I also write fantasy, but I am a history teacher by trade. When I teach my students about different civilizations, I use the GRAPES acronym to highlight the important aspects (Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics, and Society). I started using this with world building and it made such a difference in making my settings really come alive and have a lot of depth.
Oh my gosh... GRAPES. This is such a good idea! I have geography, and SOME politics and society in mine...but I realize I didn't talk too much about religion or economics! Thank you for the idea. I'm sure the other folks watching/commenting will find it helpful as well. (You're a great teacher.)
Thank you. I'll have to add that to my world-building. Although now that I've seen this I'll have to set my next story in the country of Wreith. You know what I'll have to call my world building file for that story.
@bymegangrant Thank you! Even if only hints of some of the things (like economics) end up in the story, it's like the iceberg - you know there's a whole lot more beneath the water. It helps make the world feel real.
I also jumped into writing a sci-fi novel, encouraged by others to "just write" and having an idea and I wrote like 20 pages but I had to stop cause I didn't have a world, and I realized I need to do my world building first. (It's my first, I'm not a published author though.) Sanderson's lectures helped me a lot. I highly recommend it.
I'm so excited for you! I kind of fell into the same thing -- it's easy to get started without that world-building, but it'll come back to bite you eventually. This has happened to me, to a degree, with most of my books (of different genres). But I think once you do some of that world-building, it will flow SO smooth. I can't wait to hear more about what you write.
@@bymegangrant In a nutshell, it's a space opera with hard sci-fi elements: The underlying large theme is first contact with advanced alien race gone wrong, but it's written from the perspective of shady outcasts, who of course have there own disfunctional family drama happening while running from authorities. They eventually get a fresh start as a result of saving an alien from corrupt military just to mess with them, and achieve temporary cease of hostilities by playing both humans and aliens. I kinda pitted a mostly unified human race with 3 major factions each with their own corrupt democracies and rampant pirate problem against a more technologically advanced, but highly divided alien race with thousands of little empires. There are pros and cons to both, but the fog of war and misinformation kinda forces both race into more of a cold war with a few skirmishes here and there.
Definitely connected a lot with what you were saying! My current project is my first try at fantasy and it is so much larger than anything I’ve ever written. I also work full time so my writing is designated to the evenings hours when I have energy. BUT you can do it!! Honestly, when I finished the first draft I was like “Man, this isn’t too shabby!” It isn’t perfect of course (I’m on draft 3 now) but every minute we dedicate to our stories makes them better in some way 😊 good luck!!!
Thank you so much for this positive reminder. I needed it. We all get the same 24 hours, and we do the best we can, right? You've got a great attitude. Good job pushing through to draft 3! I bet it's coming together beautifully, and I'd love to hear more about your progress!
@@bymegangrant thank you so much~! and I know you're going to get there too, just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other! I'd love to keep in touch!! I think this process would be so much easier (and more fun!) with friends!
I love how courageously vulnerable you are in this video! Subscribing now as I face a lot of the same insecurities, while simultaneously sharing all the same things that excite me. Rooting for you!
I am currently writing a sci-fi/fantasy novel. My first. I wrote four chapters and decided to go back and do proper outlining. It’s a pretty daunting task, but I know I’m up for it. I keep telling myself every day that I’m good enough to do this.
Yes! Please continue to share your journey in writing your fantasy novel. I am also currently writing a supernatural/paranormal series. But I do have lots of other interests and one day would also like to try Fantasy, Contemporary, Thriller etc. I think a lot of times ppl *think* they will be good at a genre and don't try others. I think it is good to try different ones as they tap into different parts of our brain and invoke different creativity.
You are so, so, so right. For a while, I only wrote humor (or at least, I thought it was funny 😛). And I swore I'd never switch. Then I tried mystery, and I had so much fun. Then a psychological thriller that turned into supernatural. So much fun. Now, fantasy! You're right - it opens up new doors for creativity, and you really don't know until you try! I'm glad you're staying open-minded.
It’s extremely easy to get lost in the sauce when world building. Remember the world is the stage, not the story. My approach is set rules and then tell an emotional story within those boundaries. Then have your characters bend those rules to get what they want. Some authors become world building lore experts rather than the directors of their stories.
This is great advice - thank you! And I can totally see what you mean about becoming an expert in world-building. I feel like I'm getting a LITTLE "stuck" there because now, as opposed to outlining the plot, I keep going back to the world-building. I feel like I could do this forever. So I kind of want to try outlining again and see if I have enough to work with. If not, I can always go back to world-building. Also, love the point about having the characters bend those rules. I wrote this down so I won't forget!
Definitely post more videos about your fantasy novel writing journey! :) I'm excited to see it come together. I, too, am writing a novel. I have plans for an epic fantasy trilogy and a 12-book sci-fi series, and right now I am working on the first book in the sci-fi series, which could be a standalone if it needed to be. I have a 52-page detailed scene-by-scene outline of my novel plus several pages of world-building notes on the side. I have now just begun writing the first draft based off these. Similar to fantasy, sci-fi requires an inordinate amount of world building to feel truly immersive. However, I would caution you here not to get "world builders' disease." It is true that Tolkien set a benchmark for the fantasy genre, but you need to understand that said world building was the core thing he wanted to do. Tolkien was writing a mythology for England, first and foremost, and he spent 20 years world building before he wrote his books. If we want to ever actually publish a novel, we need an accelerated approach to world building that accomplishes just enough to make the world immersive. So, here's what I did: 1) I fleshed out complete, impactful, and heart-wrenching character arcs for my two POV characters, and fleshed out unique character traits and truncated backstories for the adjacent side characters. This was the single most important aspect of the book outline, because it needed to serve as the driver of the plot and what would make the ending "stick the landing," so to speak. I had this philosophy: The story is driven by the goals and actions of the antagonists, but its path and outcome is determined by the goals and actions of the protagonists, and the plot is ultimately the events that transpire as a result. 2) I fleshed out the plot and foreshadowing to make it surprising and satisfying, and inseparable from the character arcs. I used the Save the Cat method, with one-on-one guidance from my writing coach. 3) I fleshed out all the world-building details that specifically impacted the plot or character arcs. But here's the important thing: That's as far as the world building needed to go. For example, one of the characters in my story occasionally uses these little electrical gadgets to open magnetic locks and to incapacitate attackers, so I had to make up parameters for what they exactly did and what they could theoretically be used for, but I did NOT write down how they are made or the in-world science behind their function--that stuff is not relevant to the story and would have been a waste of time to explore in world building. My characters will visit worlds with different cultures--only the cultures that pertain to the story need to be explored, the rest can be observed. Imagine yourself walking down the street of the town set for a Western movie. You get off your horse and go into the saloon. You have a bar fight. You leave the saloon and go see the sheriff. Then you visit the local inn and have a bath. As far as you can tell, this town is complete and real, complete with a full population and ongoing lives and businesses. But behind the scenes, the only buildings that are complete are the saloon, sheriff's office, and inn. The rest are just facades propped up to look real and sell the illusion. The people walk through doors and off stage, but it doesn't matter because the story never takes us through those doors--you can create those buildings in later books when you do go through those doors. This world-building method will save you tons of time and give you a direct approach where you will actually be able to tell when you have done enough to write your story. I'm excited to see how your book comes along. I am a professional writer in my day job, but I benefitted immeasurably from a writing coach who simplified all this stuff for me. She's not a fantasy nerd, per se, but she has been invaluable in her one-on-one coaching and brainstorming assistance. If you want to entertain her as well, she's Megan Maclaine | Writing Teacher here on UA-cam and has a lot of good videos on getting through an outline that you might find helpful if you feel so inclined. :)
Your world building trials resonated with me because I went through that with a fantasy story I did for a nanowrimos. My stories start with a what-if question and I build them out from there. I'd never done a wizards-and-wands kind of fantasy and ran into the same problems you did: rules, races, locations (I did a map, it was worse than yours), etc. I ended up installing a wiki program and building a bible (I read that's the term they us in TV) as a wiki. I think your plan is better than mine, as I would stop and figure things out as I came across them, then have to make it fit in with what I'd already done. I'm doing another fantasy now, but it's more, I'll call it urban fantasy, but I don't know if it's that. It's kind of new-agey, as in a guy gets a cosmic power, doesn't want it, and tries to let others use it. Disaster follows. As for your videos, I enjoy them. Good luck.
