5 WORLDBUILDING MISTAKES You Don't Know You're Making (STOP THIS)

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Thanks so much to everyone who asked about the conflict between Mistake #1 and Mistake #2. Striking the balance between overwhelming with too many unique worldbuilding elements and underwhelming with too many familiar things copied from our world is definitely tricky, so let me nuance this a bit further. I should have made it much clearer in the video that I wasn't saying you should *definitely, always* develop your own language and approach to concepts for measurement, time, distance etc, but rather that those are some common areas that I think are often overlooked where you can potentially find some really interesting and unique approaches that will make your setting stand out. I do think you should never use English names for days of the week or months since those are specifically rooted in historical cultures like Rome, but you won't destroy your novel by sticking with miles, minutes, our pounds (as long as you're careful to avoid having them feel like strange, modern intrusions that feeling jarring or out of place). As many have pointed out in the comments you can easily run the risk of annoying or overwhelming your readers by barraging them with a ton of new words for familiar concepts (thus committing Mistake #1). Just like everything else in writing it really comes down to how you execute what you're trying to do. For every "rule" or generalization you can find brilliant exceptions, but they're brilliant because of the careful way that they were executed within the framework of that particular story. I LOVE seeing the great discussion and thoughtful interaction from everyone. Interacting around the craft and art of storytelling with other writers is my catnip, so keep it coming!

[@seanmalloy0528]

Should we feel free to invent cuss words?

[@brantjustilian3791]

My principal from my writing is that every character has a story but not all stories will be told.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

That’s a great way to think of it!

[@cedrigo]

Worldbuilding is like writing good recipes. When you invite your friends for dinner, they come to eat something good, not to read your recipe book.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Great analogy! The magic is in the alchemy that transforms all those individual ingredients into something new.

[@s.q.10-e66]

I like that analogy

[@chibiresearch9927]

I was about to defend "themepark-ing", if you really lean into that uncomfortable wrongness... then I realized I had wandered out of fantasy and into horror 😅

[@writerducky2589]

Lol, I was thinking about that too😂

[@Nia-qi1kt]

5 worldbuilding mistakes you don't know you're making: 1:41 No Schmerps 3:53 No Copypasta 6:05 No Theme Parks 8:50 No Stasis 10:40 No History Lessons

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Thank you!

[@electricelf-music]

Cheers for this 👍🏻

[@Mikeykneeled]

@@justinfikestorycastleI still watch the whole video I just feel more comfortable watching while getting to visualize the structure (In case it was something you were intentionally not putting it in your videos for fear of drop in engagement)

[@Lilitha11]

Here is my hot take. Changing the name of all the measurements just to be different, is a schmerp. It has all the same downsides, in that the reader has to use a bunch of brainpower to figure out what you are talking about and in the end they are just going to convert it into the measurement they know anyway. Literally everything you complain about in regards to schmerps applies to changing the name of a measurement.

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

It's better to use uncommon terms rather than create them from scratch. Things like "leagues." It's just known enough to be understood but not so common thar it reminds the reader of our world.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I think that’s a totally valid point! I do still think that using real-world terms for everything from top to bottom undercuts immersion, but you’re completely right that it’s easy to just overwhelm your reader with new terms they have to learn. It’s a balancing act, but I do think it’s worth investing some creative energy in this area to see what you can do to “hide your wires” so to speak. Thanks for the great comment!

[@paulbeardsley4095]

I'm struggling with this one. Miles are so much a part of our thinking that I don't think it's a problem to use them in a story. (Ditto pints.) I've often seen leagues used, but that's beginning to feel a little too generic. I would not use kilometres (or kilometers) unless it was an alternative 19th century France. Of course it's always easier if you have someone from our world to translate. A passing mention that the local said 15 miles, followed by, "He actually said 22 squools, but by now I was used to converting in my head."

[@Lilitha11]

@@paulbeardsley4095 I think the general view of fantasy(anything that isn't historical in nature), is that everything is translated. If you write a story about crab people, they are probably not speaking English. So it is kind of redundant to specifically mention that miles were translated, when there isn't anything that wasn't.

