How to create immersive worlds for sciencefiction and fantasy. 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. Dont endeavour to explain your entire world in your book. World building tips often focus on fantastical genres such as fantasy and scifi, because they involve creating worlds different to our own. To build a detailed world, one to rival westeros, hogwarts or dickens london, use these world building tips. Wrede the following list of questions is meant to aid authors of fantasy fiction who are seeking to create believable imaginary settings for their stories. As a fantasy author, the subject of world building is near and dear to my heart. The characteristics of world building you need to know to create a fully immersive world that your readers. World anvil allows you to search and find everything in your world quicker than ever. By following their guidelines, we can strengthen our setting and make our worlds more complete. An extensive checklist to help authors invent a fictional world for fantasy, scifi, and other stories. What book series has the best worldbuilding in the entire genre of fantasy and why. Fantasy is a genre that depends on reliable worldbuilding, but fans of joe abercrombies first law trilogy hoist its titles high for another reason.
Mercedes lackey is another world builder, although my personal. We are building one of the largest most detailed fantasy independent campaign settings in the world. In necromancer awakening now available on amazon, i went through a painstaking process to build a unique magic system involving life and death. Worldbuilding for fantasy and science fiction jericho writers. As personally i usually find the worldbuilding aspects of fantasy most interesting i would like to find something which focuses more on the world.
Worldbuilding is a part of all speculative storiessci fi, fantasy. World building is so much more than just a framing device. Worldbuilding may not be the exclusive domain of speculative fiction realworld settings need development, too, after all, but fantastical. Thousands of cities and points of interest add depth to the world.
As the others have said, mark nelsons fantasy world building is gorgeous little book. This can be one of the hardest aspects of creating a series. The ultimate list of 42 worldbuilding resources the dabbler. If youre looking to create a fantasy world characterized by bleak skies and quiet brutality, lets do it. Why is world building important for fantasy novels. Pdf for printing out at home or reading on a computer. Would the story of the two young lovers from very different backgrounds have been as gripping if it hadnt been set aboard the titanic. Jun 28, 2017 writing good science fiction or fantasy requires strong worldbuilding skills. The term worldbuilding was popularized at science fiction writers workshops during the 1970s. Magic systems need rules, regulations, and overall, its own set of world building.
Are there any good books about writing fantasy and building. Mobi for use with kindles and mobipocket software as of 2007, the world builder exercises are licensed under a creative. Top 10 invented worlds in teen books childrens books the. Most world building craft books go into detail on all of the elements you need to create a realistic world. So ive been obsessing about worldbuilding a lot lately, and trying to figure out what the difference is between good, decent, craftspersonlike worldbuilding and great worldbuilding. The author, randy ellefson, has been world building for three decades. Are the laws of nature and physics actually different in this world, or are they the same as in real life.
Worldbuilding science fiction best science fiction books. My name is erik and i love to read books about creating fictional worlds and. While these stock ingredients are still common, there are plenty of books whose world building doesnt rely on tolkien as. Less a fantasy series and more a complex dedication to world building. The planet construction kit is a great resource for worldbuilding, covering almost all aspects of society and general setting from cosmology to biology, history, culture, religion, technology, map making.
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. Buy products related to world building products and see what customers say. The books are now a popular podcast and a growing series of courses at world building university. You can turn to nearly any page and find something worth examining. Download my free cheat sheet to streamline your fantasy outline and avoid holes and confusion in your. Theres a huge debate on whether world building is a valid use of your time.
In this post, well discuss the most important elements to consider when building a dystopian world for your novel. Good world building lends an immersive richness to your writing, while also giving readers the information they need to understand characters and plot lines. All stories may need to conjure a world, but only a few benefit from building one. If youre going to build a convincing fantasy world, you may be thinking about developing a magic system. Artist mark nelson specializes in designs for roleplaying games and comic books. The difference between good worldbuilding and great. While many of these questions may be helpful or crucial to certain stories, they will not all apply to every story. Worldbuilding is so much more than just a framing device. Aug 23, 2019 every one of your favorite books, movies and tv shows involves building a world, even if it looks a lot like our own. How to paint what doesnt exist by james gurney, and, most definitely, marks fantasy worldbuilding. Display the most important categories on your world s main page with book style covers, to help your readers dive into your world. Jun 26, 2015 i am a big fan of books on the craft, and have read many of them. Tips on how to build a fantasy world for your novel ny. The best worldbuilding not only fully transports you to somewhere new, but also offers a sense of sc.
Online shopping from a great selection at books store. The words fantasy novel bring a whole lot of tropes to mind. Magical realism, contemporary, dark, and paranormal romance all have a place in the fantasy genre. The books are pretty long so you should be good for a while, otherwise i would recommend the name of the wind, by patrick rothfuss and its sequel the wise mans fear. Ok, ive been waiting for a very long time to make something on books with good worldbuilding. I must confess that i have read all of the good fantasy books. A guide to developing mythic worlds and legendary creatures dover art instruction nelson, mark on.
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. The art of world building is a multivolume guide for authors, screenwriters, game designers, gamers, and hobbyists to build more immersive, believable worlds fans will love. Last week i discussed the importance of setting and what we can learn from scifi and fantasy writers about world building. The sword of truth series is 14 books, all of which are designed to be standalone stories, totally independent from the. Worldbuilding is a term youll hear from a lot of writers especially when youre talking about the science fiction and fantasy genres. Tips on how to build a fantasy world for your novel ny book. Worldbuilding may not be the exclusive domain of speculative fiction real world settings need development, too, after all, but fantastical genres are where worldbuilding often packs the most punch. The best fantasy novels ever written prowritingaid.
Feists riftwar cycle are classic examples of second world fantasy. This fast read has questions and application challenges that will help you. From my perspective, one of the most important elements of any fantasy is the world in which it takes place. In this post, we have included the ultimate setting checklist to help you with your world building.
A avid fans opinion on how to build a fantasy world. 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. If i were suggesting three books every budding artist should have at their fingertips they would be figure drawing for all its worth by andrew loomis, imaginative realism. Its the very essence of any good fantasy or science fiction story, and the basis of a sense of place in other genres. Over 800 pages of worldbuilding, jonathan strange and mr. Search your whole world by typing 3 letters in any search bar. Dystopian, scifi, alternate history and paranormal stories all have the job of convincing the reader that this is a world that could really exist. Which are some fantasy books with amazing worldbuilding.
Part of what makes a story work so well is the world where it takes place. Sep 20, 2018 a avid fans opinion on how to build a fantasy world. In the last twelve hours, this generator has been used to construct 866 worlds and 4. I am a big fan of books on the craft, and have read many of them.
Worldbuilding for fantasy and science fiction jericho. Novelists of sciencefiction or fantasy know worldbuilding is a huge part of the fun of writing, from magical medieval worlds to apocalyptic dystopias. Writing good science fiction or fantasy requires strong world building skills. 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. Aug 01, 2019 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. The following list of questions is meant to aid authors of fantasy fiction who are seeking to create believable imaginary settings for their stories. Culturemaking checklist neitherworldstories fantasy worldbuilding questions. Every one of your favorite books, movies and tv shows involves building a world, even if it looks a lot like our own. See every continent, island, sea, forest, desert, and nation. Books inspiration from centuries of literate from the classics all the way through to modern graphic novels.
Are there any good books about writing fantasy and. If you do manage to fit all of the details in this checklist into your story youve done something wrong and have probably infodumped all over the place. World building detailed plan the world in your scifi or fantasy novel can be as different and interesting as you make it. 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. Worldspinner makes it easy to create an entire fantasy world in just a few minutes. Fantasy world generator of all the resources on this list, this is the one i found most recently. A guide to developing mythic worlds and legendary creatures dover art instruction paperback february, 2019 by mark nelson author. Its filled to the brim with exciting and imaginitive artwork.
To make this a much easier process i have made you a super handy little cheat sheet for fantasy world building. The malazan book of the fallen, by steven erikson series is really good for massive world building with plenty of lore. Many postthe lord of the rings fantasy and postdune science fiction writers use worldbuilding in an attempt to give their stories weight and meaning that they would not have without a welldefined. These prompts will help you consider every aspect of your story world. Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. Nov 10, 20 as a fantasy author, the subject of world building is near and dear to my heart. Nov 15, 2016 worldbuilding, roleplaying and fantasy writing resources. Unique worlds, magical lands, books that should be talked about more, fantasy books with maps, what a wonderful world a cele. A guide to developing mythic worlds and legendary creatures dover art instruction. Building a world can be a ton of fun, but it can also be quite the laborious process when you get into the nittygritty of it all. Mark nelson has had a long and storied career, and with the caliber of work shown here its easy to see why. Keep your worldbuilding organized with nested categories and nest articles under articles and create a stunning table of contents for your world. Jan 16, 2020 world building tips often focus on fantastical genres such as fantasy and scifi, because they involve creating worlds different to our own. Lets focus on setting the scene and creating believable characters for your reader to rely on.
Great fantasy books, that excels in lore, and world building. It generates maps, and can generate entire worlds upon request. Worldbuilding, roleplaying and fantasy writing resources. Mar 08, 2016 world building isnt just limited to fantasy. Fantasy i scifi i books i films i world building unleash. Jul 20, 2018 building a world can be a ton of fun, but it can also be quite the laborious process when you get into the nittygritty of it all. Mark your articles with tags to find them even more easily. I highly recommend using the wisdom of those who came before to further your own writing pursuits obviously excepting plagiarism. As a longtime reader of fantasy i am always disappointed when the piece im reading loses track of its purpose and defaults to overindulgent maybe even selfindulgent world building. Jan 21, 2019 this feature is not available right now. The resulting world may be called a constructed world or conworld. Perhaps the author is particularly good at developing the world and implying a lot about the wider world without boring you with exposition alla brandon sanderson. 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.
Worldbuilding guide for writers and world builders part 1. They also have their own list of resources, many of which are also included on this page. Its important to create immersive, interesting and believable settings, whatever your genre. Aug 28, 2015 the words fantasy novel bring a whole lot of tropes to mind. Check out our list of the top 12 worlds in fantasy to find your next dream vacation spot. While these stock ingredients are still common, there are plenty of books whose worldbuilding doesnt rely on tolkien as. I realize the pern novels sort of straddle the line between fantasy and.