These are outsidein otherwise called topdown or insideout bottomup so well work with these definitions to help you sense which broad approach you prefer. In this excerpt from the book writing fantasy and science fiction, orson scott card explains why exposition can present particular challenges when youre writing science fiction, and tips for overcoming those challenges. Okay, so everyone knows that if youre going to tell stories that involve fantasy, or science fiction, you need a world in which to set them. Its a world familiar to us, with even less need for worldbuilding than generic, this is a. Writing fantasy a creative approach to world building. Novelists of sciencefiction or fantasy know worldbuilding is a huge part of the. Think about the laws that govern the world, the way the government works, the worlds history, geography, technology and mythology. This is a world and story building tool for science fiction and fantasy writers. If youre creating a fictional world, youll need this thoroughly researched guide which includes tips from such famous world builders as brandon sanderson. As a fantasy writer, i am often asked how i keep all the worldbuilding. Worldbuilding for fantasy and science fiction jericho writers. Oct 24, 2014 but in science fiction or fantasy, you can create a parallel and explore that issue without upsetting anyone. Its the very essence of any good fantasy or science fiction story, and the basis of a sense of place in other genres.
How to write science fiction and fantasy, by orson scott card. World building is a blueprint in words, calculations, tables and diagrams to help writers transport readers from one world to another. Building settings this article goes through many different ways writers can play with science fiction worlds, and provides examples for each. The ultimate world building questionnaire 1 questions some notes. Although they are not software, older rpgs like traveller and space opera included systems for generating solar systems and planets. One of the things that has always drawn me into science fiction and fantasy is the world building.
Create city layouts and ideally link them to the cities on the world map. Worldbuilding stack exchange is a question and answer site for writersartists using science, geography and culture to construct imaginary worlds and settings. Is there anywhere these question are in the actual software. With the fractal world mapping provided by, you have more powerful options and features, and you are not constrained by a hexagonal gridlayout. The writers complete fantasy reference, by writers digest. You can say youre in 1960s chicago, london during wwii, or 1990s tokyo, and people know from there what to expect. Her debut novel, the book of m, was chosen as an amazon best science fiction and fantasy books of the year, and has been featured on the. The playlist for series bible basics and software to use. I struggled with climate on a fictional world for a long time.
John harrison has defined worldbuilding as an attempt to exhaustively survey a place that isnt there. Fantasy science fiction world building guide duration. Why is world building important for fantasy novels. While genre fiction is often seen as an escapist form of literature something that. World building science fiction writing, by stephen gillett. From the fictional nations of high fantasy, to the interstellar empires of space opera, to the shadow kiths of urban fantasy, we authors are always crafting new societies to thrill and amaze. Easy placement of settlements, structures, forests, hills etc. The term has been used in science fiction and fantasy criticism since appearing in r. Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a.
Aug 18, 2018 if fiction were a material, we would be its manufacturing plant. Theres a huge debate on whether world building is a valid use of your time. Ive looked at things like evernote and generic folder organizing software, as well as a piece of software called liquid story binder, but im not sure they offer exactly what im. The resulting world may be called a constructed world or conworld. When it comes to the science fiction and fantasy, there are some key world building elements to consider in addition to the above. It generates maps, and can generate entire worlds upon. There are two established methods for science fiction and fantasy, defined in the kobold guide to worldbuilding.
Its the responsibility of the author to craft a world that follows its own rules and is layered. In both fantasy magic and science fiction technology, the rules for how things work are entirely yours to create. Of course, ive dabbled around with that for quite some time. But then remember that magical accidents can be as environmentally damaging as a meteor. This book, written by a scifi author with a phd in geology, is explicitly targeted at science fiction writers and covers world building. Go beyond just outlining the setting your characters live and work in. Stargen is a free online tool with no graphical flair to speak of, but. Pdf for printing out at home or reading on a computer.
This is what distinguishes science fiction and fantasy, from the writers point of view. Its a world familiar to us, with even less need for world building than generic, this is a. That blanket might be a comforting hug from hermione or the backblast of covering fire from a gauss gun. Dont trust the numbers blindly, however, as this book was written some time ago, and advancing technology has given us more accurate information about the universe and its components. World building creating place names realistically and artistically. Some software programs can create random terrain using fractal algorithms. And, in addition to all of that, you get to create a fasterthanlight system of travel that doesnt insult the intelligence, or persuade the reader that a family of house elves lives in the cupboard under the stairs. The subject is our favorite example of world building. World generation with realistic fault lines, mountain ranges and continents. You can say youre in 1960s chicago, london during wwii. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation.