[@Lilitha11]

@@justinfikestorycastle I think this is just a preference thing. I have also seen people who were like, "Why is there a rabbit in this fantasy setting, that isn't immersive. There shouldn't be any rabbits in this completely different world." So it is a balance thing, and also you can never make everyone happy. I agree that you probably don't want to use real world terms for everything, though my personal opinion is that I wouldn't waste effort on measurements, unless there is a good reason for it.

[@whereami2906]

Honestly the way I think about the No Shmerps rule, is that most likely the characters in your Fantasy story aren't canonically speaking the language you are reading it in. It's been "translated" into English, Spanish, etc. So if the language in your story has a different word for "tree", it's just going to be translated to "tree" anyway. The only things that would keep a unique name are NEW concepts, objects and important things that don't currently exist in our dictionaries.

[@source3nergy203]

Very helpful, and points to remember when you plunge yourself (the author) into your world you might forget everyone else doesn’t have the world as you might have

[@TheScourgeSouffle]

I like the video! Good information, but a small critique: the list is Worldbuilding Mistakes, but you've put "No" in front of all of the things that you're calling mistakes. This makes it seem like "No Stasis" is a mistake, for example, when the mistake is actually HAVING stasis. Nitpick aside, you've got a good thing going here! Keep it up!

[@justinfikestorycastle]

You know…you’re absolutely right 😅

[@anikbrinckerhoff1037]

With regards to things like units of measurement being copy pasta, couldn't one have, say, the characters say they are going to travel 100 kilometers, but then have a footnote saying "this is a translation of the actual units of distance they are using?" Treat it as a translation in the same way the characters aren't really speaking the real-world language the book is written in.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Yes there are a lot of interesting things you can do with narrators and your overall style to address this. I think it just comes down to being intentional with your approach and choices.

[@dracula-spits]

Since i discovered what an "elf" really was in folklore, you start losing me as soon as you copy over Tolkien's elves.

[@PhoenixCrown]

Great video! I saw some comments on time, distance etc. and wanted to share my opinion and give examples: 1) "Day" is a measure of time that is so basic to our lives you shouldn't change it unless your world doesn't have day and night. Ex. I have nocturnal characters in my story, so they say things like "yesternight." 2) "Mile" is a measure of distance most people understand and is helpful to paint a picture for the reader. Ex. If my world had sections of water or atmosphere that was unbreathable that the characters had to cross without breathing, I might use a measure of distance called a "breath" and take the time to explain. 3) "Feet" is a measure of smaller distance often used people's high for example. If the characters in my world were octopuses, then I might use the measure "tentacle" instead. My point--and I think the video did a good job of this--is that the worldbuilding should support the characters and plot, so only change things that are important to accomplishing the arcs in your story.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Thank you! This is an excellent expansion on what I was trying to say. In hindsight I should have been clearer that I was encouraging writers to avoid using excessively cultural names and terms (Wednesday, July, etc) unconsciously. Basic units of time, distance, and so on are a perfectly effective “stand in” within your world and I use them in my own writing frequently. I wish KZbin would let me upload an edited video so I could add a quick addendum on this point 😂. Thanks for the very helpful comment!

[@PhoenixCrown]

@@justinfikestorycastle You the man. As a published author, I'm sure you understand you can't edit everything =P Thanks for putting your content out there!

[@phillipreese6272]

I like the video, but strongly disagree and out the measurement system. I find it awfully annoying when new calendars and measurements are invented. Calendars maybe, but measurements not at all.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

It’s definitely a balancing act, and I’m realizing now that I should have more clearly said that the “no schmerps” rule definitely comes first, but I do think it’s worth thinking about how to make the world feel unique.

[@Senovitj]

Still better than outdated British measurements like furlongs, fathoms and leagues in LOTR.

[@saldiven2009]

​@@Senovitj Those weren't outdated when the stories were written almost 100 years ago. Like, furlong was an official measure in the English government until 40 years ago.

[@paulbeardsley4095]

@@saldiven2009 Indeed. When I was growing up in the 70s, furlongs were used all the time in horse racing commentary.

