Setting Vs. Worldbuilding: ua-cam.com/video/foL28BACxWM/v-deo.html How to Write Immersive Settings and Amazing Worlds: ua-cam.com/video/h8YZsadagCI/v-deo.html
Great video, would loved it if you had given examples, 23:34 I hear what you are saying but I don't understand how they do it, you're essentially using a whole trilogy of books that I havn't read as an example, and I will not read a whole book to find out what you mean, man 😂 Like, please give examples.. Or I won't learn aaaanything :( ((I mean a part from the text itself or a summary)) That's my critique, but thanks for the tips!!
"With worldbuilding, they don't need the know every bolt of the plumbing, they just need to know that when they turn on the faucet, it'll work." amazing quote
On the other hand, if you forgot your story is in the woods without a well, that's gonna be a problem. Or to step away from the analogy, if you just wave your hands and say "it works because i said so" your readers are gonna see your plot holes. To step back into your analogy, you need to know where the water comes from. City water? Well? Where does the plumbing go, sewer or septic? What about the electrical? Is it wired in? Generator? Solar panels? You don't have to know every nut and bolt, but knowing that there's a U-bend under the sink that catches junk that's too big to fit in the smaller inner pipes could be pretty relevant. Knowing where the garbage goes when it gets disposed of, and what happens when someone stops collecting it. What systems are required to keep things running, and what the consequences are if those things **stop** running.
idc man, I'm going to record not only every bolt, but the thread pitches, bolt gauges, pipe diameters, alloy compositions and machinery used, and the entire industrial history of how those became the standards for local residential sink plumbing. :P ...oh, and the repair history of this particular faucet, and the biology of the succulent plant from which the leak sealing compound was synthesized.
One thing I think is worth mentioning is that while videos like these are helpful, there is a 10th rule here...stop overthinking and just write. The more we try to micromanage every detail the whole process becomes a slog. No matter what you do, there will always be a thousand 1 star reviews for your book on GoodReads. Just let loose!!
YES! That should always be the (sort of) number one rule to go by. And I think that is the essence of all these points. Don't get so bogged down in trying to figure out every aspect of your world. Just get to writing! Thank you for your perspective and for watching :).
I've been struggling with this a lot but finaly managed to compromise. I've just now finished my first draft of a short story and currently working on the second and only thanks to making peace with the idea that i was doing MY WORST POSSIBLE and it was only up amd better from there. Also, nopne said that i had to have all of my wordlbuiding figured out, i can tinker it along the way. Maybe new ideas will invalidate the first sotires, but the practice they gave me are still priceless.
Typically when I come across “writing advice” I prepare to be mostly disappointed but watch anyway looking for one sliver of knowledge . This one is actually good with a lot of great advice! 🎉
I think there are other 3 important mistakes. Do not know your genre. Do not know your setting. Do not know yourself. First mistake means, worldbuilding for romance looks different than worldbuilding for detective story. Second mistake means detective story from pseudomedieval Europe needs different kind and amount of information than detective story from pseudoprimeval Asia. And last one, every author should know himself. Does author need 1000 pages of every aspect of fictional world to run his imagination? Does author write 1000 pages of novel without worldbuildig? Answer to this and more questions is: Why not? If it is how autor works....
Just read Shakespeare... Zero world building.. and yet we can see ourselves there. The chats among the characters are enough to construct a world with a little scenery description, almost like a photo caption.
I don't hear many people say how important it is to keep the mind-bending or physics-defying concepts to a minimum. Every fictional aspect of the story should always be examined against the natural world and all other fictional concepts. The more you pile up, the more likely you are to break your world by creating huge plot holes. Here is one small example (one of my pet peeves): You find instantaneous FTL communication technology with unrestricted bandwidth in most space operas. It kills any sense of adventure, the feeling you get when reading about a wooden ship on the high seas, not knowing what is happening where you just left and never knowing what awaits you where you are going. It kills the fog of war, which is essential in any war story. It trivializes the mind-boggling aspect of the vast emptiness of space. Don't get me wrong. There are stories where such technology is an important part of the story. But if you do not plan to take a second step and think about ALL the implications, then maybe leave it be? I could write a lot here, but some of my favourite authors (Jack Campbell and David Weber) said something like this: "It is not what your characters CAN DO that makes for a good story, but the things they CAN'T DO". Things they can't do: force you, as a writer, to find creative solutions.
Also a good point. There is a balance you need to strike. If these elements are distracting or make the reader start to ask the WRONG questions or question the integrity of your world, you've broken their immersion. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
As an Indie Game Developer, I start by imagining playing my games - then think what parts of the worldbuilding need to be in place for items, lore, locations, enemies and the in-game information for these things. I favor environmental storytelling - a chunk of unnatural metal standing in the middle of a grassy field begs why it looks so out of place, why it is there, and why that mirrored cube piece is floating.
Yes! This is a wonderful perspective to have. Leaving breadcrumbs across your world and the game also helps with building immersion and giving the player a feeling that everything has a place for a reason. Elemental storytelling is very powerful and can make the setting become a character in-and-of itself. Also, fellow Indie Dev here too :). Thank you for your comment and for watching!
I'm going to drop this here have fun: --- Rules of thumb for storytelling --- Rules: 1. Realism is not God, but verisimilitude feeling is God. Meaning: While it's important for stories to feel believable, adhering strictly to realism can sometimes stifle creativity. What truly matters is the sense of authenticity and immersion that the story evokes in the audience. 2. Characters > Setting > Worldbuilding > Lore > etc. Meaning: In storytelling, the focus should primarily be on developing compelling characters, followed by creating immersive settings, building a coherent world, and delving into detailed lore. Characters drive the narrative and engage the audience more effectively than mere world details. 3. Imply > Show > Tell. Meaning: Rather than explicitly stating everything, it's often more effective to imply information through subtle cues, then show it through actions or scenes when it feels normal and tell when it feels normal. This engages the audience by allowing them to interpret and infer meaning themselves. 4. Every character and reader have limited perspective except for deities and the author. Meaning: Characters within the story as well as readers outside of it, can only perceive events from their own limited perspectives. Only omniscient entities like deities or the author have full awareness of the story's events and meanings. 5. Combat should feel hard and have weight rather than feel soft and floating. Meaning: When depicting combat scenes, it's important to convey the physical and emotional weight of the struggle. This makes the action feel more realistic and impactful, enhancing the overall tension and immersion of the story. 6. Description should flow rather than be bullet points. Meaning: Descriptive passages should be integrated smoothly into the narrative, flowing seamlessly from one detail to the next. This allows the reader to visualize the scene without feeling interrupted by a list-like presentation. 7. Internal consistency > external consistency. Meaning: While maintaining consistency with external rules and logic is important, ensuring consistency within the story's own established world and rules takes precedence. This creates a more coherent and immersive experience for the audience. 8. Pacing should be like the serrated edge of a knife rather than a straightforward linear or curved progression. Meaning: The pacing of the story should be dynamic and varied, with moments of intensity followed by periods of calm, akin to the jagged edge of a knife. This keeps the audience engaged and adds depth to the narrative flow. 9. Conflict is not God, but action and reaction are God. Meaning: While conflict drives the story forward, it's the actions and reactions of the characters that truly propel the narrative. How characters respond to conflict and its consequences shapes the direction and depth of the story. 10. Some characters change, others do not. Meaning: Not all characters undergo significant development throughout the story. Some may remain static, while others experience growth or transformation. This diversity adds realism and depth to the character dynamics. 11. The world itself is a character. Meaning: The setting and world of the story should be treated as dynamic entities with their own traits, histories, and influences on the narrative. They should interact with and impact the characters and events in meaningful ways. 12. Imperfection should be the norm, be it characters, perspective, outcomes, etc. Meaning: Embracing imperfection adds depth and realism to storytelling. Characters, perspectives, and outcomes should reflect the flaws and complexities of real life, rather than striving for idealized perfection. 13. Dig deeper with lore rather than wider. Meaning: Instead of superficially expanding the lore with numerous details, focus on delving deeper into specific aspects to enrich the world and enhance its significance to the story. Quality of lore is prioritized over quantity.
I think that list is a really good start. It takes most people a long time to have a grasp like that, so it sounds like you're on the right track. please keep me updated on how the writing is going!
@@wrestlingwithwords I been watching videos like yours and I been storytelling myself asleep for years. also, when it's done, I plan on giving free copies to you and similar people as that's my ad plan.
That Martin quote always bugs me when it's framed as a criticism of Tolkien (which it often is; I'm not claiming that it was used that way here). It's like reading an Arthurian romance and asking why it wasn't more like a modern spy novel. They're different stories, written in different eras, with different focuses setting out to do different things. Tolkien wasn't interested in Aragorn's tax policy, so of course it doesn't come up. That's not the story being told. Lord of the Rings puts myth and idealism before gritty reality and that is intentional. It's absolutely reasonable to wonder about those details and imagine more political grit and darkness, and take that off into fanfiction or as inspiration for your own works (like Martin did). But a story can't be and shouldn't try to be all things. When an author tries to do that, they just end up with a mush.
I totally agree. Only the relevant world information should come up on the page as it pertains to the story! I hope my comment didn't come off as critical, it wasn't meant in that way. Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Most stories will just handwave that as "the boring political stuff the advisors make him do in between heroic stuff". Like like that in stories like Merlin or Bridgerton which, despite a distinct lack of realism in other matters, do tske time to mention that those "boring duties" are in fact vital to the regular people living in their worlds. That to a normal person, that king or noble might seem out of touch, arrogant, careless, irresponsible, or selfish to ignore the needs of the people they're responsible for, the people who actually provide them the things they need to live, like livestock, cloth, crops, tools, etc. Power comes with responsibility, and failing to live up to that responsibility, especially in a situation where no one else is legally allowed to take on that responsibility by right, can make them a villian to the common people even when in their own minds, they're fighting for good. And it can be many-layered. In Robin Hood, Prince John is the villain for raising taxes and trying to stop a bandit from robbing nobles. But King Arthur is considered a hero, despite starting a foreign war that emptied the royal cofers and demanding that his brother (who he chose to leave as Regent), supply him with more and more gold, to fight the war, then to pay his ransom when he got himself caught. Because the viewpoint is from Robin, a noble who went to war with King Arthur, had his properties seized for war taxes when believed dead, and worries that John will usurp the throne in the King's absence, but that the restoration of the King will result in the restoration of his own properties and title, we get a very biased view of the political landscape. The King is away at war, the Regent is raising taxes, the people are starving, and they believe that if the King returns home, it will all be over. And that's true. But because we have an unreliable narrator, we don't necessarily understand why. In fact, if the King ends the war, he won't need the tax money to pay for supplies and mercenaries. When he returns, he will reward his political allies and punish his critics. The Regent didn't send the King to war, nor cause him to be captured, and the only way to pay the ransom or for anything else in the kingdom is through tax money. If the nobles keep their own money and extort it from the peasants instead, what can he do?
I loved this video. I am writing a sci-fi trilogy, absolutely no fantasy, every futuristic element has a possible (sometimes only maybe, but never 'never') way in real physics or speculative physics as to how it could work. But its main purpose is to discuss philosophy, though I think the story is interesting in itself, at least one professional reader said so. Worldbuilding: I had certain basic ideas: The aliens had found a way to make their civilisation last 10s of 1,000s of years in peace without destroying itself; they have certain metabolic dysfunctions that require them to do disgusting things by human standards; they love nature and animals. I just started writng, tellng that story. All the worldbuilding happened only insofar as our human protagonist had to see and experience their world, and all I did was make sure that everything he saw was consistent with my basic concept. I had no other 'backstory', but as I went, I found that the backstory invented itself. Future incidents merely had to not break previous things. The most significant thing in writing it, I llived in the heads of every character. "What would X say or do now?" and the story wrote itself, literally. One character contrived a devious plot that played out over half the story, but I was unaware of it until the 'pounce' moment when the payoff happened. So I agree with your basic concepts of getting the readers' interest before worrying about worldbuilding. I think: don't let the plot dictate your characters' actions, make their actions right for that character, and find a way to keep the story on track by other means, if the characters move you off course. Flexibility in world building gives you one more tool for doing this without forcing unrealistic behaviours on your characters.
Thanks a lot for watching and sharing your thoughts! Always keep your characters in mind when you're worldbuilding. It's through their experience, background, perception, and actions that the worldbuilding will come out on the page. Keep us updated on how the writing is going!
I spent days calculating the vectors for a particular jump to figure out if it would truly be possible given all the peculiarities of my world. I had to think through whether gravity was essentially comparable, research limits of human ability if the human form were perfected, consider trajectory, velocity needs, the ideal position of the human body to make the jump, etc. In the end, it boiled down to "The end of the platform was right in front of her, and the chandelier seemed a thousand miles away. Impossible. Why did she think this was possible?" 😂
"It ain't about the destination... It's about the hundreds of hours we spend looking up useless facts, figures, and random trivia." That's how the quote goes right? 😆 Thank yo so much for watching and for your comment! We've all been there before...
Wait, holup, did she make it?? did she make the jump?? Also, i hear you on : thoughts = 10,000; actual word count to get that on paper = 12. i wanted a prologue that explained the Big Bad, showed how they were taking over countries quietly but insidiously, and maybe introduce a character i wanted to bring in way later. Four sentences. It took me FOUR. Sentences. i was so annoyed. 😆
@wrestlingwithwords this is probably heretical in the world of writing. I come from the IT world and have found getting the information I need harder to come by as Google seems to deteriorate. Asking chat GPT the same questions I'd ask in Google not only gives me access to virtually all of the same data, but also gives me a chance to interact and get clarification if I don't understand. It's saved me thousands of hours and .y knowledge has grown exponentially.
@@benf1111 It's 'heretical' because ChatGPT doesn't actually give you reliable information, it just guesses as to what word might come next in the sentence. You might as well dig your old flipphone out of the Drawer of Potentially Useful Tech and use its predictive text.
A good example of world building is the series about Thomas a train engine. The writers created the whole island before they wrote the series. They only showed the part of the island that was needed for a particular episode.
My friend who loves fantasy novels took a crack at writing her own fantasy story. She was excited to get my feed back so she sent me the first couple chapters. When I tried to read it I was horrified to find that the first few chapters were completely comprised of LORE and HISTORY about this fantasy city. I couldn’t even get past the first chapter because it was so heavy with lore and exposition. I gave her notes about having a scene or hook before all of that. If I couldn’t even force myself to read my best friends passion project, a stranger is never going to give your “expertly crafted and finely detailed” 1000 year history, the time of day
Unfortunately, this is pretty common. I hope she took your notes and is not discouraged. Sometimes it just takes time and practice to understand what you’re doing wrong and what is effective storytelling. Thank you so much for watching and for your comment!
I love the effort you put into this video. I realized that I have been struggling with World Builder’s Disease my whole life. I can’t tell you how many worlds I have built with no story attached at all - just for fun! It has been a unique challenge to build a world to support a story this time around. Wait am I world-building for this comment..? Anyways, great video!
Thank you for saying so and for watching! I really appreciate it. Worldbuilding can be a fun experience if you're doing it just for that, but when we want to write and tell a story, we've got to at some point put pen to paper on the narrative and not the place it's set in. The biggest thing is to keep writing and not get discouraged if you decide to put a world or story in the trunk!
What I am getting from this is that there's plenty of books and movies I should watch, regardless of whether I end up writting a book or story ever, there's lots of interesting stories for me to read and discover that I didn't know entirely a lot about 😅😇
This is great, you as a writer need to prioritize a cool story first, in the path you will construct some stuff, but don't get lost in the sauce, remember that the main course is the most important
You talked about building conflict into the world. I am currently working on a long-term project that will be an epic/high fantasy story, and one of the first things that got me excited about my idea was how I integrated the villains. I made them the main driver of the misconceptions and prejudice that exist; prejudice that benefits the villains. They and their magic system are twisted versions of other types that already exist. My story follows three siblings, one of whom is being pulled gradually towards the darkness, and my main character who is more powerful than anyone would have imagined. I have one non-human race, and a few human subgroups each with specific skills. Truth be told, this intire thing was sort of set off by an add I saw for the video game Endwalker; I thought I could do better and so gave it a shot.
This is a much under-discussed aspect of fiction writing (especially SciFi) - I think I've just learnt more than I did after reading the whole of "Save The Cat."
I put aside my passion for writing for a long time and this video has really made me think about my passion for writing again, thanks to you I might pick up an old project or start a new one! Thank you, I find the most joy in life when writing a world of my own
I am not a writer, but I like concocting my own worlds and stories. I like the world building, but I always keep it concise. I make a rough exterior in which the story takes place, while my main focus remains on the story and characters. As a result the world is often half-baked, but I adjust things as I go along and use it to service the story, not the other way around. I always try to look at it from a viewer's perspective, not a writer's perspective - what would I find enjoyable in this as a viewer? - and often times the world building just ends up taking last place on the list. Sure, as a creator, it is fun to make an expansive world with deep complex lore and mechanics, but as a viewer that would be the dullest thing by itself. Conversely, a solid well-thought out story or likable characters, or even just meaningful themes could carry a bland and uninspired world and make for a good viewing experience.
The biggest problem I have is once I have a basic idea and setting I get caught up in event making without figuring out how the characters get to those events. I also second guess myself over everything.
What I've found is helpful is going back to those scenes a few times. The first time might be just set designing--getting everything in place with the characters and figuring out what is going to happen at the start, middle, and end. Then, with every revision you can go back and flesh out each part, gradually building out the scene.
I actually made my world originally for D&D games but have also started writing as a way to expand on some of it. I still intend to use it for D&D and I'm expecting it to help me add detail and history to my world, but it's led me to create a lot of story hooks to work off of. I've been writing a story that acts as a backstory for one of the major characters, mostly as writing practice. I agree with what you're saying though, but tbh I feel like the stories came before the world in a lot of cases, like me going "How can I make this story I want to tell fit into the world?" and then going from there.
@@AdventurousAnthropologist that works too! Whatever helps you with writing and helps you in telling the best version of your story is what I am a fan of!
This was helpful! I kinda zoned out and day dreamed about my own setting while listening to this, helped me realise i dont have a way for the audience to learn about the world (a main character etc) and you helped me to brainstorm how i want to approach it :D
Thank you for watching! Honestly, as long as it was helpful and it got you thinking about your own story, I am fine with people zoning out haha. Also, that is one little cheat I like to use to worldbuild... Your POV characters! Their backgrounds, interests, and role in the world can be a good way to sneak some worldbuilding into a scene/the story. Thank you again for watching and for the comment!
I've found a huge love of worldbuilding because it fulfill my need to info dump without doing it in the story. It's nice to have the backstory in the back and I can just let the story flow organically without needing to explain everything. That being said my best works are in writing for a video game and a ttrpg (in my opinion) I think because the world buidling is such an important part before even starting the story.
I think of world-building as the reflection in the puddle that is story. It adds to the puddle but it does not change its depth much. I like to world build in the context of a scene. For example, if the scene is political, expand on the scene by adding a past or present political event to enhance the scene, especially if it reflects or sets up the current scene.
Just discovered your channel today. You’re pretty smart with this stuff. While I mostly focus on character driven stories since I’m making comics and that’s what comics are all about. I still liked the video and it did help a bit. I usually always have the characters learn everything for the first time so that it makes sense when people lore dump. Still loved the video keep it up 👍
Thank you so much for watching and for your comment! Honestly, most of my content so far has been about characters, but I think worldbuilding (or at least understanding how to effectively worldbuild) can be just as important. What I would suggest, regarding lore dumping, is to have that information come up gradually and to not be afraid of leaving some information out. Comics however is a different thing, than written prose, so I am by no means an expert in that regard. Thank you again for watching and for your comment!
I'm not really a writer, I would like to if only to allow my worlds to exist to other people. I have world built since I was a kid (I was a kid in 90's), and do it because I enjoy getting lost in the creation of a thorough scifi or fantasy world.
And I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Worldbuilding for the love of worldbuilding can be a good passion project or even hobby. However, if you want to share that world with others, there are tons of ways you can do so. I've seen people jump into video games or TTRPS or even a D&D homebrew with this. Or there are people who partner with an artist and create an interactive website of sorts, showcasing the world. Or you can always write a story set in that world. There are plenty of other things you can do too that I am sure I haven't mentioned or even thought of.
i worldbuild for running ttrpg games, and the number one thing i do while i'm pondering to filter what i'm gonna document or not is ask myself "is something specific here gonna be better than something i can improvise in the moment?" if not, then it doesn't go in my lore notes
A really huge thank you. I really got lost in that, and you showed an end to the tunnel. I think i’ll come back to it later, for these are precious thought. Just, if you could - and I know it can be a very painful subject - be a little merrier and spontaneous on the rhythm, it would be perfect. Because you give very good answers.
Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I am glad you found this helpful and I will take your comment into consideration. I've only been doing this for a little more than a year so I am still learning and am trying to improve my presentation.
Nice personal touch at the beginning, but 15 min. in and still no problems listed. Every story involves worldbuilding. Even if I am writing an autobiography about my family life, there is plenty I do not know or remember. A better title would have been how much should setting play a part in a story. And the answer comes down to how much scrutiny is expected. Lord of the Rings stands up to intense scrutiny; Harry Potter collapses under far less, but she never expected that much attention. Thus, it makes sense to delve further into Tolkien's world, to speculate who was more powerful, etc. Harry Potter should be left as a good read and the reader move on. Or Snape should simply go back in time and kill Tom Riddle before Dumbledore visits him in the orphanage.
And Snape or an auror could have certainly gone back a day or so when the Potter house was destroyed and identified who really committed the crime so that Sirius would have not been sent to Azkaban.
Thanks for the feedback! I wasn't trying to provide a critique of any of these stories, more so using them as examples of the points I was making. Tolkien is a common author to bring up because of their influence. I think a lot of people see the movies and read the books and want to emulate his massive world, but don't realize the nuance of its creation. As always, thank you for watching and for the critical eye!
There's a very good explanation for why people can get stuck on their worldbuilding. To truly know a world, real or fake, you have to know every aspect of that world, and that also means you must know most every aspect of reality, of the real world. You need a deep understanding of societies, political systems, economics, administration, military, etc, etc, etc. Every one of these topics takes years of studying to understand, and you can't convincingly portray any of them in a fake world if you don't understand how they work in the real world. Most authors don't take us deep into any of these topics in their fake worlds because they simply can't, not convincingly. Because of this, many fake worlds seem hollow. And they are hollow. The only way to fix this is to take a decade or two to intensively study all the aspects of society in our world, present and/or past. It's a very deep rabbit hole.
Can't say I have ever had this problem, and here is why: 1. (The story comes first.) If you can't draw people into your story they will not care about your world. 2. (Don't info dump.) Mystery and Curiosity are very powerful forces which you must use to your advantage. The reader doesn't need to know everything, only enough to know why the "protagonist" is doing what he does in the story. 3. (Let the world grow.) No matter how much you have thought out your world, it will change based on the needs of your story. So write your outline and see how well your world fits the outline.
One minor clarification I might make. When you give the frog analogy, it's important to remember that the world building serves the story, not the other way around. The focus should always be on the character and how the world that you've created adds influence towards their change from their inciting incident state to the turning point state. When writing, it's the story that matters most. Always.
In the novel "Dune" Atomic bombs were used to make a gap in the shield wall that protected the city "Arakeen" for worms attacking the city so that the Fremen could ride them in to attack the Harkonnen army and capture the emperor.
A great video. I am writing a middle grade novel about two children who go into the Woods and find themselves in the ice age. I hope that my world building is good enough. Imagine stripping away every vestage of modern life and replacing it with a primitive hunter gatherer society. What does the landscape look like and the animals and when it's humans, how their society works. It's challenging. To help my young readers, a lot of research must be done.
Worldbuilding is more challenging than most people think to to implement effectively. I would suggest having some beta reads to see if they understand your world or if there needs to be more development. I love the concept that you shared! Either way, I really appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts about your work.
Really enjoyed this video! Liked and subscribed. I would like to see this framework applied to the worldbuilding inherent to the postmodern/satiric/magical realist fiction of the 20th century onward that used models intrinsic to science fiction and fantasy often as vehicle to explore ideas about the world as well as fiction itself. Not necessarily in an instructional format but as an examination/deconstruction. I think it would be fascinating. This includes writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, Douglas Adams, Don Delillo, Jorge Luis Borges, John Barthe, David Foster Wallace, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Saunders… there are too many to name. All create interesting worlds that are separate and distinct from our own but the purposes are different and complicated.
I only have two worlds of which one i will develop for the rest of my life. As long as i don't aim to sell my story, i can fail as much as i want with the stories within my world. That said, creating a world that's beautiful but also making it a place i would want to live in drives me wanting to make those failure margins much smaller, no matter how little audience i may have while sharing my hobby. Well fleshed out videos like this that can keep me engaged without getting bored are always welcome !
As much as I love worldbuilding - I've studied geology and later on social anthropology, the latter of which almost exclusively because I wanted something to help me flesh out my worlds better - I would myself never start with the worldbuilding, at least not isolated. I do have a little side project where I created a world froms cratch an let it relive the geological timeframe, but that is not meant to be turned into a novel. I need to start a novel out with either a plot or a character and the worldbuilding stems from that. That doesn't mean I don't worldbuild much, but I do it with a purpose. Both of my bigger porjects have expansive worlds with history, lore, politics, etc. Even a lot of stuff I would never or don't need to tell my reader. But it's there and it stems from the plot - which helps me decide to know what's worth putting in the story and what not. Sure, there are people starting out with the worldbuilding or aspects of it (Tolkien would be the most famous example that comes to mind), but I have the feeling - looking at my friends and me - that this approach is the harder one.