Ten great examples of science fiction world building. World building is by far one of my favorite parts of the writing process, and today i m talking about how to worldbuild clothing specifically. Writing good science fiction or fantasy requires strong world building skills. Topics wired25 science fiction fantasy wired is where tomorrow is realized. World building for fantasy questions fantasy is a genre that includes magical elements or a supernatural humanoid racesspecies such as elves, vampires, dwarfs, and fairies and that means it needs a set of world building criteria that differs from the above. However, if harry floated over to mikes island on his power. Irresistible world building, encourages weaving that world building into your plot and characters so that you have a story that can only take place in your world. So far, my world building is an oral exam my main character is being tested on.
World building is by far one of my favorite parts of the writing process, and today im talking about how to worldbuild clothing specifically. I am taking part in a mindmeld post over at later this week. If you are writing science fiction or creating a fantasy world you dont get to research, because that intergalactic wormhole system doesnt exist. Mobi for use with kindles and mobipocket software as of 2007, the world builder exercises are licensed under a creative commons license to help you in. Speculative fiction worldbuilding techniques you need to know. And once you do, its as rigid as the etiquette in the court of henri ii in paris. Nearly every fantasy world with magical abilities has some sort of mysterious magical accident in its history. This novel discusses every topic from creating your own map, to creating races, natural laws, and so much more.
Names, identities, information, are lost as another tool of this repressive society. Jun 28, 2017 writing good science fiction or fantasy requires strong worldbuilding skills. If you believe the internet, theres nothing more important in fiction than worldbuilding. Theres something wonderful about writing brave new worlds. We take apart stories to see what makes them tick, then recycle what we find to create our own. Fantasy world generator of all the resources on this list, this is the one i found most recently. Aug 30, 2018 worldbuilding is a term youll hear from a lot of writers especially when youre talking about the science fiction and fantasy genres. For fantasy, these tools can provide the scientific backing for far stranger worlds than tolkien imagined.
Aug, 20 again, this is a whole subgenre unto itself. For science fiction scenarios set in the distant past, try the iceball earth scenario an alternate present, or set in the future, it should provide some climate related ideas. You should consider them prompts with which to write a short essay. The ultimate world building questionnaire the novel factory. It is comprehensive in its description of the physics of star and planet formation and will tell you everything you need to know and possibly more than you want to know about astronomy. Last week our own charlie jane anders gave us some excellent advice on the difference between good worldbuilding and great worldbuilding but sometimes creators of some of our favourite worlds.
Worldbuilding clothing fantasy science fiction world. We discuss alternate realities, imagined futures and how world building relates to plot, character and story. Make sure your world will be immersive, unique, and wellbalanced from head to toe. Some efforts are better than others, but i thought id share some of my attempts and resources here. In a mystery, its not difficult for a reader to believe that harry killed mike on saturday. Every story requires worldbuilding, which is is an essential part of any work of fiction and the very essence of any good fantasy or science fiction story. I also have a dozen word docs and a few hand written notes. A very technical book written with enough clarity, examples, and good humor to be used by nonscientific writers of science fiction and fantasy. Worldbuilding for fantasy and science fiction jericho. The ultimate world building questionnaire over 150 questions. From my perspective, one of the most important elements of any fantasy is the world in which it takes place. Unique worlds, magical lands, books that should be talked about more, fantasy books with maps, what a wonderful world a cele. World building science fiction writing this book is designed to give science fiction writers the solid grounding they need in real science to make their fictions read like fact. We are bringing history, technology, sociology and science from the real world middle ages into medieval high fantasy role playing, world building and fantasy genre writing.
Tips on how to build a fantasy world for your novel ny. Organizing your worldbuilding science fiction, fantasy. Youre taking the reader outside of what he knows, into a world where the rules may be completely different. For artists, writers, gamemasters, musicians, programmers, philosophers and scientists alike. It doesnt matter if youre writing short fiction, an episode of a web or television series, or the screenplay for a major motion picture, you need to be able to create worlds that your readersviewersaudience would want to visit or live in. Fantasy world building software free download fantasy world. Worldbuilding guide for writers and world builders part 1. It doesnt matter if youre writing short fiction, an episode of a web or television series, or the screenplay for a major motion picture, you need to be able to create worlds that your readersviewersaudience would want to. Dive into the science fiction genre with an indepth look at world building with tutor ian nettleton.