[@Senovitj]

@@saldiven2009 These days those measurements are just interruptions. Miles, yards, feet, pounds and gallons I can understand (daily use the metric system though), those in LOTR I just feel annoyance toward.

[@pw8164]

Everyone disagreeing about the measurement thing... For me, the Gregorian calendar in a fantasy world instantly breaks my suspension of disbelief. Now the measurement units (days, weeks, months, years,) all being the same as on earth, while maybe not "realistic" is truly the only way for the reader to understand the flow of time, so I get past it easily. But the months should not have the same names as they do on earth because that world has an entirely different history than ours. I can also get past distance measurements being the same, but in both cases, I think there are definitely more creative ways to go about describing the measurement that don't take any extra energy from the reader. Most authors just tend not to bother about it. The novel I'm working on right now is limited POV so I really like to challenge myself to only write in words that the characters would say or understand. It's really not that hard, and no one who's read it finds it confusing so far. I realize most readers probably don't care, but I love to get as immersed as possible in the stories and worlds I enjoy.

[@roleplayerchadwick]

There is no such thing as a worldbuilding mistake, but there are narrative mistakes. When worldbuilding, you should focus on the "logic" of the world. The logic is what makes the world believable.

[@LordDany]

Great point

[@woldry3083]

Im one who *prefers* stories with lots of schmerps, history lessons, and 15-syllable names (nothing will make me throw a book across the room harder or faster than a fantasy set in an alternate world or alien dimension or millennia ago where the heroes are named "Bob" and "Mary" and the like, unless it's a situation like Sam < Samwise instead of "Samuel"). I deeply appreciate writers who build rich, coherent, and interesting worlds, even when (maybe *especially* when) the details of the world aren't required by the plot.

[@WindStriker]

This has definitely helped me learn a bit more about world building but I have to know, what was the music you used?

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Glad to hear it! The music is a set of Lofi tracks. You can find Lofi music on Spotify or KZbin if you search for it.

[@AnotherDuck]

I tend to use known concepts in slightly different ways, approximations, or less used. Distances can be measured in days of travel, or paces to walk. I have "beats" (heart beats) for seconds, "tenny" (or "tenday") instead of week, and other things that make sense to modern readers. Instead of schmerps I have variations of real creatures and stuff, like a giant goat as a beast of burden in a mountainous area, or a horse hen for an equally large bird (not actually inspired by a chocobo, but pretty much that). I used to have a different name for elves, but that was always what people were going to think, so I just call them that.

[@madcinder257]

Unexpected decisions and actions from various people, groups, and organizations should be tempered. Don't just do them because you were told you need to do that. It's very easy for that to interfere with the actual story. Especially when every step of the journey has someone the heroes were counting on helping them or at least counting on remaining neutral turns on them, tries to turn them in to the bad guys that are hunting them, or tries to kill them for no discernable reason. This can totally happen, sure, but after the second time it becomes predictable and annoying.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Very valid point!

[@madcinder257]

@@justinfikestorycastle I recently watched a movie where that exact thing happened. Every step along the way, the heroes encountered someone who seemed like they might help, and every single time that person/group turned on them. I was very unenthused.

[@Niam_Haru]

I’m glad I did the opposite then 😂 deception seems to be an interesting plot point for me, but it’s more on humanization than evil (based on manipulation of the person in question)

[@lasombra120680]

Question. If my story has an empire like rome, can I use imperial measurements as some tongue in cheek humor? :) also, KISS philosophy.

[@ilko9992]

Pretty sure the correct answer is you can do whatever you want. Its your world xD also most people dont know roman measurements including me. I only know a league and im not sure if its even roman.

[@traceymayhewauthor]

This was a great video, thank you! The last tip is particularly resonant with me as it's sometimes so tempting to put everything I created on the page!

