#how to worldbuild

[amaiguri]

How I Added More Appeal to My Worldbuilding

So, I was checking my Tumblr drafts and looking for the post where I had started my ideation on my Saegenfolk and apparently, that post has been lost to the ether. Which is sad -- it was a really good post, going through the worldbuilding process in real-time. But THAT'S OK: We'll recreate it now using my Saegen culture as an example!

So, imagine you're looking at your worldbuilding but you're just NOT FEELING it. To fix that...

Step 0: Gather all your worldbuilding into one place!

This will help you review it to identify it for problems. Now, for me, the Saegen were actually a whole worldbuilding project for another ice-world with an upper and lower continent and stuff. I'd even written a a whole codex of laws and an etiquette handbook... but here's the shortlist of all the old Saegen cultural info:

NOW: You must begin by identifying WHY you feel lasseiz faire about your Worldbuilding!

For me, when I was looking at my worldbuilding around the Saegen folk, it felt like they didn't have the polish and the cultural fusional elements that my other cultures had. For example, the Nouveau Thuilleans, for example, have a Franco-Irish aesthetic with Japanese and Sakha elements and a mafia-like government structure. That's a lot of disparate elements coming together to make a culture with its own unique flavor. But the Saegen folk were basically... just Vikings.

At first, I tried to just redesign their fashion. And I mean... here's the barely-redesigned fashion. The main difference here is that they have a more Hanfu-style undershirt. But. This was not the actual problem so it didn't really work to solve my problem

Add on top of that: I've been increasingly learning a lot of Viking-adjacent, Ancient Norse history has been misunderstood and/or co-opted by Neo-N*zis and it's just a lot more work to make them more authentic representation while dodging accidental dogwhistles than I think it would be worth.

The other issue I had was that their culture was not reflective of the environment enough... Especially since I had screwed up on continent placement and descriptions -- I was writing them as if their whole society DIDN'T live underground with very limited sunlight every day. Whoops!

So this brings us to STEP 2: Review your design objectives.

With creative works, it's really easy to just change things to be different without knowing if it's better or worse. Like, whether you think the new Zelda games are good or bad depends on if you think freedom in games is good or bad. If it's bad, then the new Zelda is bad, right? (I don't think this -- I think they're good and different. But not necessarily BETTER games: just literally different games.)

The way to ensure things are getting BETTER in your worldbuilding is by having objectives or pillars for your work! With pillars, the more your work aligns with the pillars, the better you know it's getting.

For my worldbuilding generally, my #1 goal is that I, personally, should want to make characters for each of my cultures AND they should be distinct from other, to allow me to make the widest diversity of interesting characters.

And the Saegen culture was failing this because "just Vikings" doesn't interest or resonate with me anymore. But I DO like Norse culture and Norse landscapes and Celtic music and other Northern European things like that! But not unchanged for my fantasy world...

So now, STEP 3: Brainstorm changes to the worldbuilding to bring it in line with your design pillars!

I wanted to keep their focus on families and the hyperindividualism that pervades Northern cultures, because I think that makes them a good thematic foil to Nouveau Thuille. And I also wanted to keep their sailing, conlang, and music -- because I'm a huge fan of what my music friends have done with their music.

What did I add? I decided, since Nouveau Thuille had Japanese elements, Saegen culture should have Chinese elements! Plus, I'm a Chinese adoptee with very little knowledge or ties to my birth culture and I've wanted to make a concerted effort to learn more about it. Of course, this required a lot more research BUT I was motivated to do it...

I also began to consider the geography of the North and how the worldbuilding would need to reflect that. They live in an alpine tundra just shy of the North Pole of my world. I mean, here's a sketchy map that shows where their Capital is:

See how that's smack beneath the Upper Continent AND in the far north? It's fucking COLD. How are they getting food? Staying warm? Drinking water? I'll have to really revamp the ecology of the area to be as cool as the Black Gothic plants of the Nouveau Thuillean valley and as resonant as the cities I've made in the South while still make sense.

Also, since personal appeal is important goal, I also looked at things I was excited about at the time. And you know what was exciting me when I started working on the rewrite? Fontaine from Genshin Impact -- and their upper city-lower city dynamic, high crime rates, water associations...

I was even outlining a whole novel thing called "The Sunken City" and, what if I just tied that into the revamped Saegenheim? I had no interesting things happening there so I COULD set the novel there...

And this made me realize that Saegenheim should be a relatively vertical city underground, near some sort of thermal heat -- as this solves both my ecology problem AND my personal appeal problem. Like... when I think about an underground and partly-underwater city with viking houses and crime problems, I just 😍😍😍

Step 4: Research

Before I got too deep down the rabbit hole of making changes, I wanted to do more research because my knowledge of Chinese culture begins and ends with my Chinese school in 2nd grade. (Okay, that's not fair -- I ALSO learned about all the Dynasties in World History class). I wanted to have MUCH MORE knowledge, so I began to watch a bunch of YouTube videos on Chinese culture -- both historically and today.

And some of the things that really resonated with me were:

The changing traditions of snowy cities in the North of China

Their various concepts of masculinity and how it's changing today

The hyperindividualism seen in modern China compared with the community focus indicated by philosophers and architecture of the past

The evolution of Chinese fashion

The stories behind all the festivals

Color significance

The importance of numbers and their own astrology system

The way the Chinese government interacts with itself and the outside world

I wanna try to capture some of those elements in my work, though obviously, I have much much more to learn. But like... it's really cool to learn about this stuff -- to get a glimpse into the kind of person I might have been if I'd grown up in a different culture.

And then STEP 5 is to JUST DO IT -- which you can see I started doing in this post here!

That's all for today!

[thegoldenseries]

How I Make Fantasy Geography

There are few things more irritating than reading a book where it feels like the author has no idea where anything is. You don't know which city is east from where, the river you thought flowed south actually flows west, and everything's a mess. Worse, maybe you're writing along and suddenly realize you don't know if the sun is in your adventurer's eyes, because you don't know which way they're walking. Fear not! This guide will make fantasy geography easy.

The best place to start is always with what you want. Think about the important locations of your story and the terrain around them. We'll make up a few just to go through the post with. Let's say Beachtown is a coastal city, Holy Ruins are in a forest, Mountainburg is in the mountains, and Fieldville is in the plains.

Start thinking about the worldbuilding details you have in mind for each. For example, say Beachtown is always warm and sunny. It will probably be close to your world's equator. If the Holy Ruins are very cold all the time, they will be further away from it. In most western fantasy, the north is associated with cold and the south with warmth, so inversing these or even flipping it to east and west could be a great way to add some extra fantasy flavor to your worldbuilding!

Ask yourself how your cities get the resources they need. Historically, cities were built near bodies of water to provide irrigation for crops and hydration for animals and people. You might consider following the same example for Fieldville and place it near a natural spring (which is why so many cities are named Springfield) and have it be supported by surrounding farms. Maybe Beachtown has a way to purify saltwater for drinking, and fish is a large part of the local diet. Mountainburg might be near a mountain spring, and food may rely on hearty livestock or trade caravans.

Consider pulling from real-life geography as well. The US Midwest is home to huge swathes of plains, so you might look into that as an example for Fieldville. Fantasy affords you some options for creativity, but there's nothing wrong with pulling from real life, too!

Finally, lay things out in basic positions. You don't have to be super detailed, we're not making a map here! But having a general direction of where things are located will help your writing and add to your worldbuilding.

[sylvies-kablooie]

i do unironically think the best artists of our generation are posting to get 20 notes and 3 reblogs btw. that fanfic with like 45 kudos is some of the best stuff ever written. those OCs you carry around have some of the richest backstories and worldbuilding someone has ever seen. please do not think that reaching only a few people when you post means your art isn't worth celebrating.

[aarchimedes]

for context: I read the hobbit first over the course of two years when I was like 13, but I'm only now starting to read lotr. having a blast tho!

anyways, reblog if you feel like it 🙌🏻

[elodieunderglass]

Horror isekai where Perceiving the Weird Eldritch Thing gets you catapulted into a nightmare labyrinth of puzzle-solving.

I.e Those Who Perceive The Hunt of the Goblin King Must Partake In The Labyrinth and Can Only Be Freed If They Complete It In One Day and One Night. By Fae Law. For Reasons.

But the definition of “perception” clearly needs to be updated because some normal guy simply films the Hunt of the Goblin King Behind Arby’s, and puts it on Facebook -

No, not instagram or TikTok, it’s important that it be Facebook -

Because the rules are pretty clear, “the rules are the rules” as is carved ominously in elvish runes above the grim gate, and the Contract is Sealed. and so therefore the guy and 25 of their most random real-life acquaintances must run the gauntlet together. It’s Some Guy, their immediate neighbors, their first partner’s mom, their friends from hobby Facebook groups (oh this poor guy and their hobbies; the elderly birdwatchers from Facebook and the young up-and-coming drag king community), their random teen kid niece, college friends, a dog who also watched the video, a couple consisting of a woman who is the guy’s Facebook friend and showed her husband the video, and the husband doesn’t even know Some Guy, so he’s in the labyrinth and absolutely furious about being forced to be involved, and they proceed to break up over the course of the puzzle.

It’s important that the narrative keeps trying to be a sexy dark horror isekai! but within this the comedic reality of Catherine, 52, the guy’s horse-riding instructor, being passionately involved in escape-room-style puzzle solving and grappling with minor goblins. They are in fact speedrunning the gauntlet.

The Goblin King finally has to say: all right, actually, I only really set all this up to fuck with one (1) guy at a time, thanks for your willingness to participate, but I think all 25 of you can consider the gauntlet fully run.

And the group would be quite hurt by that. The rules are the rules. We have a contract, actually. Let Catherine cook.

[sabertoothwalrus]

can I confess something really inconsequential 🫣 I don’t really like when people draw the dungeon meshi half-foots with tails….

WHICH LIKE if people like it that’s fine!! I’m not gonna try to pretend like people are wrong for it or that it’s problematic or smth. I know it’s a common thing to depict halflings/hobbits from other media with tails, and I like when people do that for those!

it’s mostly cause of that daydream hour comic where Kabru tells Hien that “human” is one species and all the races have the same number of bones, and the reason orcs and kobolds are instead considered demi-human is because they have a different number of bones.

so whenever I see it all I can think is “AUGHHHH BUT THE CULTURAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS!!!” and then I remember this is all make believe and I go outside

[heavenlyraindrops]

World Building Checklist

Have you ever started writing a story and realized your world has a bunch of unexplained shit and you have to fill in the gaps as you go? Me too, buddy. Me too. Here’s a checklist so that you can fully flesh out your world to the max. (I’m dying)

How does Time work? (Minutes, hours, days, the daylight cycle, years, ect.)

Species (if Fantasy. Will probably make another post on this.)

Countries, Nations, Tribes, ect. (nationalities/ races. Will probably make another post on this.)

The geography of the world (draw a map. Doesnt have to be good. Just for a general idea.)

Rivalries between races (includes prejudice, racism, ect.)

Religions

Technology

The Magic system. (Will probably make a whole other post on this.)

animals, plants, ect.

The sky: Sun, Moon(s), Stars, Constellation, Are there rings? (If the planet has rings)

Educations system

Government system

Politics

Methods of transport (Vehicles)

Medicine

Can’t really think of anything else. If you have more to add then reblog and add to the list! :) bye bee

[puppyeared]

littlest furth shop

@laikascomet

[itseghost]

i almost want to do an expression sheet for him so i force myself to expand past his rbf. but its so easy and fun to draw him with one

[briarcrawford]

Are Animals Becoming Extinct in Fantasy Novels?

Recently, I read this post titled “Animals have been taken off in novels since 1835. Is fiction undergoing its own extinction event?” which talks about a study that found that since 1835, the use of wild animals in fiction has dropped drastically.

Many are blaming this “slow extinction” on modern societies disconnect to nature. After all, not everyone spends their days outside, so they might not notice mice, birds, or even the insects at their feet. If they do not think about animals in their daily life, why would they think about them while writing?

That is the theory, at least.

It is worthwhile pointing out what several other writers and readers are; there are plenty of animals in children’s fiction. That is true, but what about young adult to adult fantasy? Since that is what I personally write, that is what I wanted to talk about.

Just going off what books I think of first, it seems like often in fantasy novels, the only prey animals (like deer, squirrels, or rabbits) that we see are after nearly always during or after they are hunted. Then there is the complete lack of mosquitos, leaches, biting ants, and other annoying creatures.

Sometimes, there is a mention of the sound of birds singing, but rarely ever are there any details of the birds or what they are doing. Where are the ducks and swans on the lakes? Where are the birds building nests?

Now you may be going “What is the point? Why should I care?” and I get that, but by eliminating these creatures, your novels could be losing a sense of realism.

For example, in Stephen Kings The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon — which I argue is a light fantasy story, not a horror story — has a girl is lost in the woods and stalked by a creature. Interestingly, even most survival books fail to mention animals apart from for food, but Stephen King did not do that. He had deer, water bugs skittering across ponds, and even wasps that attack the main character. This added a sense of reality to the novel. It was not just a forest with some trees and plants, it was a forest filled with life, and that can be dangerous for anyone, let alone a young girl.

So, go ahead, raise the mood with your characters. If they are miserable, make them more so by having the mosquitos bite at them day and night or have them step in a anthill. If they are happy, they could watch a mother bird feeding its young or a swan rubbing necks with its partner.

Adding more hints of nature could not only amplify the mood, but it could also make your forests seem more real.

[blinkpen]

do u think studying how caterpillars totally liquify into living soup that somehow knows how to then restructure and solidify into a butterfly might be how we unlock the shapeshifting power-up on the evolution skill tree

[blujayonthewing]

hey you know how reflective eyes are a bit spooky in the dark

do you think for races with darkvision it'd be spooky that humans' eyes are completely lightless in the dark

[deadfishisyeq]

I think in the qsmp universe, the true crime podcasts and stuff would go HARD

There would be a lot of conspiracies around random stuff to be honest

In my head, the plane was a big thing that people REALLY like to make conspiracies on. "Point Nemo Is An Alien Base?!?! 😱" Stuff like that

True crime podcasts and reddit LOVE cellbit "BRAZILIAN SERIAL KILLER AND CANNIBAL DISAPPEARS ON BOAT TRIP!!!" And tiktok loves him for a different reason "Cell Is Misunderstood And Here's Why (blatant misinformation)"

I like to think that Bagi WOULD correct misinformation about her brother online because it's just. A funny image to me. "No, no, he didn't say that, he actually said [much worse thing] 😒"

I think historians are constantly trying to figure out what he black shadowy figure documented for literally thousands of years is. There's a lot of debate over it I'd imagine

If we want to imagine Foolish as immortal we could say the same as we did about Bad. Historians are SO confused. Totems aren't alive so seeing things depicting a totem that Did Things sparked a lot of debate.

The 2b2t conspiracies would be crazy honestly. "This Anarchist Wasteland Holds GOVERNMENT SECRETS?!?!?! 😱😱😱"

I like to think that hybrids aren't that common. They exist but most hide it entirely and if they don't, are often seen as dangerous. (In my head, that's the reason that Jaiden hid her wings. She doesn't remember anything but she still has a sort of shame about being a hybrid and she never thought about Why)

Anyway hybrid conspiracy videos about the government trying to create super human soldiers with them :)

[kodasea]

Is it stranger than you dreamt it?

[dyssonant-skyline]

"because its hell" doesn't hold up.

When you create a setting from scratch, you have total control over it. You get to make the rules. You can't excuse a flaw in writing or presentation with "it is hell, it has to be this way!"

Here is one paraphrased example from Hazbin Hotel I've heard recently in response to a critique of calling the main characters too reliant on pinks/reds:

"All the characters have red in their color schemes because they are from the Pride ring and the rings are color coordinated."

While this gives an in-character/in-lore explanation for the color schemes, what it doesn't do is change the fact Hazbin Hotel's characters having a hard time standing out from the background. An in-character/in-lore justification should NOT be prioritized over the overall quality of a project.

As a writer, you have control over the constraints of your story. If you write yourself into a corner, you can't just throw up your hands and give up. You have to be willing to rework your lore and stories to make them stronger.

If excessive cursing is grating and making certain moments within your story less impactful, you should reel it in because it makes the presentation stronger. If your color based lore is causing the visuals of your project to suffer, it is time to reassess the lore.

Just because something is logically consistent within a world, doesn't make it a good writing/art choice.

A setting's rules should serve stories and characters, not the other way around.

[spearxwind]

Here's another concept for Broken Horizon - a dragon pilot saddle! Ft. Alex as the model (and Riptide as the pilot, even if you can't see his face)

Modern saddles were jointly developed by dragons and humans post-war to make dragon riding safer and flying more precise, as regular reins and voice commands quickly became obsolete.

In these saddles the control sticks on the pilot's seat transmit inputs to the steering modules, which are then interpreted into nerve impulses for the dragon to follow. However they are not hard commands, and the dragon can still choose to ignore the impulses for any reason. This means that the dragon and the pilot must have an incredibly strong trust bond for the best performance.