Love this video! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and progress so far. I started world building my fantasy novel several months ago. It started as a D&D character I created, and somehow it turned into a character that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It was totally by accident, but the character turned into an entire idea for a book. I totally relate to what you said about feeling like an imposter, but for me I think that’s good! It means you care deeply about how you portray the story and the impact it has on readers. Keep channeling that energy and it will serve you well! One thing I do when I’m trying to get in the heads of my character and their relationships with the magic system is I go on hikes and find an object (something natural like a tree or body of water, or something manmade like a building or street), and I wonder what a specific character would do to that object. Would they freeze a body of water to walk across? Would they calm the current to easily swim through? How would they move their hands and what would their posture be like? What’s their motivation for doing it *that* way? For me it totally helps to apply the magic system to real-life scenarios, and it allows me to be more creative and flexible with my magic system, which is really important for me because of how rigid and structured it is. Anyways, that’s an exercise that helps me and if you haven’t tried it I’d say give it a go! As someone who also experiences imposter syndrome, it helps me to feel more confident in my fantasy writing ability and reminds me that as authors, there is so much opportunity to make our stories uniquely ours, and we are more than qualified and capable enough to write and share our stories!
Magic systems are hard. You'll have to define the source and the limits, so it doesn't become a 'get out of jail free card' for the story. There should be a definable cost to using magic, and your main character should be bad at it at first. My first successful attempt at writing a novel was a YA fantasy, although shading toward middle grade. But two named characters with lines get killed, so I'm sticking with YA. There's no magic system, but there are goblins. My third book is also fantasy, but this time I did use a magic system, and a duel between sorcerers. The duel used a partnership between the sorceress and her warriors, so the duel itself was an attempt to minimize the damage caused by her rival until her soldiers could locate and defeat the enemy guards and attack the wizard. It doesn't have to be a direct battle between magic. Even wizards have friends. I also spent time earlier in the book setting up a deus ex machina, so after the heroes defeat the villains and win the battle an authority figure is called in to mete out official justice. There must be order in the world, after all.
You need to find the balance. Beware of going too far and contracting world builder's syndrome. You only need to go far enough into your world building for what is explicitly necessary for your story. Then you can drop hints and give the appearance of more but you don't need to know all of those answers right away. Things can be left to the imagination or to be fleshed out in a sequel. Its definitely not easy but I hope you meet your goals!
I’m a recent sub to your channel and love this video you put out! This gets so long so just a heads up if someone expands on the comment it's several paragraphs Dx short version: great video! You've got this! :))) Writing a book is so hard TvT it’s a lot of emotional work, which I don’t think people consider for writers. They think it’s all creativity or it’s a lot of technical craftsmanship. It is, but the emotional work can be as draining as it is worthwhile. Kinda like therapy I guess XD Spiraling is such a mood. You might really love Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. It helped me a ton with feeling overwhelmed and daunted by projects. Also, if you enjoyed Save the Cat, I also highly recommend The Structure of Story by Ross Hartmann. That “I feel like something is missing” when you do an outline? Hatmann’s got all the secrets! :D I think a fun way to help inspire ideas for world building would be to check out how Dungeon Masters come up with campaigns for their Table Top RPGs. Since you’re writing fantasy, this can really help get gears turning and become really exciting when thinking about your own world. The world of D&D can be overwhelming if you’re not familiar, but, honestly, besides reddit forums I’d say you can just check out “The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying” by Jonah and Tristian Fishel and be pretty set. It includes a ton of help on how character goals specifically help shape things like factions and settings, which keeps a story cohesive and engaging. Both Hartmann and the Fishel’s books will include very specific ways and examples to help with that problem you mention at 9:50 Maps are so great! I love that
Rather than read a bunch of books, look at video games. Watch the first two minutes of this game's intro: ua-cam.com/video/d8iGugnJy4Q/v-deo.html It's not my video, but I love this PS2 game. Then each level is like part of the world-building. The game gives you only one character, but the story is amazing.
I also write fantasy, but I am a history teacher by trade. When I teach my students about different civilizations, I use the GRAPES acronym to highlight the important aspects (Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics, and Society). I started using this with world building and it made such a difference in making my settings really come alive and have a lot of depth.
Oh my gosh... GRAPES. This is such a good idea! I have geography, and SOME politics and society in mine...but I realize I didn't talk too much about religion or economics! Thank you for the idea. I'm sure the other folks watching/commenting will find it helpful as well. (You're a great teacher.)
Thank you. I'll have to add that to my world-building.
Although now that I've seen this I'll have to set my next story in the country of Wreith. You know what I'll have to call my world building file for that story.
@bymegangrant Thank you! Even if only hints of some of the things (like economics) end up in the story, it's like the iceberg - you know there's a whole lot more beneath the water. It helps make the world feel real.
Also “why”, like why does any of this matter
I also jumped into writing a sci-fi novel, encouraged by others to "just write" and having an idea and I wrote like 20 pages but I had to stop cause I didn't have a world, and I realized I need to do my world building first. (It's my first, I'm not a published author though.)
Sanderson's lectures helped me a lot. I highly recommend it.
I'm so excited for you! I kind of fell into the same thing -- it's easy to get started without that world-building, but it'll come back to bite you eventually. This has happened to me, to a degree, with most of my books (of different genres). But I think once you do some of that world-building, it will flow SO smooth. I can't wait to hear more about what you write.
@@bymegangrant In a nutshell, it's a space opera with hard sci-fi elements: The underlying large theme is first contact with advanced alien race gone wrong, but it's written from the perspective of shady outcasts, who of course have there own disfunctional family drama happening while running from authorities. They eventually get a fresh start as a result of saving an alien from corrupt military just to mess with them, and achieve temporary cease of hostilities by playing both humans and aliens.
I kinda pitted a mostly unified human race with 3 major factions each with their own corrupt democracies and rampant pirate problem against a more technologically advanced, but highly divided alien race with thousands of little empires. There are pros and cons to both, but the fog of war and misinformation kinda forces both race into more of a cold war with a few skirmishes here and there.
Definitely connected a lot with what you were saying! My current project is my first try at fantasy and it is so much larger than anything I’ve ever written. I also work full time so my writing is designated to the evenings hours when I have energy. BUT you can do it!! Honestly, when I finished the first draft I was like “Man, this isn’t too shabby!” It isn’t perfect of course (I’m on draft 3 now) but every minute we dedicate to our stories makes them better in some way 😊 good luck!!!
Thank you so much for this positive reminder. I needed it. We all get the same 24 hours, and we do the best we can, right? You've got a great attitude. Good job pushing through to draft 3! I bet it's coming together beautifully, and I'd love to hear more about your progress!
@@bymegangrant thank you so much~! and I know you're going to get there too, just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other!
I'd love to keep in touch!! I think this process would be so much easier (and more fun!) with friends!
I love how courageously vulnerable you are in this video! Subscribing now as I face a lot of the same insecurities, while simultaneously sharing all the same things that excite me. Rooting for you!
Love the video & can't wait to see how you progress through your our writing process!
Thank you so much!
I am currently writing a sci-fi/fantasy novel. My first. I wrote four chapters and decided to go back and do proper outlining. It’s a pretty daunting task, but I know I’m up for it. I keep telling myself every day that I’m good enough to do this.
Yes! Please continue to share your journey in writing your fantasy novel. I am also currently writing a supernatural/paranormal series. But I do have lots of other interests and one day would also like to try Fantasy, Contemporary, Thriller etc. I think a lot of times ppl *think* they will be good at a genre and don't try others. I think it is good to try different ones as they tap into different parts of our brain and invoke different creativity.
You are so, so, so right. For a while, I only wrote humor (or at least, I thought it was funny 😛). And I swore I'd never switch. Then I tried mystery, and I had so much fun. Then a psychological thriller that turned into supernatural. So much fun. Now, fantasy! You're right - it opens up new doors for creativity, and you really don't know until you try! I'm glad you're staying open-minded.
OMG I would love to be funny! I love a sassy witty and clever MC but I have a hard-time writing that because it's not my personality.
It’s extremely easy to get lost in the sauce when world building. Remember the world is the stage, not the story. My approach is set rules and then tell an emotional story within those boundaries. Then have your characters bend those rules to get what they want. Some authors become world building lore experts rather than the directors of their stories.