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I can very much relate to that 😂

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

Id like to say that issue 1 and 2 are not nearly as black and white as you make them seem. There's a big reason why goblins and elves are so common in fantasy despite being so common. It's because the basic idea is so fundamental that it gives the correct idea of what the creature is like, but also gives the freedom to make said goblin something like a mouse that knows how to mug someone or a discriminated, enslaved species that deserves better than they have (my personal choice for my world)

[@sethreyes8988]

I'm just going to throw my protagonist into a generational civil War in a different land he's not from. 😅 As absurd as that may sound right now, That IS the premise of the first leg of his journey. Having the protagonist be confronted with "history in the making" is just a fascinating perspective to me

[@justinfikestorycastle]

A "fish out of water" approach can work really well! It gives you ways to share more information with the readers as the character discovers it themselves. Sounds fun!

[@oldguyinstanton]

This is a very valuable video. Thank you. I particularly liked your point about making sure that your carefully-crafted world doesn't feel like a carefully-crafted world. And I'm desperately trying to be very cautious about my desire to include history lessons. I totally understand your point about shattering the reader's immersion, but at time 5:18 you talk about using familiar measurements. In one sense, doesn't *not* doing so end up creating schmerps? And reader confusion? For example, in my SF novel I have an alien world. When crafting the narration and dialogue, I had to make decisions such as choosing between using "minutes" (which all readers know and understand) and, say, "glooperts" or the alien word for a time span of roughly a minute. I decided that using a familiar unit of measurement was sort of the same type of thing as using "said" in dialogue sentences. It's a "utilitarian" reader cue that is "invisible" to the reading eye. I'd like to hear your counterpoint to this.

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

@oldguyinstanton Alien worlds are always so fun. Largely because you get to make them feel "alien." I haven't had a reason yet to think of terms for time for an alien civilization, but I have given it some thought. It's comforting to use a familiar time measurement so as not to confuse your reader, but it's also too familiar. You might consider that your alien race doesn't even measure time the way we do. Maybe they have a 38 tarlec (or roughly hours) day cycle, which are split into 90 unit (roughly minutes) further divided into 100 picos (roughly secinds). It's a question of what function time (as we think of it) serves in their culture. A long-lived species would have different conceptions of time than a relatively short-lived species. An alien world would also have (potentially) a different rotation cycle. The other option is to just use any time notations with something like 8:23 of Earth time. It's concise and implies that time is potentially measured differently on that world. And yes, the funky sounding time increments are made up for the purposes of this comment.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Yes, it's definitely a balancing act. I do think its worth investing some time and energy to exploring those aspects of your alien culture and language to see what emerges for you, but yes it's important to not overwhelm your readers.

[@ArchmageIlmryn]

I think an important distincition here is whether you have a story that is *entirely* taking place in a fantasy or alien word, or whether it involves characters from a more familiar world interacting with an alien one. The rule of thumb I would use is that if you have a character who would say, in-world "wtf is a gloopert?" then you should use glooperts, if all your characters know what a gloopert is, then you should use minutes instead. The other way I like to imagine it (when writing for my D&D setting) is that I am translating something that would be entirely in a fantasy language into English, and that would include names and measurements.

[@erictolle6847]

A perfect example of a shmerp is this "coffee" stuff. It's processed plant material steeped in hot water- it's OBVIOUSLY tea! So in the future, instead of calling something coffee, call it tea.

[@eprot6170]

No, there is a distinction, since tea uses herbs and leafs, and hot water absorbs the taste of these leafs. Coffee beans are more a fruit then a herb, making it really just bean juice

[@futurestoryteller]

Imagine trying to please a subculture that is equally mad if you refuse to call armored soldiers "knights" as if you choose to call the seventh month on a Calendar "July."

[@paulbeardsley4095]

Good thought-provoking video. I think I would have credited James Blish for "schmerp". Like other people who commented, I tend to disagree about units of measurement. On reflection, I would simply say, don't be TOO modern with your units. Miles and pints, yes. Only use kilometres for alien planets and the Europe of two centuries ago. One thing that really annoys me is when the story is set on another planet and someone refers to "the moon". Yes, the planet COULD have a single largeish moon like our own, but it's much more likely that the author has simply forgotten that the planet is not Earth. This can be dealt with by a passing mention.