Most world building never makes it to the final story. It's important for you to know the ins and outs of your world, but it rarely propels character arcs.
Nothing new here for me, but I think you put many of those things good into words. I never had trouble with worldbuilders disease, since I went more with atmospheric worldbuilding then getting lost in the minutiae of the story world. The Iceberg thing regarding literature is something from Hemmingway if I remember correctly... or was that only about the narrative and not the worldbuilding? Anyway, I guess character role and PoV came easily to me because of my roleplaying game hobby. And regarding the familiar and the unfamiliar, I had read a long time an author calling that the common and the exotic, and thus that idea is also for two decades now with me.
First off, I really appreciate your feedback and perspective! Second, I have found that, when it comes to most things, we can never give 100% new information to each other. As an example, I also coach wrestling and BJJ and I always tell people, that I am probably not going to teach them or tell them anything that is "new" or anything that they haven't "seen" before. I think what does change is the way it is said and the way it is described that can sometimes click or reframe how a person thinks about a subject, concept, or technique. That is all to say, I do agree with you, and as is the case with most educational writing channels. You might get some "wholly" new information here and there, but for the most part, it is going to be reframed information, techniques, and advice you might have heard before, but in a different way. Which isn't a bad thing! (I believe) Also, you're correct about Hemmingway. There has been a restructuring of the "theory" thought in the SFF circles. Thank you again for the comment!
I treat worldbuilding as a means to create boundaries for the story I want to tell. I try to create just enough detail to establish the rules of the world, to identify the key aspects that will shape how the story is told. I don't need to write every battle that ever occurred between two countries-- all I need to do is know that those countries have had a history of conflict, so that whenever they feature in the story- say characters from either nation meet- it will determine the nature of that interaction (in this case, tense and aggressive- potentially outright violent). Even when establishing an entire world, I try to keep ideas at a paragraph at absolute most unless they are already directly involved in the story. I'm not trying to answer every possible question; I'm trying to create a framework that would allow me to answer whatever questions emerge from the narrative in a way that's internally consistent. My guiding principle is always asking "could my main characters encounter this or be influenced by it in any meaningful way?"; if the answer is "no", I don't bother writing more than a sentence or two about it for personal reference. IMHO the main focus on worldbuilding should be reducing the mental overhead of creating the actual narrative. If I don't have to think about the nuts and bolts of the world, I'm more free to follow inspiration without writing myself into a corner with paradoxes or plot holes. If I can establish some firm heuristics around the world and how it functions at a high level, I'm more free to follow a dynamic process with writing the narrative itself and focus more of my creative energy into the characters and events of the story
Really well said. I like this take and approach as well. The only thing is that people do love worldbuilding and love to talk about it, so it’s kinda become a discussion in and of itself absent of writing, but in tandem with storytelling.
@@wrestlingwithwords worldbuilding can definitely become its own beast for sure. There's a lot of crossover with DMing tabletop games which, while similar in some respects, differs immensely in terms of the end goal of the creation. Writing a novel and DMing a game are both forms of storytelling-- but a novel will take a necessarily linear path for the reader, whereas the story of a tabletop game is largely determined by the players. In the latter case, it may be much more important to focus on the worldbuilding itself over the narrative(s) that may take place in it. Ultimately worldbuilding is still creating a creative sandbox, so to speak, but the depth and breadth of said sandbox is ultimately determined by the goals of the writer. That being said, there's nothing wrong with worldbuilding for its own sake, if that's all the creator wants to do. There's still definitely a lot of value to discussing it as an independent concept, considering the diversity of uses it can have for any creative endeavour
Interesting video :) I recently started writing my own fantasy novel. I have no experience writing and didn't read much. I did watch lots of fantasy media and listened to audio books. It is funny to see your tips and think to myself "I am probably messing up a lot but my mindset is basically like the tips." I write mainly (not exclusively) from the MC's pov and, as I love worldbuilding and learning about worlds through characters in the stories, I try to write the same. I have written done a full backstory to how the universe and, in my case, 7 worlds came to be. How they have a conflict going and what is happening. Then I thought out the major plot points, the characters that will join the MC in his party and their backstories. After having generated a worldmap, decided where certain story beats would happen, I went to write. From that moment I just tried to write the story from the POV of the MC and keep in mind the limitations the world has, for instance on the magic system. I will probably never tell the reader exactly how it works but I know its limits and hope that I can keep my story consistent. The rest is basically winging it. I know where the characters will go, I know the route they are going to take, the story however I write as I go. I tried to be as fluid and real as possible. Things happen because X, instead of things just happening. It has been fun to do so far and get comments from people saying they enjoy the flow of the story as every chapter and every piece is just a continuation with small time jumps here and there. Motivations, backstories, reasoning, it all seems to be good at the moment. My friends always say I'm really god at imagining myself in someone else's shoes. And even though I have no experience as a woman, I am a guy XD, I apparently got my chapter about a girl, who's parents died and the caretaker raising her as her own daughter, pretty spot on. Made people cry apparently XD But content, certainly some stuff here that I didn't know/realize but I feel like I'm on the right track ^_^ Cheers
I am a writer and a DND Dungeon Master. I have a homebrew world that i have both written in and ran dnd in for 15 years. I started the world when i was 13 and it shows. Oh my god does it show. The world is so childish and you can tell that as i grew up i tried to 'adultify' the world and make it more interesting. My players have loved it but its time to put her to bed and start a new world. Thats how i ended up on this video. I said all that to say yea... we learn so much from our first world and the stories born of that world.
Interestingly the current project that I am trying to put together has been kind of the opposite where I have a story I am trying to tell that's connected to one specific location but I'm stuck in a position trying to flesh things out and make sure everything works together. My setting is small but the world building is seeping into everything from how this particular setting affects the fashion, culture, life of those who live there.
Building another world, with a magic system, it's remembering to keep a tight narrative and not want to spew out every idea that flashes through my mind before the idea flames out (again) or it gets turned into another self-insert OP power fantasy (again)
Something that might help is to just get that first draft out. Don't worry so much about holding back. You can always go back during revisions and cut stuff!
I haven't watched the full video yet, but I just kinda wanted to record my thoughts in an untainted way before I dive in. I have learned that it's best to start off small if you wanna dip your toes into world building. I've been trying to get into short stories for this very reason, so I can set up tiny little blocks of information for the larger narrative I wanna get up, kinda like The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. It's certainly possible to make a good world the first time, but you have to be careful and small with it at first.
This is great. I've always advocated for using short fiction to help improve longer projects. Whether that is to practice finishing a story, exploring a new setting or world, or see if an idea or character actually has enough meat to be a story. Regardless, that is awesome. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
MAN it's been hard to get as nerded out into fiction as I used to as a teen now that I'm trying to write my own and I know, for a fact, there is indeed NOTHING behind the curtain in the wizard's palace besides a fellow pasty nerd.
But there is something awesome you can appreciate in someone else’s creation. You’ve entered a new era of observation that you can’t reverse. You’re going to look at everything as a creator as opposed to just a consumer. Thank you for the comment and for watching.
It goes like this: * Good worldbuilding can turn a good story great. But it cant turn a bad story good. * There is Relevant Worldbuilding, and Scenic Worldbuilding. Both are good, both have a place, but you can not only have Scenic worldbuilding. If you do, you will alienate the readers to the world because it will feel like you are spoon-feeding them irrelevant info. You want the plot to introduce questions about the world, and then have those questions answered in a meaningfull way that either expands the plot, or pushes it foreward. * You should know what the rules of your setting is. You should know what characters can break said rules, and why/how. You should not directly tell your readers this, instead give them enough to figure it out, until it needs to be explained, or unless it doesnt need to be explained, just leave it open. If there are rules, the readers will feel the presence of said rules. And that makes a engaging world. * Your worldbuilding should have Relevance to the world. Dont just say its a land of necromancy, give it a place in the world. Who are their allies, who are their enemies? Why? What practical purpose does it serve, and how is that viewed by the rest of the setting? * Your worldbuilding should always (well, you know... "Always") be portrayed through the eyes of characters, not as straight facts to the reader. Even when you give it as straight facts, it should be given By a character. The Narrator is a Character. * Questions entice more than answers. * Make the mundane interesting. Lets say there are Vampires in your story. Why should i care? I've seen vampires before. So what makes your vampires special? If they are not special, thats fine, but then you have to make the position the vampires are in special, or their history, or how they act. Otherwise i´ve read your book already, because you just wrote about the same vampires i´ve red about a hundred times already.
I recently finished my first fantasy novel and started book 2. My suggestion to avoid worldbuilders disease is to think of your worldbuilding as scaffolding. Get your basics - general idea of the world map, social structures (religions, cultural beliefs etc)and basic history. Keep it simple in the beginning. Then write your story based off that “scaffolding” as time goes on you will realize you’ll be writing the story in tandem with your worldbuilding. You’ll be writing in two directions and over time your scaffolding will be replaced with foundation of lore that is more solid. Allow yourself the opportunity to go back and make changes. Write down ideas as they pop into your head. It took me 6 years to complete my first draft of my book because it took me that long to develop the world and write the story. Give your story room to breathe. It’ll probably flow a lot easier if you are writing and sitting in your characters perspective and not looking down like this god from on high trying to craft a narrative starting with every individual grain of sand.
me watching this while currently in the middle of creating a massive world with history, lineage, ancient lost civilizations, and extreme environments all while taking inspiration from ASOIAF 👁️👄👁️
I have a worldbuilding project I am very slowly working on for a few years now. My aim is to make the world I build feel lived in, that things happened and I want to write more than one story in that world and the universe it belongs to. I take my time, having other projects aswell or just brainstorming something unrelated because my mind is just in the flow to spit something out. While in the end not every little detail has to be stuffed into one story I think as the writer I need to know why things are happening.
I conceived of a cyberpunk/fantasy world that I broke ground on. Essentially, inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost and mixing in a bit of the myth of Hyperion bringing fire to mankind, I conceived of a world where Hyperion was cast out of Eden and sought revenge by giving a bottle of lightning to mankind, which skyrocketed their technological development to where we join them in the present and all of the Wild has been taken over by a corporate dystopia with neon signs, skyscrapers, and only dead lands being uninhabited. And essentially, the protagonist finds out that he’s terminally ill, but the doctor’s erase his memory of receiving the news until he can come up with payment. He inadvertently sells out the way to Eden, the first and last Wild place on a mercenary mission in order to receive his results from the doctor. From there, he realizes he’s dying and his sole mission is to see something beautiful before he dies…and so he goes on a journey to Eden, where he realizes he’s profaned the last wild place by discovering it after he eats a fruit that he plucks from a tree…and he dies knowing that he has doomed Eden, regardless of the fact that he technically succeeded
With world building for me, my head can be very good at coming up with plot, setting, and appropriate descriptions of things, where it doesn't need to know everything about stuff but after the initial concepts and plot points it builds out the why's and what sort of effects that would have on the rest of the story, and then what plot points could that inspire, which can make a lot of depth behind the scenes only to its level of relevance, like being aware of the sort of organisations you might find in a particular town or city, figuring out what sorts of effects and motivations they might have when the mc gets there and fleshing out the details and motivations when they interact with the mc. Were the closer it comes to affecting what happens on page the more thought out i make it, also the reverse of how what happens on page effects the behind the scenes, where organisations with less of an interest in the mc/related or that has little dealings with them have less thought put into how what the central charicters do affects their motivation. I think the fact that i have a method to build up a story really helps me out over just the thing of world building. But yeah, those are only a few things that i take into consideration but it gets the point across
I'm glad you enjoy my content! The Expanse books are definitely a game-changer in the sci-fi genre. Even beyond the sci-fi elements, the characters and everything are just fantastic. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
Lord of the Rings is “Tolkien-esque”? You want a second take on that one? 😂 Someone asked George R.R. Martin for the background information on the Dothraki language in his books. He replied, “I’m not Tolkien. I made up 8 words in Dothraki. When I need a ninth one, I’ll make that up, too.” 😎 George Lucas once said that most science fiction films spend so much time designing and building their sets that directors want to show them off, but instead it should just be in the background and shot the way you’d do it if the film was set in a regular house. That’s why there are all these details in the scenes of Star Wars.
Hey, thanks for the feedback and quotes! I feel like George RR Martin always gives such good interviews. But when I said Tolkien-esque I meant common for Tolkien or very much inline with what we think of when we hear/think of Tolkien. Long histories and comprehensive langues was kinda his thing. Which I do realize that esque might have been confusing to say or misleading here. Thanks again for watching.
Well as I am writing a sci fi RPG - it's all (or at least mostly) about world building. Of course there are stories here and there - but as the player characters are the main stars of the game, the really crazy stuff happens to them in game.