Nov 15, 2016 worldbuilding, roleplaying and fantasy writing resources. While many of these questions may be helpful or crucial to certain stories, they will not all apply to every story. Worldbuilding is a term youll hear from a lot of writers especially when youre talking about the science fiction and fantasy genres. That could be an urban fantasy or horror story, where were dealing with our world plus, for example, adding some magic or supernatural elements or it could be fantasy set in a completely imagined world where everything from physical appearance to personal values, from languages to landscapes, are different. Good world building questions will help you create a detailed and immersive world. You cant escape science and technology, even in fantasy fiction. If youre writing a science fiction, the tools below can help you. The ultimate in world building was probably lord of the rings, for which j. Dec, 2019 the last year in science fiction and fantasy novels saw a welcome mix of debut voices and returning favorites. It is not necessary for an author to answer all, or even any, of the questions in order to start writing, or to finish writing. In genre fiction sci fi, fantasy, historical, horror, etc. You have an idea for a story or a game, and you want to build a universe for it to live in.
Worldbuilding is so much more than just a framing device. Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. Building a fantasy world is just like building a science fiction world. While it is not world builder software, you might find it a useful helper app for the. Charlie jane anders post on 7 deadly sins of world building. Worldbuilding clothing fantasy science fiction world building.
You set the rules, and those rules can be anything, but once you set those rules, its essential that you follow them, or give your readers some good, storyrich reason for why the rules have changed. This fast read has questions and application challenges that will help you determine if your world building is a part of your story or is merely. Yeah, you probably wont want to complete all of them. Jul 04, 2018 plot and character and all the standard stuff of great fiction are the real building blocks of science fiction and fantasy. The creation of new worlds and new universes has long been a key element of speculative fiction, from the fantasy works of tolkien and howard, to the science fiction universes of burroughs and asimov, to the tabletop realm of gygax and barker, and beyond. The ultimate list of 42 worldbuilding resources the dabbler.
Oct 02, 2017 in novelwriting, world building is an important concept, especially in genres such as fantasy and science fiction that explore alternate worlds. Novelists of sciencefiction or fantasy know worldbuilding is a huge part of the fun of writing, from magical medieval worlds to apocalyptic dystopias. There is a level of escapism there to be sure, and being able to explore these worlds in their intricate details helps to break down the barriers that determine it to be fiction, instead allowing it to be a story about other lives and their adventures, successes and failures. Science fiction and fantasy rely heavily on placing the reader in a world that envelopes them like a warm blanket.
The term world building was popularized at science fiction writers workshops during the 1970s. Building new cultures from scratch is a cornerstone of speculative fiction. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers. Tips on how to build a fantasy world for your novel ny book. Fantasy world building software free download fantasy. Good worldbuilding lends an immersive richness to your writing, while also giving readers the information they need to understand characters and plot lines. Keep track of things like characters, cultures, worldscountriescities, religions, plots, subplots, character arcs, and anything else you would like about your story. From creating fictional cultures to writing laws and governments to. If you have a fantasy culture based on a historical period, are there problems with making changes in that historyfor example, having a victorian era fantasy without trains. When it comes to the sciencefiction and fantasy, there are some key world building elements to consider in addition to the above. The thing about writing in the genre of speculative fiction science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, fairy tale, steampunk, urban fantasy, etc. Mar 08, 2010 i would like some form of software preferably freeware that makes it easier to sort and look through my files and sort of gives me a sense of the overall project. Take sections of the map, or the whole map and create printouts or images that can be shared with people. Worldbuilding, roleplaying and fantasy writing resources.
Hard science fiction tools exactly what it says on the tin, with this section particularly useful. How to create a wiki to support your fantasy worldbuilding. If youre writing a science fiction, the tools below can help you populate your vast universe with solar systems for your characters to explore. Planetary classification list a very useful and comprehensive by john m dollan oa boardmember. Fantasy does not excuse impossibility magic systems and limitations in fantasy settings. Due to the nature of these questions, they are not intended to have brief answers, certainly not yes no. Great authors can create a living, breathing environment for their stories, invite readers into another world, and make us homesick for a place weve never been. Writing stack exchange is a question and answer site for the craft of professional writing, including fiction, non fiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing.