understand something immediately afterwards. In those cases, try to limit it to a paragraph and make it seem like it wasn't infodumping
Jenna: says title of video
Me, immediately: 👍
Great advice, especially the point on being free to create cultures that are different. That's why I love writing Fantasy :)
"Your world is supposed to fit the story, not the other way around!"
JRR Tolkien: *I don't have such weaknesses*
Yip, that is why I decided last year to rewrite my main book all thanks to the info I get here on Jenna UA-cam and other writer UA-camrs as well.
And so far, I am enjoying the process of rediscovering the drama and other magical things I added.
Watching from 11:00 on repeat thank you.
You're so awesome! I'm writing an animated series and this really helps.
Thank you for saying that you don't have to write discrimination. I'm uncomfortable with writing it and I don't wanna get shit for not being "historically accurate"
I created my magic system and a map of my world before I started writing and that was all I did. It only took my about two months mixed with school and that was all the info I needed not to get stuck writing. Two years later, my world is so much more intricate and its because the world built itself during the authoring.
Wow! Exactly the moment I needed it. Thanks Jenna!
#10 was a love letter to me. Thanks Jenna.
Always loves your tips.❤❤❤❤😘😘😘😘
Another great video!! Thanks Jenna!!
Anyone else feel like they just sat through a 13 minute Milanote commercial?
the humor is top notch.
I've never heard #9 discussed so well! "STFU" and "connect the dots." As much as I loved WoT, I was ready to smash my face against an 800 page hard-cover for every time Jordan described the embroidery on a dress. Some people seem to like this... but for the love of god, a big part of why I like to read a book instead of watch a movie is so I can use my imagination for visual and audio (faces and voices). It's not easy, however, and in editing my first novel I find myself running through scenes again and again trying to balance white room syndrome with Robert Jordan disease =P THANKS JENNA!
My work in progress is an alternate history version of earth so this applies too, amazing as always Jenna
The best writing channel of UA-cam!!!!! I've been waiting for this video forever
Totally needed this. Thank you so much :)
I found a way to explain the currency by using gambling as part of the story. Mostly cause I don't wanna really get in depth in economics. Many of these tips I sort of learn after decades of reading which has helped a ton.
I love how her first 3 examples of different story is just one piece doing all of it 🤣. Adventure, characters driven and a lot of action. GOAT PIECE!
For me, it's always the case of story comes first and world comes later. I definitely do it on accident every time but when I get a solid base of the story, I start adding world stuff to it. Idk how, but it works every time! 😂 I start writing a story and then the world just falls into place 🤷🏼♀️ then I start working in the details
Yeah same, I really good at setting a scene in terms of characterization but actually describing the environment is not my strong suit
@@eveescastle5866 honestly, so true! This is why I can never finish a story tbh 😂😂😅
Hey Jenna, any chance you'd do a video on crime fiction?
thank God i built my world along the way and i thought it was a stupid move but nope thank u jenna
i almost built the world first
Even though I'm not writing a book, I'm writing an animated show these tips are so useful!