Not using a toilet irritates me. The Mote in Gods Eye did use toilets and to great effect! I felt I knew the Mote world by the end of the book. It’s dated of course but the world building was subtle and powerful. Different sameness
For my current novel I have my main two characters be teachers in a school so most of the world building is from well them teaching students that way it feels like the reader is just part of the class yet has a incite into the teachers mind
I'm going to disagree with you about Dune and the importance of Spice as it regards to the "new" release. While I think that the new Dune does a better overall job of storytelling than the original move, the original move does a far better job at setting up the importance of Spice and the fact that it's needed for interstellar travel. That said, I agree with you on all other parts.
I guess one should have at least an idea how economy in his world works. I mean, in most stories it's not needed to mention and readers in general don't ask about it, but heroes and villains have to pay for transportation, weapons, food and a place to sleep, not to mention the villains stronghold or the minions working for them.
I will say that most often, the economy of a world SHOULD play a huge part. However, if it doesn't really service the story, and isn't really mentioned, how important is it really? When I think of Lord of the Rings, does the economy in that world ever come up? I don't think I even know what their currency is! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment!
This vid was not jiveing with me for some reason and it wasn't till i got to the last point that i knew why. i love world building for me that is the story i like telling storys about worlds ! they aren't just a side dish or a stage to me but the main course and to be honest i dont think ill be changing the way i write its not a mistake its a feature but thank you anyway this helped ! i need to tell my storys for my self if an audience likes it good, if not all is still well because i told MY story MY way ! the story's i make dont just place in a world they are about that world the world is a main character perhaps the most important one i think that may just well be what sets me a part so thank you
And there isn't anything wrong with that. What is important too (that I might not have mentioned or made clear) is understanding how you tell stories best. If you know that about yourself, that you want to spend your time and efforts on extensive worldbuilding in that way, then that is fine. I just hope you also developed your narrative as well! Thank you too for watching and for your perspective!
As a reader/writer who loves worldbuilding too - the conlangs, the history, the implications of magic, the schools of thought that rise and fall - I have a high tolerance for the inclusion of world details in what I read. I love receiving tidbits and clues and piecing together the grander picture. Malazan is a perfect example. However, the video is completely correct. I love WB, but if you infodump in your book once, I'm out of the story. If you do it 2-3 times, you've ruined the illusion completely. If you're not writing omniscient POV and you convey information the character wouldn't know or care about, then I will not be continuing with the book. And, again, I love this stuff. There's good and bad ways to do it! For a novel, the narrative is everything. For a glossary, we can get away with anything!
Agreed. I think we as writers should try to come up with creative ways to mask our exposition. It is sort of like hiding veggies in a meal to make it more healthy. This is why I always suggest considering the background and history of the POV character. This can dramatically influence what you are showcasing in terms of worldbuilding and can even make info dumps feel well-placed. A diplomat talking about the historical context of two warring nations feels natural.
@@wrestlingwithwords That's a great example! If an info-dump is integrated fully then the reader hopefully won't take issue! Even Erikson sometimes just lets loose in Malazan. And Sanderson just gave up on subtle info-dumping in the prologue of Way of Kings, and he admitted it on Writing Excuses. The worst of the worst is "as you know" / Maid + Butler dialogue, where two characters are regurgitating info they already know for no other reason than informing the reader.
To me world building, the factions, their agendas, the context and the message that I want to give is always the most important part of the story apart from the ending, I never write something without known how it would end, eve if take me years, right now, I want to write a story, but is so depressing and dark, that I really not want to, I not want to portray the victim as a antagonist, even that his actions for brutal and senseless they are, are righteous, his lose his family, his race, his planet, and want retribution, revenge, I always like to add some component of realism even if there are some fantasy elements in my story.
It's really good to have an idea of where your story is going and how the world impacts it. This sounds like you're on the right track to understanding the synergy between the world and the story! Thank you for your perspective!
I get Worldbuilder's Disease pretty bad. Fill up pages and pages with info. Luckily I can link most of it into the story and characters,the rest though goes into my worldbuilding docs and serves as either:indulgent & immersive info,stuff that can impact the story & characters but are not central,or things that are core to the setting & characters. Alot of it will be on the iceberg under the water,but that isn't a bad thing necessarily. I started getting Worldbuilder's Disease really badly when writing campaigns & settings for tabletop rpgs actually. Got too caught up in creating for creations sake that over 90% of what I made would never be seen or even addressed. Best to not let that happen & most importantly,not expect people to want to know EVERYTHING about a world. Temper expectations & keep in mind too much water at once will make even the most swimmer drown or get out of the water.
The iceberg method is effective in that it creates a yearning for more information from that world. Tolkien, as far as I know, went to extremes to make a big world to draw from, as his mission was to create a mythos for Britain like Finland had with their mythos. Even he could not cover an entire world, as you aren't only making the world as your character knows it today, but also what the mythos are, the pre-history, (and for him) languages, making it a truly gigantic endeavor. So, start with an intriguing snapshot of the world you imagine, and perhaps get the big lines in place behind the scenes, then write the story. If you are lucky, you get to visit the place again and can continue to elaborate, hopefully not contradicting yourself in the process.
Exactly. Well put. That is exactly the idea. Omission is something that is HIGHLY underrated in fiction. I wrote an article on it a while back, but think it might make a good topic for a video too.
In the last few months, more and more, I leaned into designing lore, over doing actuall world-building. The Worlbuilding comes to me, while writing and thats the moste important stuff, right? Actually writing? Well, if I not implement the lore bits, I created, I at least, know, how it influences characters and stuff. For example, if I disign the society for a city I think about, who rules the city, who is maybe from an old family, wich was dethroned and still play an important role in the city or narrative. You could disigne like a family tree or flesh out every character in the history of the city. But much more likely to be in youre story in the end, is maybe just a box of letters from one of the characters, whos family got dethroned. Now, I have a direct link to an important caracter and I can decide if I need to include it. If the character isnt that important, maybe I dont need the whole family tree. Disigning lore instead of huge worlduiling junks, will help you determine the junks importance, or just influences youre writing at the right point.
That is great! I have the tendency to do that as well. Thank you for your comment and for watching m, I really appreciate hearing about it your process!
Despite many years of having a story in the works that I really care for and have put a lot of effort into to through research, imagination, and a lot of time. I'm rather critical and overthink but im also open minded so i bounce back in forth a lot on things that may or may not be necessary in my story. Eventually I created a base for my story that revolves around the eternal struggle of good, grey, and evil. Light, Darkness, and Chaos. These three aspects are relevant in nearly everything that happens throughout the whole story due to these aspects literally being Gods. Three Gods that push forward the events that take place in the world with most races worshiping Light. Most origins and history you will learn through the main character but I've write the story in a way where it always continues even after the main characters life and beyond as new main characters take over in sequels expanding on the world continuessly.
That is a complicated question to answer! The true answer will be in the writer's prose and their use of pacing, POV, the other elements of fiction, and the scene at hand. Showing and Telling is all about knowing when to use one and not the other. Showing is usually described/done through the actions and reactions, how a character feels or interprets the world around them, and is more active/present in the given scene. This is something I KNOW I will cover in a video in the future.
@@wrestlingwithwords Good thing I am a comic artist now. I started writing shortstories, then went on to write Screenplays and later began writíng novels. I think every genre showed me something else about writing. Screenplays help with structure, Short stories with developing ideas and novels are just the best way to get lost in your own creation. Now I am making webcomics, not under this account though, and I don't want to advertise. It's always a pleasure to hear about other writers' creative processes. Thank you!
What are your advices for someone who is stuck because of being too ambitious with their worls building? ( LOL it's me). I know I should just start but I'm stopped by the feeling that my world building will be messed up
The best thing you can do is to keep writing and keep trying to go deeper into the aspects of your world that impact your characters or plot. Ambiguity is often just the “ideas”. Don’t just be the “idea person”! Integrate your worldbuilding into your characters, plot, setting, themes, and POV.
@@wrestlingwithwords thanks for the reply... I guess I'm just afraid of faliure when it's possible that no one would ever read my stories. 🤣 Overthinking is a tough enemy.
@@Truck_Kun_Driver yeah, don’t overthink it. Just write. Fail. Write again. Rewrite. Fail some more. And keep writing. I can guarantee you that if you don’t write anything you WILL fail. If you never quit, you really can’t fail. Writing can sometimes be a war of attrition with yourself.
Sorry, but I as a worldbuilder believe there is only 1 mistake a person can make and that is not following the logic of the world. The rest of the so called "mistakes" people make are narrative mistakes. I know I might get a lot of hate for this but the world of Harry Potter is a prime example of this. Rowling gets you immersed into the world then adds something that breaks the logic of the world. And it happens over and over and over again. Do people complain about this, not really. As much as I am aware. Reason for this is she is able to immersed you into the character's point of view. The only thing that matters when telling a good story is to have good characters. That's it. It doesn't matter how good your world is.
I think that is part of the point I was alluding to. A good story with strong characters will make it easier to overlook world plot holes. I would put Harry Potter in the realm of a more atmospheric world. The rules are pretty loose all things considered, and the closer we look at those rules or try to ascribe rules the more it all starts to break. Good example and good point though. Thank you for watching!
A prime example of this is The walking dead. Creating a world , but not following any of it's logic. Though it's still a good watch, at least till a certain point.
@@A.Brazao that’s a good point too. That does go to show that if you have a decent story (or compelling characters), your audience will forgive quite a bit and suspend their disbelief a lot.
You can use fake world building, as in you make it seem like there is alot of backstory and background, but in fact those lines insinuating deeper world building are the only things you created, so it's all a huge facade.
Sometimes! But other times it is important to focus on what is meaningful to the story, and the facade is there for immersion, making it a better story.
Setting Vs. Worldbuilding: ua-cam.com/video/foL28BACxWM/v-deo.html
How to Write Immersive Settings and Amazing Worlds: ua-cam.com/video/h8YZsadagCI/v-deo.html
Great video, would loved it if you had given examples, 23:34 I hear what you are saying but I don't understand how they do it, you're essentially using a whole trilogy of books that I havn't read as an example, and I will not read a whole book to find out what you mean, man 😂
Like, please give examples.. Or I won't learn aaaanything :(
((I mean a part from the text itself or a summary))
That's my critique, but thanks for the tips!!
"With worldbuilding, they don't need the know every bolt of the plumbing, they just need to know that when they turn on the faucet, it'll work." amazing quote
I'm glad you thought so! Thank you for watching :)
On the other hand, if you forgot your story is in the woods without a well, that's gonna be a problem.
Or to step away from the analogy, if you just wave your hands and say "it works because i said so" your readers are gonna see your plot holes.
To step back into your analogy, you need to know where the water comes from. City water? Well? Where does the plumbing go, sewer or septic? What about the electrical? Is it wired in? Generator? Solar panels?
You don't have to know every nut and bolt, but knowing that there's a U-bend under the sink that catches junk that's too big to fit in the smaller inner pipes could be pretty relevant. Knowing where the garbage goes when it gets disposed of, and what happens when someone stops collecting it. What systems are required to keep things running, and what the consequences are if those things **stop** running.
idc man, I'm going to record not only every bolt, but the thread pitches, bolt gauges, pipe diameters, alloy compositions and machinery used, and the entire industrial history of how those became the standards for local residential sink plumbing. :P
...oh, and the repair history of this particular faucet, and the biology of the succulent plant from which the leak sealing compound was synthesized.
@@Ithirahad agree
@@Ithirahad 😂😂
One thing I think is worth mentioning is that while videos like these are helpful, there is a 10th rule here...stop overthinking and just write. The more we try to micromanage every detail the whole process becomes a slog. No matter what you do, there will always be a thousand 1 star reviews for your book on GoodReads. Just let loose!!
YES! That should always be the (sort of) number one rule to go by. And I think that is the essence of all these points. Don't get so bogged down in trying to figure out every aspect of your world. Just get to writing! Thank you for your perspective and for watching :).
I mean, one thousand on-star reviews on Goodreads would mean, that around 100o people read the book. So that in itself is an archievement.
I've been struggling with this a lot but finaly managed to compromise. I've just now finished my first draft of a short story and currently working on the second and only thanks to making peace with the idea that i was doing MY WORST POSSIBLE and it was only up amd better from there. Also, nopne said that i had to have all of my wordlbuiding figured out, i can tinker it along the way. Maybe new ideas will invalidate the first sotires, but the practice they gave me are still priceless.
Typically when I come across “writing advice” I prepare to be mostly disappointed but watch anyway looking for one sliver of knowledge . This one is actually good with a lot of great advice! 🎉
Thank you so much for saying so! I appreciate you watching and hope to hear more from you :)!
I think there are other 3 important mistakes. Do not know your genre. Do not know your setting. Do not know yourself. First mistake means, worldbuilding for romance looks different than worldbuilding for detective story. Second mistake means detective story from pseudomedieval Europe needs different kind and amount of information than detective story from pseudoprimeval Asia. And last one, every author should know himself. Does author need 1000 pages of every aspect of fictional world to run his imagination? Does author write 1000 pages of novel without worldbuildig? Answer to this and more questions is: Why not? If it is how autor works....