[@Lilitha11]

I wouldn't worry too much about modern terms. It might sound weird in some situations, like if you have a caveman talking about measurements in millimeters, and they have no concept of measurements at all. However if the culture has a concept of precise measurements, I see no problem in giving those measurements in modern terms. Especially if it is useful.

[@Majesticon]

These are all good points! BUT i feel like, in my admittedly very limited fantasy reading that 1. Most fantasy writers commit all these sins so to speak ALL the time, from the most popular to the indie ones 2. I think fans of fantasy want all these things yourr talking about! They like things that are tidy and over explained. (Not literary fantasy thiugh, which is a contrast i find fascinating).

[@KarlKristofferJohnsson]

I think I've been pretty good at avoiding these mistakes. Anyway, good video! Thanks!

[@johnduquette7023]

Steven Brust violated the rule about shmurps, but he was clearly very deliberate about it. He did a thing where the culture of the main characters said one thing, and occasionally when dealing with foreigners they use the more familiar terminology. I thought it was well-constructed.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I actually thought about Brust as a counter-point to the generalized princple. You can always find good exceptions, but my take is that anyone who breaks a rule or confounds a principle effectively is only able to do that because they first understood the rule well.

[@sunshinecodex4426]

Thank you this was a terrific video, all the tips were great and I think my favorite was #3.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Great to hear!

[@buttersticks7877]

I have a genuine question regarding a potential schmerp in my story, if anyone would like to take the time to give feedback! My world is entirely subterranean, and their source of light (a colossal fungal fruiting body hidden behind a ring of mountains in the center of the world) is unmoving and unchanging. I needed a good way to tell time that didn't depend on any celestial bodies, and since the world is entirely subterranean with a stable heat and light source in the center, i figured the weather would be quite consistent. so i made a system of time based on rains! now, I've written extensively about the weather as a baseline so that future worldbuilding aspects make sense, but I don't want to get into that. my focus here is on the time system. In this world, a rain happens every two weeks, and lasts about 16 hours (counted separately from the two weeks). five rains (10 weeks) is a squall, and five squalls is a blusting. this evens out to 50 weeks a blusting, just 2 weeks shorter than a human year. BUT!!! the accumulated hours of rains, that extra 8 hours worth a week, accommodates for that, making a blusting actually three days longer than a human year. My question is this: I'm keeping the weather system, so 1) do you guys think it's simple and understandable enough as it is, and 2) if not, what do you guys think I should change about it? i suppose i could use weeks/months/years instead of rains/squalls/blustings, but it also doesn't feel quite right to use the name of a measurement that isn't accurate. I'm also still working out the kinks on smaller units of time- I'd love to use hours, days, and minutes, still, so that readers have a baseline on which to understand the rains system. But i need to figure out a way for the people of my world to initially notate what hours are, and how many hours are in a day. We had the sundial, but they don't. I was thinking something mechanical in nature, like a pendulum kept in motion, so that the people of the world could make clocks. for civilization to truly flourish, time needs to be allocated efficiently, and without a way to tell smaller units of time, there is no way to do so. i figure the rains are a much older, more ancient form of telling time, while clocks, based on one central pendulum swinging constantly, are newer and have provided people with a way to measure the length between/of rains. That way, both measurements of time can coexist, with one being more ancestral and the other being more derivative. what do you think? a thank you to anyone who responds with genuine critique!!

[@alexmcgilvery3878]

It is a useful video for writers, what it comes down to is what serves the story. My goal is to show everything from the character's experience, so it is alway about interaction. Anything that gets in the way of that interaction is problematic. If I have to stop and explain something, It needs rewriting.

[@WlmaAlexender-zl6nx]

What is your advice if the story is that the party visit a place that breaks rules 3 and 4, and that's the plot, because the party recognizes that it is unnatural, and worth investigating?

[@justinfikestorycastle]

That sounds really interesting! Again, every rule or principle always has an exception. So if you have a specific purpose in mind, then explore it and see where it leads.