This is great advice - thank you! And I can totally see what you mean about becoming an expert in world-building. I feel like I'm getting a LITTLE "stuck" there because now, as opposed to outlining the plot, I keep going back to the world-building. I feel like I could do this forever. So I kind of want to try outlining again and see if I have enough to work with. If not, I can always go back to world-building.
Also, love the point about having the characters bend those rules. I wrote this down so I won't forget!
Definitely post more videos about your fantasy novel writing journey! :) I'm excited to see it come together.
I, too, am writing a novel. I have plans for an epic fantasy trilogy and a 12-book sci-fi series, and right now I am working on the first book in the sci-fi series, which could be a standalone if it needed to be. I have a 52-page detailed scene-by-scene outline of my novel plus several pages of world-building notes on the side. I have now just begun writing the first draft based off these. Similar to fantasy, sci-fi requires an inordinate amount of world building to feel truly immersive. However, I would caution you here not to get "world builders' disease." It is true that Tolkien set a benchmark for the fantasy genre, but you need to understand that said world building was the core thing he wanted to do. Tolkien was writing a mythology for England, first and foremost, and he spent 20 years world building before he wrote his books. If we want to ever actually publish a novel, we need an accelerated approach to world building that accomplishes just enough to make the world immersive. So, here's what I did:
1) I fleshed out complete, impactful, and heart-wrenching character arcs for my two POV characters, and fleshed out unique character traits and truncated backstories for the adjacent side characters. This was the single most important aspect of the book outline, because it needed to serve as the driver of the plot and what would make the ending "stick the landing," so to speak. I had this philosophy: The story is driven by the goals and actions of the antagonists, but its path and outcome is determined by the goals and actions of the protagonists, and the plot is ultimately the events that transpire as a result.
2) I fleshed out the plot and foreshadowing to make it surprising and satisfying, and inseparable from the character arcs. I used the Save the Cat method, with one-on-one guidance from my writing coach.
3) I fleshed out all the world-building details that specifically impacted the plot or character arcs. But here's the important thing: That's as far as the world building needed to go. For example, one of the characters in my story occasionally uses these little electrical gadgets to open magnetic locks and to incapacitate attackers, so I had to make up parameters for what they exactly did and what they could theoretically be used for, but I did NOT write down how they are made or the in-world science behind their function--that stuff is not relevant to the story and would have been a waste of time to explore in world building. My characters will visit worlds with different cultures--only the cultures that pertain to the story need to be explored, the rest can be observed. Imagine yourself walking down the street of the town set for a Western movie. You get off your horse and go into the saloon. You have a bar fight. You leave the saloon and go see the sheriff. Then you visit the local inn and have a bath. As far as you can tell, this town is complete and real, complete with a full population and ongoing lives and businesses. But behind the scenes, the only buildings that are complete are the saloon, sheriff's office, and inn. The rest are just facades propped up to look real and sell the illusion. The people walk through doors and off stage, but it doesn't matter because the story never takes us through those doors--you can create those buildings in later books when you do go through those doors. This world-building method will save you tons of time and give you a direct approach where you will actually be able to tell when you have done enough to write your story.
I'm excited to see how your book comes along. I am a professional writer in my day job, but I benefitted immeasurably from a writing coach who simplified all this stuff for me. She's not a fantasy nerd, per se, but she has been invaluable in her one-on-one coaching and brainstorming assistance. If you want to entertain her as well, she's Megan Maclaine | Writing Teacher here on UA-cam and has a lot of good videos on getting through an outline that you might find helpful if you feel so inclined. :)
Your world building trials resonated with me because I went through that with a fantasy story I did for a nanowrimos. My stories start with a what-if question and I build them out from there. I'd never done a wizards-and-wands kind of fantasy and ran into the same problems you did: rules, races, locations (I did a map, it was worse than yours), etc. I ended up installing a wiki program and building a bible (I read that's the term they us in TV) as a wiki. I think your plan is better than mine, as I would stop and figure things out as I came across them, then have to make it fit in with what I'd already done. I'm doing another fantasy now, but it's more, I'll call it urban fantasy, but I don't know if it's that. It's kind of new-agey, as in a guy gets a cosmic power, doesn't want it, and tries to let others use it. Disaster follows. As for your videos, I enjoy them. Good luck.
Love this video! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and progress so far. I started world building my fantasy novel several months ago. It started as a D&D character I created, and somehow it turned into a character that I couldn’t stop thinking about. It was totally by accident, but the character turned into an entire idea for a book. I totally relate to what you said about feeling like an imposter, but for me I think that’s good! It means you care deeply about how you portray the story and the impact it has on readers. Keep channeling that energy and it will serve you well! One thing I do when I’m trying to get in the heads of my character and their relationships with the magic system is I go on hikes and find an object (something natural like a tree or body of water, or something manmade like a building or street), and I wonder what a specific character would do to that object. Would they freeze a body of water to walk across? Would they calm the current to easily swim through? How would they move their hands and what would their posture be like? What’s their motivation for doing it *that* way? For me it totally helps to apply the magic system to real-life scenarios, and it allows me to be more creative and flexible with my magic system, which is really important for me because of how rigid and structured it is. Anyways, that’s an exercise that helps me and if you haven’t tried it I’d say give it a go! As someone who also experiences imposter syndrome, it helps me to feel more confident in my fantasy writing ability and reminds me that as authors, there is so much opportunity to make our stories uniquely ours, and we are more than qualified and capable enough to write and share our stories!
Magic systems are hard. You'll have to define the source and the limits, so it doesn't become a 'get out of jail free card' for the story. There should be a definable cost to using magic, and your main character should be bad at it at first.
My first successful attempt at writing a novel was a YA fantasy, although shading toward middle grade. But two named characters with lines get killed, so I'm sticking with YA. There's no magic system, but there are goblins.
My third book is also fantasy, but this time I did use a magic system, and a duel between sorcerers. The duel used a partnership between the sorceress and her warriors, so the duel itself was an attempt to minimize the damage caused by her rival until her soldiers could locate and defeat the enemy guards and attack the wizard.
It doesn't have to be a direct battle between magic. Even wizards have friends.
I also spent time earlier in the book setting up a deus ex machina, so after the heroes defeat the villains and win the battle an authority figure is called in to mete out official justice. There must be order in the world, after all.
You need to find the balance. Beware of going too far and contracting world builder's syndrome. You only need to go far enough into your world building for what is explicitly necessary for your story. Then you can drop hints and give the appearance of more but you don't need to know all of those answers right away. Things can be left to the imagination or to be fleshed out in a sequel. Its definitely not easy but I hope you meet your goals!
I’m a recent sub to your channel and love this video you put out! This gets so long so just a heads up if someone expands on the comment it's several paragraphs Dx short version: great video! You've got this! :)))
Writing a book is so hard TvT it’s a lot of emotional work, which I don’t think people consider for writers. They think it’s all creativity or it’s a lot of technical craftsmanship. It is, but the emotional work can be as draining as it is worthwhile. Kinda like therapy I guess XD
Spiraling is such a mood. You might really love Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. It helped me a ton with feeling overwhelmed and daunted by projects.
Also, if you enjoyed Save the Cat, I also highly recommend The Structure of Story by Ross Hartmann. That “I feel like something is missing” when you do an outline? Hatmann’s got all the secrets! :D
I think a fun way to help inspire ideas for world building would be to check out how Dungeon Masters come up with campaigns for their Table Top RPGs. Since you’re writing fantasy, this can really help get gears turning and become really exciting when thinking about your own world. The world of D&D can be overwhelming if you’re not familiar, but, honestly, besides reddit forums I’d say you can just check out “The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying” by Jonah and Tristian Fishel and be pretty set. It includes a ton of help on how character goals specifically help shape things like factions and settings, which keeps a story cohesive and engaging.
Both Hartmann and the Fishel’s books will include very specific ways and examples to help with that problem you mention at 9:50
Maps are so great! I love that
Rather than read a bunch of books, look at video games. Watch the first two minutes of this game's intro: ua-cam.com/video/d8iGugnJy4Q/v-deo.html It's not my video, but I love this PS2 game. Then each level is like part of the world-building. The game gives you only one character, but the story is amazing.