Well put. Couldn't agree more.
Just read Shakespeare... Zero world building.. and yet we can see ourselves there. The chats among the characters are enough to construct a world with a little scenery description, almost like a photo caption.
@@danieldaleva I know little about Shakespeare but from what I seen, he seemed like an author that knew himself and the world around him very well
Hear this What if we mixed all of em?
@@sakkoyaba4482that idea is crazy and wonderful
I don't hear many people say how important it is to keep the mind-bending or physics-defying concepts to a minimum.
Every fictional aspect of the story should always be examined against the natural world and all other fictional concepts. The more you pile up, the more likely you are to break your world by creating huge plot holes.
Here is one small example (one of my pet peeves):
You find instantaneous FTL communication technology with unrestricted bandwidth in most space operas.
It kills any sense of adventure, the feeling you get when reading about a wooden ship on the high seas, not knowing what is happening where you just left and never knowing what awaits you where you are going. It kills the fog of war, which is essential in any war story. It trivializes the mind-boggling aspect of the vast emptiness of space.
Don't get me wrong. There are stories where such technology is an important part of the story. But if you do not plan to take a second step and think about ALL the implications, then maybe leave it be?
I could write a lot here, but some of my favourite authors (Jack Campbell and David Weber) said something like this: "It is not what your characters CAN DO that makes for a good story, but the things they CAN'T DO".
Things they can't do: force you, as a writer, to find creative solutions.
Also a good point. There is a balance you need to strike. If these elements are distracting or make the reader start to ask the WRONG questions or question the integrity of your world, you've broken their immersion. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
As an Indie Game Developer, I start by imagining playing my games - then think what parts of the worldbuilding need to be in place for items, lore, locations, enemies and the in-game information for these things. I favor environmental storytelling - a chunk of unnatural metal standing in the middle of a grassy field begs why it looks so out of place, why it is there, and why that mirrored cube piece is floating.
Yes! This is a wonderful perspective to have. Leaving breadcrumbs across your world and the game also helps with building immersion and giving the player a feeling that everything has a place for a reason. Elemental storytelling is very powerful and can make the setting become a character in-and-of itself. Also, fellow Indie Dev here too :). Thank you for your comment and for watching!
I'm going to drop this here have fun: --- Rules of thumb for storytelling ---
Rules:
1. Realism is not God, but verisimilitude feeling is God.
Meaning: While it's important for stories to feel believable, adhering strictly to realism can sometimes stifle creativity. What truly matters is the sense of authenticity and immersion that the story evokes in the audience.
2. Characters > Setting > Worldbuilding > Lore > etc.
Meaning: In storytelling, the focus should primarily be on developing compelling characters, followed by creating immersive settings, building a coherent world, and delving into detailed lore. Characters drive the narrative and engage the audience more effectively than mere world details.
3. Imply > Show > Tell.
Meaning: Rather than explicitly stating everything, it's often more effective to imply information through subtle cues, then show it through actions or scenes when it feels normal and tell when it feels normal. This engages the audience by allowing them to interpret and infer meaning themselves.
4. Every character and reader have limited perspective except for deities and the author.
Meaning: Characters within the story as well as readers outside of it, can only perceive events from their own limited perspectives. Only omniscient entities like deities or the author have full awareness of the story's events and meanings.
5. Combat should feel hard and have weight rather than feel soft and floating.
Meaning: When depicting combat scenes, it's important to convey the physical and emotional weight of the struggle. This makes the action feel more realistic and impactful, enhancing the overall tension and immersion of the story.
6. Description should flow rather than be bullet points.
Meaning: Descriptive passages should be integrated smoothly into the narrative, flowing seamlessly from one detail to the next. This allows the reader to visualize the scene without feeling interrupted by a list-like presentation.
7. Internal consistency > external consistency.
Meaning: While maintaining consistency with external rules and logic is important, ensuring consistency within the story's own established world and rules takes precedence. This creates a more coherent and immersive experience for the audience.
8. Pacing should be like the serrated edge of a knife rather than a straightforward linear or curved progression.
Meaning: The pacing of the story should be dynamic and varied, with moments of intensity followed by periods of calm, akin to the jagged edge of a knife. This keeps the audience engaged and adds depth to the narrative flow.
9. Conflict is not God, but action and reaction are God.
Meaning: While conflict drives the story forward, it's the actions and reactions of the characters that truly propel the narrative. How characters respond to conflict and its consequences shapes the direction and depth of the story.
10. Some characters change, others do not.
Meaning: Not all characters undergo significant development throughout the story. Some may remain static, while others experience growth or transformation. This diversity adds realism and depth to the character dynamics.
11. The world itself is a character.
Meaning: The setting and world of the story should be treated as dynamic entities with their own traits, histories, and influences on the narrative. They should interact with and impact the characters and events in meaningful ways.
12. Imperfection should be the norm, be it characters, perspective, outcomes, etc.
Meaning: Embracing imperfection adds depth and realism to storytelling. Characters, perspectives, and outcomes should reflect the flaws and complexities of real life, rather than striving for idealized perfection.
13. Dig deeper with lore rather than wider.
Meaning: Instead of superficially expanding the lore with numerous details, focus on delving deeper into specific aspects to enrich the world and enhance its significance to the story. Quality of lore is prioritized over quantity.
What a great set of tips. You are totally on the right track here and I think I agree with just about every one of these. Thank you for sharing!
@@wrestlingwithwords this is my own set I thought I should share also by the way I'm writing my first book with help of Ai aka I'm an Amateur.
I think that list is a really good start. It takes most people a long time to have a grasp like that, so it sounds like you're on the right track. please keep me updated on how the writing is going!
@@wrestlingwithwords I been watching videos like yours and I been storytelling myself asleep for years. also, when it's done, I plan on giving free copies to you and similar people as that's my ad plan.
Sure. And if you ever wanted some feedback or a beta read feel free to shoot me an email. I'm always trying to give back to people in the community.
That Martin quote always bugs me when it's framed as a criticism of Tolkien (which it often is; I'm not claiming that it was used that way here). It's like reading an Arthurian romance and asking why it wasn't more like a modern spy novel. They're different stories, written in different eras, with different focuses setting out to do different things.
Tolkien wasn't interested in Aragorn's tax policy, so of course it doesn't come up. That's not the story being told. Lord of the Rings puts myth and idealism before gritty reality and that is intentional. It's absolutely reasonable to wonder about those details and imagine more political grit and darkness, and take that off into fanfiction or as inspiration for your own works (like Martin did). But a story can't be and shouldn't try to be all things. When an author tries to do that, they just end up with a mush.
I totally agree. Only the relevant world information should come up on the page as it pertains to the story! I hope my comment didn't come off as critical, it wasn't meant in that way.
Thank you for watching and for your comment!
Most stories will just handwave that as "the boring political stuff the advisors make him do in between heroic stuff".
Like like that in stories like Merlin or Bridgerton which, despite a distinct lack of realism in other matters, do tske time to mention that those "boring duties" are in fact vital to the regular people living in their worlds. That to a normal person, that king or noble might seem out of touch, arrogant, careless, irresponsible, or selfish to ignore the needs of the people they're responsible for, the people who actually provide them the things they need to live, like livestock, cloth, crops, tools, etc.
Power comes with responsibility, and failing to live up to that responsibility, especially in a situation where no one else is legally allowed to take on that responsibility by right, can make them a villian to the common people even when in their own minds, they're fighting for good.
And it can be many-layered. In Robin Hood, Prince John is the villain for raising taxes and trying to stop a bandit from robbing nobles. But King Arthur is considered a hero, despite starting a foreign war that emptied the royal cofers and demanding that his brother (who he chose to leave as Regent), supply him with more and more gold, to fight the war, then to pay his ransom when he got himself caught.
Because the viewpoint is from Robin, a noble who went to war with King Arthur, had his properties seized for war taxes when believed dead, and worries that John will usurp the throne in the King's absence, but that the restoration of the King will result in the restoration of his own properties and title, we get a very biased view of the political landscape.
The King is away at war, the Regent is raising taxes, the people are starving, and they believe that if the King returns home, it will all be over. And that's true. But because we have an unreliable narrator, we don't necessarily understand why. In fact, if the King ends the war, he won't need the tax money to pay for supplies and mercenaries. When he returns, he will reward his political allies and punish his critics. The Regent didn't send the King to war, nor cause him to be captured, and the only way to pay the ransom or for anything else in the kingdom is through tax money. If the nobles keep their own money and extort it from the peasants instead, what can he do?
Well said, who wants to know about a freaking money system in a world full of savage beasts, monsters and dragons? Show me your Imagination!
I loved this video. I am writing a sci-fi trilogy, absolutely no fantasy, every futuristic element has a possible (sometimes only maybe, but never 'never') way in real physics or speculative physics as to how it could work.
But its main purpose is to discuss philosophy, though I think the story is interesting in itself, at least one professional reader said so.
Worldbuilding: I had certain basic ideas: The aliens had found a way to make their civilisation last 10s of 1,000s of years in peace without destroying itself; they have certain metabolic dysfunctions that require them to do disgusting things by human standards; they love nature and animals.
I just started writng, tellng that story. All the worldbuilding happened only insofar as our human protagonist had to see and experience their world, and all I did was make sure that everything he saw was consistent with my basic concept. I had no other 'backstory', but as I went, I found that the backstory invented itself. Future incidents merely had to not break previous things.
The most significant thing in writing it, I llived in the heads of every character. "What would X say or do now?" and the story wrote itself, literally. One character contrived a devious plot that played out over half the story, but I was unaware of it until the 'pounce' moment when the payoff happened.
So I agree with your basic concepts of getting the readers' interest before worrying about worldbuilding. I think: don't let the plot dictate your characters' actions, make their actions right for that character, and find a way to keep the story on track by other means, if the characters move you off course. Flexibility in world building gives you one more tool for doing this without forcing unrealistic behaviours on your characters.
Thanks a lot for watching and sharing your thoughts! Always keep your characters in mind when you're worldbuilding. It's through their experience, background, perception, and actions that the worldbuilding will come out on the page. Keep us updated on how the writing is going!
Hard Sci-Fi, the subgenre you're trying to reference is Hard Sci-Fi
@@tuckernutter Formerly known as hard core Sci Fi -- a term I enjoyed spring on my friends.
Isn't it amazing how our subconscious is often a better writer than our conscious?
I spent days calculating the vectors for a particular jump to figure out if it would truly be possible given all the peculiarities of my world. I had to think through whether gravity was essentially comparable, research limits of human ability if the human form were perfected, consider trajectory, velocity needs, the ideal position of the human body to make the jump, etc.
In the end, it boiled down to "The end of the platform was right in front of her, and the chandelier seemed a thousand miles away. Impossible. Why did she think this was possible?" 😂
"It ain't about the destination... It's about the hundreds of hours we spend looking up useless facts, figures, and random trivia." That's how the quote goes right? 😆
Thank yo so much for watching and for your comment! We've all been there before...
Wait, holup, did she make it?? did she make the jump??
Also, i hear you on :
thoughts = 10,000;
actual word count to get that on paper = 12.
i wanted a prologue that explained the Big Bad, showed how they were taking over countries quietly but insidiously, and maybe introduce a character i wanted to bring in way later.
Four sentences. It took me FOUR. Sentences. i was so annoyed. 😆
@wrestlingwithwords this is probably heretical in the world of writing. I come from the IT world and have found getting the information I need harder to come by as Google seems to deteriorate. Asking chat GPT the same questions I'd ask in Google not only gives me access to virtually all of the same data, but also gives me a chance to interact and get clarification if I don't understand. It's saved me thousands of hours and .y knowledge has grown exponentially.
@@benf1111 It's 'heretical' because ChatGPT doesn't actually give you reliable information, it just guesses as to what word might come next in the sentence. You might as well dig your old flipphone out of the Drawer of Potentially Useful Tech and use its predictive text.
A good example of world building is the series about Thomas a train engine. The writers created the whole island before they wrote the series. They only showed the part of the island that was needed for a particular episode.
My friend who loves fantasy novels took a crack at writing her own fantasy story. She was excited to get my feed back so she sent me the first couple chapters. When I tried to read it I was horrified to find that the first few chapters were completely comprised of LORE and HISTORY about this fantasy city. I couldn’t even get past the first chapter because it was so heavy with lore and exposition. I gave her notes about having a scene or hook before all of that. If I couldn’t even force myself to read my best friends passion project, a stranger is never going to give your “expertly crafted and finely detailed” 1000 year history, the time of day
Unfortunately, this is pretty common. I hope she took your notes and is not discouraged. Sometimes it just takes time and practice to understand what you’re doing wrong and what is effective storytelling. Thank you so much for watching and for your comment!
I love the effort you put into this video. I realized that I have been struggling with World Builder’s Disease my whole life. I can’t tell you how many worlds I have built with no story attached at all - just for fun! It has been a unique challenge to build a world to support a story this time around. Wait am I world-building for this comment..? Anyways, great video!
Thank you for saying so and for watching! I really appreciate it. Worldbuilding can be a fun experience if you're doing it just for that, but when we want to write and tell a story, we've got to at some point put pen to paper on the narrative and not the place it's set in. The biggest thing is to keep writing and not get discouraged if you decide to put a world or story in the trunk!
@@wrestlingwithwords well said!
Struggle with the same problem. Always making worlds and things, struggle to create a story in them. Wish you the best of luck!!
What I am getting from this is that there's plenty of books and movies I should watch, regardless of whether I end up writting a book or story ever, there's lots of interesting stories for me to read and discover that I didn't know entirely a lot about 😅😇
This is a realization we all face!
This is great, you as a writer need to prioritize a cool story first, in the path you will construct some stuff, but don't get lost in the sauce, remember that the main course is the most important
YEP! You are exactly right. Thank you for watching!
You talked about building conflict into the world. I am currently working on a long-term project that will be an epic/high fantasy story, and one of the first things that got me excited about my idea was how I integrated the villains. I made them the main driver of the misconceptions and prejudice that exist; prejudice that benefits the villains. They and their magic system are twisted versions of other types that already exist. My story follows three siblings, one of whom is being pulled gradually towards the darkness, and my main character who is more powerful than anyone would have imagined. I have one non-human race, and a few human subgroups each with specific skills.
Truth be told, this intire thing was sort of set off by an add I saw for the video game Endwalker; I thought I could do better and so gave it a shot.
That's great! Making the world reflect the central conflict is a really effective storytelling technique,
You use some brilliant analogies. Thank you for a well thought out and insightful video 👍
Thank you! I really appreciate that!
This is a much under-discussed aspect of fiction writing (especially SciFi) - I think I've just learnt more than I did after reading the whole of "Save The Cat."
I am so glad this was helpful! I really appreciate your comment and that you watched. :)
I put aside my passion for writing for a long time and this video has really made me think about my passion for writing again, thanks to you I might pick up an old project or start a new one! Thank you, I find the most joy in life when writing a world of my own
I’m so glad my videos were helpful. Good luck on your writing project and keep us updated on your progress!
I am not a writer, but I like concocting my own worlds and stories. I like the world building, but I always keep it concise. I make a rough exterior in which the story takes place, while my main focus remains on the story and characters. As a result the world is often half-baked, but I adjust things as I go along and use it to service the story, not the other way around. I always try to look at it from a viewer's perspective, not a writer's perspective - what would I find enjoyable in this as a viewer? - and often times the world building just ends up taking last place on the list. Sure, as a creator, it is fun to make an expansive world with deep complex lore and mechanics, but as a viewer that would be the dullest thing by itself. Conversely, a solid well-thought out story or likable characters, or even just meaningful themes could carry a bland and uninspired world and make for a good viewing experience.
The biggest problem I have is once I have a basic idea and setting I get caught up in event making without figuring out how the characters get to those events. I also second guess myself over everything.
What I've found is helpful is going back to those scenes a few times. The first time might be just set designing--getting everything in place with the characters and figuring out what is going to happen at the start, middle, and end. Then, with every revision you can go back and flesh out each part, gradually building out the scene.
I really appreciate the practical advice you offer and the definitions you use. Very helpful. I’ve subscribed!
@ChrisBillows Thank you! And I appreciate you for watching and subscribing!
Build a world that showcases your story, not a story to showcase your world.
Exactly!
I actually made my world originally for D&D games but have also started writing as a way to expand on some of it. I still intend to use it for D&D and I'm expecting it to help me add detail and history to my world, but it's led me to create a lot of story hooks to work off of. I've been writing a story that acts as a backstory for one of the major characters, mostly as writing practice. I agree with what you're saying though, but tbh I feel like the stories came before the world in a lot of cases, like me going "How can I make this story I want to tell fit into the world?" and then going from there.
@@AdventurousAnthropologist that works too! Whatever helps you with writing and helps you in telling the best version of your story is what I am a fan of!
Between these videos of yours and Brandon Sandersons lectures on YT gives us new worldbuilders alot to think about.
Thank you good sir!
Wow, that is an honor to hear! Brandon Sanderson's lectures have been a huge help for me as well. Thank you for watching and for your comment!
This was helpful! I kinda zoned out and day dreamed about my own setting while listening to this, helped me realise i dont have a way for the audience to learn about the world (a main character etc) and you helped me to brainstorm how i want to approach it :D
Thank you for watching! Honestly, as long as it was helpful and it got you thinking about your own story, I am fine with people zoning out haha.
Also, that is one little cheat I like to use to worldbuild... Your POV characters! Their backgrounds, interests, and role in the world can be a good way to sneak some worldbuilding into a scene/the story. Thank you again for watching and for the comment!
I've found a huge love of worldbuilding because it fulfill my need to info dump without doing it in the story. It's nice to have the backstory in the back and I can just let the story flow organically without needing to explain everything. That being said my best works are in writing for a video game and a ttrpg (in my opinion) I think because the world buidling is such an important part before even starting the story.
I think of world-building as the reflection in the puddle that is story. It adds to the puddle but it does not change its depth much. I like to world build in the context of a scene. For example, if the scene is political, expand on the scene by adding a past or present political event to enhance the scene, especially if it reflects or sets up the current scene.
That is a really good analogy!
It is rare to have a personal and useful video on UA-cam. Thank you
Thank you for saying so! I am so glad this was helpful!
Just discovered your channel today. You’re pretty smart with this stuff. While I mostly focus on character driven stories since I’m making comics and that’s what comics are all about. I still liked the video and it did help a bit. I usually always have the characters learn everything for the first time so that it makes sense when people lore dump. Still loved the video keep it up 👍
Thank you so much for watching and for your comment! Honestly, most of my content so far has been about characters, but I think worldbuilding (or at least understanding how to effectively worldbuild) can be just as important. What I would suggest, regarding lore dumping, is to have that information come up gradually and to not be afraid of leaving some information out. Comics however is a different thing, than written prose, so I am by no means an expert in that regard. Thank you again for watching and for your comment!
Super helpful. Thank you my friend
Thank you for watching and I am glad it was useful!
I'm not really a writer, I would like to if only to allow my worlds to exist to other people. I have world built since I was a kid (I was a kid in 90's), and do it because I enjoy getting lost in the creation of a thorough scifi or fantasy world.
And I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Worldbuilding for the love of worldbuilding can be a good passion project or even hobby. However, if you want to share that world with others, there are tons of ways you can do so. I've seen people jump into video games or TTRPS or even a D&D homebrew with this.
Or there are people who partner with an artist and create an interactive website of sorts, showcasing the world.
Or you can always write a story set in that world. There are plenty of other things you can do too that I am sure I haven't mentioned or even thought of.
i worldbuild for running ttrpg games, and the number one thing i do while i'm pondering to filter what i'm gonna document or not is ask myself "is something specific here gonna be better than something i can improvise in the moment?" if not, then it doesn't go in my lore notes
That is a really good strategy! TTRPGs are a whole art and science of their own!
A really huge thank you. I really got lost in that, and you showed an end to the tunnel. I think i’ll come back to it later, for these are precious thought. Just, if you could - and I know it can be a very painful subject - be a little merrier and spontaneous on the rhythm, it would be perfect. Because you give very good answers.
Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I am glad you found this helpful and I will take your comment into consideration. I've only been doing this for a little more than a year so I am still learning and am trying to improve my presentation.
And yes, there is a mistake in part 2's title card... Like if you picked it up 🫠
I didn’t notice it till you left this comment!
Nice personal touch at the beginning, but 15 min. in and still no problems listed. Every story involves worldbuilding. Even if I am writing an autobiography about my family life, there is plenty I do not know or remember. A better title would have been how much should setting play a part in a story. And the answer comes down to how much scrutiny is expected. Lord of the Rings stands up to intense scrutiny; Harry Potter collapses under far less, but she never expected that much attention. Thus, it makes sense to delve further into Tolkien's world, to speculate who was more powerful, etc. Harry Potter should be left as a good read and the reader move on. Or Snape should simply go back in time and kill Tom Riddle before Dumbledore visits him in the orphanage.
And Snape or an auror could have certainly gone back a day or so when the Potter house was destroyed and identified who really committed the crime so that Sirius would have not been sent to Azkaban.
Thanks for the feedback! I wasn't trying to provide a critique of any of these stories, more so using them as examples of the points I was making. Tolkien is a common author to bring up because of their influence. I think a lot of people see the movies and read the books and want to emulate his massive world, but don't realize the nuance of its creation. As always, thank you for watching and for the critical eye!
I hated world building, but this video helped a lot. Thank you for the breakdown.
I'm so glad! Thank you for watching!
There's a very good explanation for why people can get stuck on their worldbuilding. To truly know a world, real or fake, you have to know every aspect of that world, and that also means you must know most every aspect of reality, of the real world. You need a deep understanding of societies, political systems, economics, administration, military, etc, etc, etc. Every one of these topics takes years of studying to understand, and you can't convincingly portray any of them in a fake world if you don't understand how they work in the real world. Most authors don't take us deep into any of these topics in their fake worlds because they simply can't, not convincingly. Because of this, many fake worlds seem hollow. And they are hollow. The only way to fix this is to take a decade or two to intensively study all the aspects of society in our world, present and/or past. It's a very deep rabbit hole.
Can't say I have ever had this problem, and here is why:
1. (The story comes first.)
If you can't draw people into your story they will not care about your world.
2. (Don't info dump.)
Mystery and Curiosity are very powerful forces which you must use to your advantage. The reader doesn't need to know everything, only enough to know why the "protagonist" is doing what he does in the story.
3. (Let the world grow.)
No matter how much you have thought out your world, it will change based on the needs of your story. So write your outline and see how well your world fits the outline.
This is good advice and a good set of rules to write by!
One minor clarification I might make. When you give the frog analogy, it's important to remember that the world building serves the story, not the other way around. The focus should always be on the character and how the world that you've created adds influence towards their change from their inciting incident state to the turning point state. When writing, it's the story that matters most. Always.
Yep. It should always service the story!
19:16 so basically what Peter asks for in Office Space
In the novel "Dune" Atomic bombs were used to make a gap in the shield wall that protected the city "Arakeen" for worms attacking the city so that the Fremen could ride them in to attack the Harkonnen army and capture the emperor.
Yep, true!
A great video. I am writing a middle grade novel about two children who go into the Woods and find themselves in the ice age. I hope that my world building is good enough. Imagine stripping away every vestage of modern life and replacing it with a primitive hunter gatherer society. What does the landscape look like and the animals and when it's humans, how their society works. It's challenging. To help my young readers, a lot of research must be done.
Worldbuilding is more challenging than most people think to to implement effectively. I would suggest having some beta reads to see if they understand your world or if there needs to be more development. I love the concept that you shared! Either way, I really appreciate you watching and sharing your thoughts about your work.
Really enjoyed this video! Liked and subscribed.
I would like to see this framework applied to the worldbuilding inherent to the postmodern/satiric/magical realist fiction of the 20th century onward that used models intrinsic to science fiction and fantasy often as vehicle to explore ideas about the world as well as fiction itself. Not necessarily in an instructional format but as an examination/deconstruction. I think it would be fascinating.
This includes writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, Douglas Adams, Don Delillo, Jorge Luis Borges, John Barthe, David Foster Wallace, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Saunders… there are too many to name. All create interesting worlds that are separate and distinct from our own but the purposes are different and complicated.
I only have two worlds of which one i will develop for the rest of my life. As long as i don't aim to sell my story, i can fail as much as i want with the stories within my world. That said, creating a world that's beautiful but also making it a place i would want to live in drives me wanting to make those failure margins much smaller, no matter how little audience i may have while sharing my hobby.
Well fleshed out videos like this that can keep me engaged without getting bored are always welcome !
Great channel, glad I just found you. Please keep up this clean, thoughtful format. I'LL BE BACK
Thank you so much for saying so!
This wasn't long. I enjoyed it.
Glad to hear that!
As much as I love worldbuilding - I've studied geology and later on social anthropology, the latter of which almost exclusively because I wanted something to help me flesh out my worlds better - I would myself never start with the worldbuilding, at least not isolated. I do have a little side project where I created a world froms cratch an let it relive the geological timeframe, but that is not meant to be turned into a novel. I need to start a novel out with either a plot or a character and the worldbuilding stems from that. That doesn't mean I don't worldbuild much, but I do it with a purpose. Both of my bigger porjects have expansive worlds with history, lore, politics, etc. Even a lot of stuff I would never or don't need to tell my reader. But it's there and it stems from the plot - which helps me decide to know what's worth putting in the story and what not. Sure, there are people starting out with the worldbuilding or aspects of it (Tolkien would be the most famous example that comes to mind), but I have the feeling - looking at my friends and me - that this approach is the harder one.
Thanks for the video. I am an amature writer and started in fanfiction, which helped anchor my imagination.
I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Most world building never makes it to the final story. It's important for you to know the ins and outs of your world, but it rarely propels character arcs.
Learning how to link your world to your character's arc is something I see few people do or talk about, but find it really effective and rewording.
@@wrestlingwithwords Rewording....
I assume it was a typo, but if that was an intentional writing pun, bravo sir.
@@andrewryan2814 typo but I feel like I should keep it as is now 😂😂🤦♂️
Nothing new here for me, but I think you put many of those things good into words. I never had trouble with worldbuilders disease, since I went more with atmospheric worldbuilding then getting lost in the minutiae of the story world. The Iceberg thing regarding literature is something from Hemmingway if I remember correctly... or was that only about the narrative and not the worldbuilding? Anyway, I guess character role and PoV came easily to me because of my roleplaying game hobby. And regarding the familiar and the unfamiliar, I had read a long time an author calling that the common and the exotic, and thus that idea is also for two decades now with me.
First off, I really appreciate your feedback and perspective!
Second, I have found that, when it comes to most things, we can never give 100% new information to each other. As an example, I also coach wrestling and BJJ and I always tell people, that I am probably not going to teach them or tell them anything that is "new" or anything that they haven't "seen" before. I think what does change is the way it is said and the way it is described that can sometimes click or reframe how a person thinks about a subject, concept, or technique.
That is all to say, I do agree with you, and as is the case with most educational writing channels. You might get some "wholly" new information here and there, but for the most part, it is going to be reframed information, techniques, and advice you might have heard before, but in a different way. Which isn't a bad thing! (I believe)
Also, you're correct about Hemmingway. There has been a restructuring of the "theory" thought in the SFF circles. Thank you again for the comment!
Also did some World building, but after 6 days i really needed a break
I treat worldbuilding as a means to create boundaries for the story I want to tell. I try to create just enough detail to establish the rules of the world, to identify the key aspects that will shape how the story is told. I don't need to write every battle that ever occurred between two countries-- all I need to do is know that those countries have had a history of conflict, so that whenever they feature in the story- say characters from either nation meet- it will determine the nature of that interaction (in this case, tense and aggressive- potentially outright violent).
Even when establishing an entire world, I try to keep ideas at a paragraph at absolute most unless they are already directly involved in the story. I'm not trying to answer every possible question; I'm trying to create a framework that would allow me to answer whatever questions emerge from the narrative in a way that's internally consistent. My guiding principle is always asking "could my main characters encounter this or be influenced by it in any meaningful way?"; if the answer is "no", I don't bother writing more than a sentence or two about it for personal reference.
IMHO the main focus on worldbuilding should be reducing the mental overhead of creating the actual narrative. If I don't have to think about the nuts and bolts of the world, I'm more free to follow inspiration without writing myself into a corner with paradoxes or plot holes. If I can establish some firm heuristics around the world and how it functions at a high level, I'm more free to follow a dynamic process with writing the narrative itself and focus more of my creative energy into the characters and events of the story
Really well said. I like this take and approach as well. The only thing is that people do love worldbuilding and love to talk about it, so it’s kinda become a discussion in and of itself absent of writing, but in tandem with storytelling.
@@wrestlingwithwords worldbuilding can definitely become its own beast for sure. There's a lot of crossover with DMing tabletop games which, while similar in some respects, differs immensely in terms of the end goal of the creation.
Writing a novel and DMing a game are both forms of storytelling-- but a novel will take a necessarily linear path for the reader, whereas the story of a tabletop game is largely determined by the players. In the latter case, it may be much more important to focus on the worldbuilding itself over the narrative(s) that may take place in it.
Ultimately worldbuilding is still creating a creative sandbox, so to speak, but the depth and breadth of said sandbox is ultimately determined by the goals of the writer.
That being said, there's nothing wrong with worldbuilding for its own sake, if that's all the creator wants to do. There's still definitely a lot of value to discussing it as an independent concept, considering the diversity of uses it can have for any creative endeavour
Interesting video :)
I recently started writing my own fantasy novel.
I have no experience writing and didn't read much. I did watch lots of fantasy media and listened to audio books.
It is funny to see your tips and think to myself "I am probably messing up a lot but my mindset is basically like the tips."
I write mainly (not exclusively) from the MC's pov and, as I love worldbuilding and learning about worlds through characters in the stories, I try to write the same.
I have written done a full backstory to how the universe and, in my case, 7 worlds came to be. How they have a conflict going and what is happening.
Then I thought out the major plot points, the characters that will join the MC in his party and their backstories.
After having generated a worldmap, decided where certain story beats would happen, I went to write.
From that moment I just tried to write the story from the POV of the MC and keep in mind the limitations the world has, for instance on the magic system.
I will probably never tell the reader exactly how it works but I know its limits and hope that I can keep my story consistent.
The rest is basically winging it.
I know where the characters will go, I know the route they are going to take, the story however I write as I go.
I tried to be as fluid and real as possible. Things happen because X, instead of things just happening.
It has been fun to do so far and get comments from people saying they enjoy the flow of the story as every chapter and every piece is just a continuation with small time jumps here and there.
Motivations, backstories, reasoning, it all seems to be good at the moment.
My friends always say I'm really god at imagining myself in someone else's shoes. And even though I have no experience as a woman, I am a guy XD, I apparently got my chapter about a girl, who's parents died and the caretaker raising her as her own daughter, pretty spot on.
Made people cry apparently XD
But content, certainly some stuff here that I didn't know/realize but I feel like I'm on the right track ^_^
Cheers
4:23, sorry this pot is too cold and not warming up fast enough for me. I jumped out
Oh no!🐸
I am a writer and a DND Dungeon Master. I have a homebrew world that i have both written in and ran dnd in for 15 years. I started the world when i was 13 and it shows. Oh my god does it show. The world is so childish and you can tell that as i grew up i tried to 'adultify' the world and make it more interesting. My players have loved it but its time to put her to bed and start a new world. Thats how i ended up on this video. I said all that to say yea... we learn so much from our first world and the stories born of that world.
Ok glad im not the only who's gone ham about my world's geophysics 😅
It was a rabbit hole I loved and hated to go down... Loved more than hated :)
Interestingly the current project that I am trying to put together has been kind of the opposite where I have a story I am trying to tell that's connected to one specific location but I'm stuck in a position trying to flesh things out and make sure everything works together. My setting is small but the world building is seeping into everything from how this particular setting affects the fashion, culture, life of those who live there.
I think that is sometimes a good problem to have! You have a lot of freedom now to go deep into what is important to the story that you have.
Building another world, with a magic system, it's remembering to keep a tight narrative and not want to spew out every idea that flashes through my mind before the idea flames out (again) or it gets turned into another self-insert OP power fantasy (again)
Something that might help is to just get that first draft out. Don't worry so much about holding back. You can always go back during revisions and cut stuff!
The thumbnail: "Don't let an explosion happen."
Michael Bay: "Say what?"
I haven't watched the full video yet, but I just kinda wanted to record my thoughts in an untainted way before I dive in. I have learned that it's best to start off small if you wanna dip your toes into world building. I've been trying to get into short stories for this very reason, so I can set up tiny little blocks of information for the larger narrative I wanna get up, kinda like The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. It's certainly possible to make a good world the first time, but you have to be careful and small with it at first.
This is great. I've always advocated for using short fiction to help improve longer projects. Whether that is to practice finishing a story, exploring a new setting or world, or see if an idea or character actually has enough meat to be a story. Regardless, that is awesome. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
MAN it's been hard to get as nerded out into fiction as I used to as a teen now that I'm trying to write my own and I know, for a fact, there is indeed NOTHING behind the curtain in the wizard's palace besides a fellow pasty nerd.
But there is something awesome you can appreciate in someone else’s creation. You’ve entered a new era of observation that you can’t reverse. You’re going to look at everything as a creator as opposed to just a consumer. Thank you for the comment and for watching.
It goes like this:
* Good worldbuilding can turn a good story great. But it cant turn a bad story good.
* There is Relevant Worldbuilding, and Scenic Worldbuilding. Both are good, both have a place, but you can not only have Scenic worldbuilding. If you do, you will alienate the readers to the world because it will feel like you are spoon-feeding them irrelevant info.
You want the plot to introduce questions about the world, and then have those questions answered in a meaningfull way that either expands the plot, or pushes it foreward.
* You should know what the rules of your setting is. You should know what characters can break said rules, and why/how. You should not directly tell your readers this, instead give them enough to figure it out, until it needs to be explained, or unless it doesnt need to be explained, just leave it open.
If there are rules, the readers will feel the presence of said rules. And that makes a engaging world.
* Your worldbuilding should have Relevance to the world. Dont just say its a land of necromancy, give it a place in the world. Who are their allies, who are their enemies? Why? What practical purpose does it serve, and how is that viewed by the rest of the setting?
* Your worldbuilding should always (well, you know... "Always") be portrayed through the eyes of characters, not as straight facts to the reader. Even when you give it as straight facts, it should be given By a character. The Narrator is a Character.
* Questions entice more than answers.
* Make the mundane interesting. Lets say there are Vampires in your story. Why should i care? I've seen vampires before. So what makes your vampires special? If they are not special, thats fine, but then you have to make the position the vampires are in special, or their history, or how they act. Otherwise i´ve read your book already, because you just wrote about the same vampires i´ve red about a hundred times already.
I recently finished my first fantasy novel and started book 2. My suggestion to avoid worldbuilders disease is to think of your worldbuilding as scaffolding. Get your basics - general idea of the world map, social structures (religions, cultural beliefs etc)and basic history. Keep it simple in the beginning. Then write your story based off that “scaffolding” as time goes on you will realize you’ll be writing the story in tandem with your worldbuilding. You’ll be writing in two directions and over time your scaffolding will be replaced with foundation of lore that is more solid. Allow yourself the opportunity to go back and make changes. Write down ideas as they pop into your head. It took me 6 years to complete my first draft of my book because it took me that long to develop the world and write the story. Give your story room to breathe. It’ll probably flow a lot easier if you are writing and sitting in your characters perspective and not looking down like this god from on high trying to craft a narrative starting with every individual grain of sand.
This is good advice. There are plenty of strong analogies for worldbuilding and this is one of them. Thank you for sharing and thank you for watching!
me watching this while currently in the middle of creating a massive world with history, lineage, ancient lost civilizations, and extreme environments all while taking inspiration from ASOIAF 👁️👄👁️
*insert first time meme*… hahah jk. You will be fine so long as you enjoy the process and keep learning!
That sounds like Dune.
I have a worldbuilding project I am very slowly working on for a few years now. My aim is to make the world I build feel lived in, that things happened and I want to write more than one story in that world and the universe it belongs to. I take my time, having other projects aswell or just brainstorming something unrelated because my mind is just in the flow to spit something out. While in the end not every little detail has to be stuffed into one story I think as the writer I need to know why things are happening.
I conceived of a cyberpunk/fantasy world that I broke ground on. Essentially, inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost and mixing in a bit of the myth of Hyperion bringing fire to mankind, I conceived of a world where Hyperion was cast out of Eden and sought revenge by giving a bottle of lightning to mankind, which skyrocketed their technological development to where we join them in the present and all of the Wild has been taken over by a corporate dystopia with neon signs, skyscrapers, and only dead lands being uninhabited.
And essentially, the protagonist finds out that he’s terminally ill, but the doctor’s erase his memory of receiving the news until he can come up with payment. He inadvertently sells out the way to Eden, the first and last Wild place on a mercenary mission in order to receive his results from the doctor.
From there, he realizes he’s dying and his sole mission is to see something beautiful before he dies…and so he goes on a journey to Eden, where he realizes he’s profaned the last wild place by discovering it after he eats a fruit that he plucks from a tree…and he dies knowing that he has doomed Eden, regardless of the fact that he technically succeeded
With world building for me, my head can be very good at coming up with plot, setting, and appropriate descriptions of things, where it doesn't need to know everything about stuff but after the initial concepts and plot points it builds out the why's and what sort of effects that would have on the rest of the story, and then what plot points could that inspire, which can make a lot of depth behind the scenes only to its level of relevance, like being aware of the sort of organisations you might find in a particular town or city, figuring out what sorts of effects and motivations they might have when the mc gets there and fleshing out the details and motivations when they interact with the mc. Were the closer it comes to affecting what happens on page the more thought out i make it, also the reverse of how what happens on page effects the behind the scenes, where organisations with less of an interest in the mc/related or that has little dealings with them have less thought put into how what the central charicters do affects their motivation.
I think the fact that i have a method to build up a story really helps me out over just the thing of world building. But yeah, those are only a few things that i take into consideration but it gets the point across
I made the same mistake on making a huge world but it was for a comic i never finished. Lol
It happens to the best of us 😅
I kind of want to do the iceberg theory for my own enjoyment.
@ severance segment around 19:00 :
* laughs in dissociative disorder and the struggles of not remembering *
The Expanse books have sorta ruined ruined modern scifi for me. i LOVE your takes on in and am so goddamn obsessed myself, anyway great video
I'm glad you enjoy my content! The Expanse books are definitely a game-changer in the sci-fi genre. Even beyond the sci-fi elements, the characters and everything are just fantastic. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
Damn good video!!!! Thank you.
Thank you for saying so! I am glad you liked it!
Lord of the Rings is “Tolkien-esque”? You want a second take on that one? 😂
Someone asked George R.R. Martin for the background information on the Dothraki language in his books. He replied, “I’m not Tolkien. I made up 8 words in Dothraki. When I need a ninth one, I’ll make that up, too.” 😎
George Lucas once said that most science fiction films spend so much time designing and building their sets that directors want to show them off, but instead it should just be in the background and shot the way you’d do it if the film was set in a regular house. That’s why there are all these details in the scenes of Star Wars.
Hey, thanks for the feedback and quotes! I feel like George RR Martin always gives such good interviews. But when I said Tolkien-esque I meant common for Tolkien or very much inline with what we think of when we hear/think of Tolkien. Long histories and comprehensive langues was kinda his thing. Which I do realize that esque might have been confusing to say or misleading here.
Thanks again for watching.
Well as I am writing a sci fi RPG - it's all (or at least mostly) about world building. Of course there are stories here and there - but as the player characters are the main stars of the game, the really crazy stuff happens to them in game.
Not using a toilet irritates me. The Mote in Gods Eye did use toilets and to great effect! I felt I knew the Mote world by the end of the book. It’s dated of course but the world building was subtle and powerful. Different sameness
For my current novel I have my main two characters be teachers in a school so most of the world building is from well them teaching students that way it feels like the reader is just part of the class yet has a incite into the teachers mind
Very investing! Thank you for watching and for your comment!
From the thumbnail, I assume at least one rule
Is don’t blow everything in your world up with atomic weapons
That, actually, would be an interesting world element! But only if it services the story ;).
great starting analogy(?) got me hooked on this piece. though consider me the phyllobates terribilis.
A dart frog! Thank you for watching :).
I'm going to disagree with you about Dune and the importance of Spice as it regards to the "new" release. While I think that the new Dune does a better overall job of storytelling than the original move, the original move does a far better job at setting up the importance of Spice and the fact that it's needed for interstellar travel.
That said, I agree with you on all other parts.
Hey! Thanks for the comment and for the healthy disagreement!
Thank you for watching and for sharing your perspective.
Did this man just call Lord of the Rings "Tolkienesque"???
I meant it is a very “Tolkien“ thing!! 😅
I guess one should have at least an idea how economy in his world works. I mean, in most stories it's not needed to mention and readers in general don't ask about it, but heroes and villains have to pay for transportation, weapons, food and a place to sleep, not to mention the villains stronghold or the minions working for them.
I will say that most often, the economy of a world SHOULD play a huge part. However, if it doesn't really service the story, and isn't really mentioned, how important is it really? When I think of Lord of the Rings, does the economy in that world ever come up? I don't think I even know what their currency is!
Thank you so much for watching and for your comment!
Great job! 👓
Thank you! 😁
Well put!
Thank you!
I'm starting to block channels with obscene amount of ads.
@SonOfSeth Is that the case? Normally UA-cam does that without the channel's input or say so. Thanks for the feedback though.
This vid was not jiveing with me for some reason and it wasn't till i got to the last point that i knew why. i love world building for me that is the story i like telling storys about worlds ! they aren't just a side dish or a stage to me but the main course and to be honest i dont think ill be changing the way i write its not a mistake its a feature but thank you anyway this helped ! i need to tell my storys for my self if an audience likes it good, if not all is still well because i told MY story MY way ! the story's i make dont just place in a world they are about that world the world is a main character perhaps the most important one i think that may just well be what sets me a part so thank you
And there isn't anything wrong with that. What is important too (that I might not have mentioned or made clear) is understanding how you tell stories best. If you know that about yourself, that you want to spend your time and efforts on extensive worldbuilding in that way, then that is fine. I just hope you also developed your narrative as well! Thank you too for watching and for your perspective!
As a reader/writer who loves worldbuilding too - the conlangs, the history, the implications of magic, the schools of thought that rise and fall - I have a high tolerance for the inclusion of world details in what I read. I love receiving tidbits and clues and piecing together the grander picture. Malazan is a perfect example.
However, the video is completely correct. I love WB, but if you infodump in your book once, I'm out of the story. If you do it 2-3 times, you've ruined the illusion completely. If you're not writing omniscient POV and you convey information the character wouldn't know or care about, then I will not be continuing with the book. And, again, I love this stuff.
There's good and bad ways to do it! For a novel, the narrative is everything. For a glossary, we can get away with anything!
Agreed. I think we as writers should try to come up with creative ways to mask our exposition. It is sort of like hiding veggies in a meal to make it more healthy. This is why I always suggest considering the background and history of the POV character. This can dramatically influence what you are showcasing in terms of worldbuilding and can even make info dumps feel well-placed. A diplomat talking about the historical context of two warring nations feels natural.
@@wrestlingwithwords That's a great example! If an info-dump is integrated fully then the reader hopefully won't take issue!
Even Erikson sometimes just lets loose in Malazan. And Sanderson just gave up on subtle info-dumping in the prologue of Way of Kings, and he admitted it on Writing Excuses.
The worst of the worst is "as you know" / Maid + Butler dialogue, where two characters are regurgitating info they already know for no other reason than informing the reader.
Yes, exactly. I remember that episode in their podcast. "As You Know..." is one of the SFF 7 deadly sins haha.
To me world building, the factions, their agendas, the context and the message that I want to give is always the most important part of the story apart from the ending, I never write something without known how it would end, eve if take me years, right now, I want to write a story, but is so depressing and dark, that I really not want to, I not want to portray the victim as a antagonist, even that his actions for brutal and senseless they are, are righteous, his lose his family, his race, his planet, and want retribution, revenge, I always like to add some component of realism even if there are some fantasy elements in my story.
It's really good to have an idea of where your story is going and how the world impacts it. This sounds like you're on the right track to understanding the synergy between the world and the story! Thank you for your perspective!
I get Worldbuilder's Disease pretty bad. Fill up pages and pages with info. Luckily I can link most of it into the story and characters,the rest though goes into my worldbuilding docs and serves as either:indulgent & immersive info,stuff that can impact the story & characters but are not central,or things that are core to the setting & characters. Alot of it will be on the iceberg under the water,but that isn't a bad thing necessarily.
I started getting Worldbuilder's Disease really badly when writing campaigns & settings for tabletop rpgs actually. Got too caught up in creating for creations sake that over 90% of what I made would never be seen or even addressed. Best to not let that happen & most importantly,not expect people to want to know EVERYTHING about a world. Temper expectations & keep in mind too much water at once will make even the most swimmer drown or get out of the water.
The iceberg method is effective in that it creates a yearning for more information from that world.
Tolkien, as far as I know, went to extremes to make a big world to draw from, as his mission was to create a mythos for Britain like Finland had with their mythos. Even he could not cover an entire world, as you aren't only making the world as your character knows it today, but also what the mythos are, the pre-history, (and for him) languages, making it a truly gigantic endeavor.
So, start with an intriguing snapshot of the world you imagine, and perhaps get the big lines in place behind the scenes, then write the story. If you are lucky, you get to visit the place again and can continue to elaborate, hopefully not contradicting yourself in the process.
Exactly. Well put. That is exactly the idea. Omission is something that is HIGHLY underrated in fiction. I wrote an article on it a while back, but think it might make a good topic for a video too.
@@wrestlingwithwordsPlease do. I find all of this fascinating.
I am creating an entire dwarf galaxy with complex extraterrestrial geopolitics and all that. This helped me think. 😆
In the last few months, more and more, I leaned into designing lore, over doing actuall world-building. The Worlbuilding comes to me, while writing and thats the moste important stuff, right? Actually writing? Well, if I not implement the lore bits, I created, I at least, know, how it influences characters and stuff. For example, if I disign the society for a city I think about, who rules the city, who is maybe from an old family, wich was dethroned and still play an important role in the city or narrative. You could disigne like a family tree or flesh out every character in the history of the city. But much more likely to be in youre story in the end, is maybe just a box of letters from one of the characters, whos family got dethroned. Now, I have a direct link to an important caracter and I can decide if I need to include it. If the character isnt that important, maybe I dont need the whole family tree. Disigning lore instead of huge worlduiling junks, will help you determine the junks importance, or just influences youre writing at the right point.
That is great! I have the tendency to do that as well. Thank you for your comment and for watching m, I really appreciate hearing about it your process!
My first novel was 1007 pages!
Wow, that’s a lot!
@@wrestlingwithwords "Little Anton"
Building, no; applying, yes.
good vid. subbed
Thank you!
Despite many years of having a story in the works that I really care for and have put a lot of effort into to through research, imagination, and a lot of time. I'm rather critical and overthink but im also open minded so i bounce back in forth a lot on things that may or may not be necessary in my story. Eventually I created a base for my story that revolves around the eternal struggle of good, grey, and evil. Light, Darkness, and Chaos. These three aspects are relevant in nearly everything that happens throughout the whole story due to these aspects literally being Gods. Three Gods that push forward the events that take place in the world with most races worshiping Light. Most origins and history you will learn through the main character but I've write the story in a way where it always continues even after the main characters life and beyond as new main characters take over in sequels expanding on the world continuessly.
Interesting. What is your main character's background?
If you're not a comic artist and not a screemwriter, how do you show not tell as a novelist?
That is a complicated question to answer! The true answer will be in the writer's prose and their use of pacing, POV, the other elements of fiction, and the scene at hand. Showing and Telling is all about knowing when to use one and not the other. Showing is usually described/done through the actions and reactions, how a character feels or interprets the world around them, and is more active/present in the given scene.
This is something I KNOW I will cover in a video in the future.
@@wrestlingwithwords Good thing I am a comic artist now. I started writing shortstories, then went on to write Screenplays and later began writíng novels. I think every genre showed me something else about writing. Screenplays help with structure, Short stories with developing ideas and novels are just the best way to get lost in your own creation. Now I am making webcomics, not under this account though, and I don't want to advertise. It's always a pleasure to hear about other writers' creative processes. Thank you!
That is a really great way to see the different mediums!
The world is also only as good as the characters that live in it
@@rogerelliss9829 yep. Worldbuilding should service the story and the characters. Thank you for watching and for your comment!
What are your advices for someone who is stuck because of being too ambitious with their worls building? ( LOL it's me). I know I should just start but I'm stopped by the feeling that my world building will be messed up
The best thing you can do is to keep writing and keep trying to go deeper into the aspects of your world that impact your characters or plot. Ambiguity is often just the “ideas”. Don’t just be the “idea person”! Integrate your worldbuilding into your characters, plot, setting, themes, and POV.
@@wrestlingwithwords thanks for the reply... I guess I'm just afraid of faliure when it's possible that no one would ever read my stories. 🤣
Overthinking is a tough enemy.
@@Truck_Kun_Driver yeah, don’t overthink it. Just write. Fail. Write again. Rewrite. Fail some more. And keep writing. I can guarantee you that if you don’t write anything you WILL fail. If you never quit, you really can’t fail. Writing can sometimes be a war of attrition with yourself.
@@wrestlingwithwords wise words to live by. Thank you 🤝🤝🤝
Sorry, but I as a worldbuilder believe there is only 1 mistake a person can make and that is not following the logic of the world. The rest of the so called "mistakes" people make are narrative mistakes. I know I might get a lot of hate for this but the world of Harry Potter is a prime example of this. Rowling gets you immersed into the world then adds something that breaks the logic of the world. And it happens over and over and over again. Do people complain about this, not really. As much as I am aware. Reason for this is she is able to immersed you into the character's point of view. The only thing that matters when telling a good story is to have good characters. That's it. It doesn't matter how good your world is.
I think that is part of the point I was alluding to. A good story with strong characters will make it easier to overlook world plot holes. I would put Harry Potter in the realm of a more atmospheric world. The rules are pretty loose all things considered, and the closer we look at those rules or try to ascribe rules the more it all starts to break. Good example and good point though. Thank you for watching!
Uhhhh ALOT of people have complained about both JK Rowlings world building and writing
@@christopherbaker8595 thank you and I will edit what I said about this
A prime example of this is The walking dead. Creating a world , but not following any of it's logic. Though it's still a good watch, at least till a certain point.
@@A.Brazao that’s a good point too. That does go to show that if you have a decent story (or compelling characters), your audience will forgive quite a bit and suspend their disbelief a lot.
You can use fake world building, as in you make it seem like there is alot of backstory and background, but in fact those lines insinuating deeper world building are the only things you created, so it's all a huge facade.
Sometimes! But other times it is important to focus on what is meaningful to the story, and the facade is there for immersion, making it a better story.
That's how you get the season Finale of Lost