So many great points raised and discussed that I can only sit here and let it gel. June's final point about starting with the characters and building outward is my preference as well. World-building is more a spiral, rather than a "barren" field, for sure. The trick -- the great deception -- is to make it look easy and organic, when in fact it's highly planned, calculated web-weaving.
What a great discussion! I particularly vibed with the idea of conflicting and/or complementary mythologies/religions in a world. I've incorporated the same in my current project. Also, the idea that fantasy isn't "literary" to some people is preposterous. That's like saying "fiction" isn't "literary." Like anything else, fantasy as a genre is capable of incorporating all the complexities of the human condition in -- as I believe Abby said -- a more digestible manner. So, thank you to all three of you for championing the cause.
Awww thanks for this Julian! Yeah I've always been so bothered by people not wanting to include fantasy in the list of genres that are "literary." It takes way more thought to write a fantasy book!
Last thing before I flood this thread with my gushing commentary. Abby's point about the relative values of portal fantasies vs. high fantasies was so interesting and useful as a touchstone. I also much prefer (in general) diving into an entirely different world for so many different reasons.
So many great points raised and discussed that I can only sit here and let it gel. June's final point about starting with the characters and building outward is my preference as well. World-building is more a spiral, rather than a "barren" field, for sure. The trick -- the great deception -- is to make it look easy and organic, when in fact it's highly planned, calculated web-weaving.
Yes it sure is. I've always struggled so much with world building myself, I enjoyed listening to June talk about it as well.
world building feels so intimidating as a writer, but as a reader it's one of my favorite things in a good book.
I totally agree with that
What a great discussion! I particularly vibed with the idea of conflicting and/or complementary mythologies/religions in a world. I've incorporated the same in my current project. Also, the idea that fantasy isn't "literary" to some people is preposterous. That's like saying "fiction" isn't "literary." Like anything else, fantasy as a genre is capable of incorporating all the complexities of the human condition in -- as I believe Abby said -- a more digestible manner. So, thank you to all three of you for championing the cause.
Awww thanks for this Julian! Yeah I've always been so bothered by people not wanting to include fantasy in the list of genres that are "literary." It takes way more thought to write a fantasy book!
Thank you again for having me on to discuss World Building with you Andrew 💜
Thank you for joining me!!
Last thing before I flood this thread with my gushing commentary. Abby's point about the relative values of portal fantasies vs. high fantasies was so interesting and useful as a touchstone. I also much prefer (in general) diving into an entirely different world for so many different reasons.
You can flood with as much gushing as you want!
oh snap, another one!
Another one I missed the chat for!! UGH!!