[@guardiantree8879]

2 actually bothers me. Making up new words for time & distance. Same thing as renaming the rabbit for me. Giving new names for months & days is all good, but new names for hours, minutes & seconds disrupts the reading for me.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Yes there’s been some really good discussion about that in the comments so far. Your approach is what I was trying to emphasize (ie not using overly cultural names for things that feel out of place)

[@ladahieno2382]

Well this is all cool and all but it also feels like you have a very "modern" understanding of world building, I am using modern for lack of a vetter term. Well, I know it's very cliché and an overused argument but, pretty much every point could be overruled by comparison to the world of Tolkien (or even Le Guinn's Earthsea!) Whlist I personally agree with those points (tho only to a certain degree) I cannot agree with the 5th one. In all truth, everything really always depends on what we want to show and convey with the world building, what ideas and messages we wish to send out to the readers. Hell even who I wish to reach with my work will influence which points matter and which don't. Good video tho!

[@justinfikestorycastle]

That’s very true! But from my perspective that’s because I’m trying to give the most generally useful advice for writers who are trying to begin a career, get an agent, etc. All styles and approaches are completely valid, but not all are equally competitive, and even though we still love the classics most readers don’t afford a new author the same amount of patience. But I’m always a huge advocate for writing what inspires you IF you’re being realistic with your expectations for how it will be received by your intended audience. Thanks for the thoughtful comment!

[@Al4___]

I mean the best fantasy writer in the world imo right now, who's made the most compelling world in the last 25 years, literally has a castle named New Castle because it's newly built 😂😂

[@SomeKiwi]

Maybe a slightly different view on your copypasta comments. I was entirely on board with the broad strokes but then you used specific examples of measurement systems that have medieval or even ancient histories themselves! Meters, degrees centigrade / Fahrenheit, coordinating meetings down to the minute - these are all massively anachronistic to me in fantasy. But yards, miles, dates, and times of day (midday, afternoon, etc) are all totally reasonable to me in fantasy. I do weirdly feel like feet would make me think of dungeons and dragons and that would pull me out of it however…

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Absolutely. There’s been some great discussion around exactly that in the comments if you’re interested

[@seanmalloy0528]

Ever read the series "Codex Alera" by Jim Butcher, if so, what did you think?

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I have, and I remember really enjoying it! I had a few critiques towards the ending but overall I thought it was excellent. I’m a long term fan of the Dresden files, too.

[@seanmalloy0528]

@@justinfikestorycastle I mildly wish that the Codex Alera books were made into comics like The Dresden Files was

[@justinfikestorycastle]

That would be sweet! Maybe we’ll get a kickstarter for that soon 😂

[@Raptanax]

I use random numbers to create my fantasy worlds. True, this is for games and not books, but I get to explore the world together with my players and we have to figure out how things work together. For each of my worlds I roll up history and lore that even I don't see all of it. I reveal it as needed for the players, and often we discover it together. Sometimes retconning is needed. When I find a lore bundle that I mostly like, I copy it in and run with it. I don't usually examine every bit of, but it's there in case I need it.

[@Harbinger359]

Great example of a schmerp: I just started reading The Dwarves by Markus Heitz, and I think it is good so far, but the use of "cycles" in place of days or years is incredibly distracting. I think he means years by it, but the fact that I keep having to remind myself which cycle he's talking about is annoying enough that it shatters immersion every single time. Which sometimes makes for multiple times a page. Measurements of time are all measuring cycles anyway! Not quite the same, but I get what you're saying about dates. Still, it's a similar problem unless you give the reader a lesson on how your calendar works, which breaks the history lesson rule. If it's not relevant to the story I think you just have to bite the bullet on that one; months, days, weeks, the seasons, and their names are all familiar to us, so it gives us a quick point of reference we don't really have to think about. Only possible way around it is to be really, really obvious with the namesso people get it at a glance. Like Elder Scrolls has "Frostfall". Not sure which month that's supposed to be, but I know what to expect from it.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Those are both great examples, thanks!

[@mouserr]

the problem with your '5th mistake' falls on some stories as a game ender for some concepts that could be interesting when done right and with an actual purpose not just a lore or info dump. im working on a story that requires history to be explained to a degree because that history is directly related to the story as a whole and without knowing at least the basics the reader will have no understanding of why the world is as it is id say no unjustified history lessons would be a better way to name the error

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I get that! But other people can't just read your outline, unfortunately :). My advice if you're having trouble getting going is to choose a scene or situation that really excites you and write that, then move to another one, and so on.

[@haidner]

The Silmarilian is just ine big history lesson. 😅

[@justinfikestorycastle]

True but that actually kind of makes my point in that even among big LoTR fans it’s generally less popular and even during the height of the franchise when the movies were coming out it never really clicked more broadly because it was harder for people to engage with as a story.

[@haidner]

@@justinfikestorycastle Yup. I totally understand. I was that weird kid who enjoyed it in elementary school.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Oh yeah I really enjoy it too! I just don’t think it’s a good model for a new author to try to follow today 😂

[@haidner]

@@justinfikestorycastle yeah, definitely not for a new author. 😁

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

Is worldbuilding for a story very different from a worldbuilding for a tabletop RPG in your opionion?

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I think it is because an rpg campaign is typically more narrow in focus, but I think it depends a lot on what kind of game your group enjoys. If you have a bunch of heavy role players who enjoy getting immersed into the world and story then I think the tips from this video would absolutely apply.

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

@@justinfikestorycastle And if you write a setting book not for a particular group?

[@justinfikestorycastle]

@@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842 Yes, I've done that before for the game I ran in an original setting, and then fleshed it out and added to it as the group went to new places.

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

@@justinfikestorycastle I see! I was trying to imply out it could be an interesting conversation/video comparing and differentiating the two. Worldbuilding for a story focuses on the needs of the story (plus, how much of the nerds your readers are 😁) that you want to tell. Campaign setting worldbuilding creates tools for GMs and players, both to help them tell the stories of the world (lore, legends, cultural and personal background), to answer the players questions about the world, to predict how the world would react to the events and players' actions and other various elements of the emergent storytelling, the RPGs are known for.

[@sergioalcantar3290]

Helpful, thanks.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

You’re welcome!

[@thenecromancer8805]

People often make the mistake of building the world and then the story, instead of building the story and using it as the outline for how the world works. In my experiences as a writer / game dev, it's much easier to remain consistent when you build the world around the story instead of the story around the world.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I absolutely agree that world building is no substitute for story. I do think the sequence of how you develop things can vary a bit from project to project, and for me personally they tend to influence and interact with each other as I go. But story is king, 100%

[@darkprototype5353]

Ehhh no. Without making a coherent world before you start writing, you end up with a story that doesn't feel grounded. Build the world, then let the narrative unfold in said world.

[@thenecromancer8805]

@@darkprototype5353 The story is the outline for the world, if you are familiar with writing. Then I imagine you understand the comparison I am making.

[@user-li7se1fp1t]

​@@darkprototype5353I agree.

[@chiaridude9098]

Thank you for sharing. ✌️😀✌️

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Of course! I hope it was helpful

[@Hi_im_stefan]

Whoz'this in the beginning 😂😂

[@andreinlocombia]

Now that is some sound advice.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mcgee227]

I actually put indexes in the back of my stories.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Yes that can be really helpful (and fun!) for your readers

[@spacerx]

No copypasta (one of the worst neoligisms ever created BTW). *Robert E. Howard, one of the founders of the fantasy genre as we know it would like a word...

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Every principle has its exceptions, but also id say that “cliche and overly familiar” is one of the main criticisms I’ve seen of the sword and sandals books that followed after him. Totally fair critique of copy pasta though I’m just a nerd 😂

[@Mikeykneeled]

Theme park is really solid and relevant advice for me...

[@justinfikestorycastle]

That’s great! It definitely helps to pay attention to that as you’re writing

[@comentedonakeyboard]

Some of the babarian tribes of the north also want ß, ä, ö and ü in adition to x, y and z.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Ha! Good one

[@SithfruitWatermelon]

Ty 👍

[@timbuktu8069]

My question is this: why have World building at all? Seriously Sure Tolkien and Howard set the mold with Middle-Earth and Hyperborea but the reality is you don't need to have a world to tell a story. Let's take War and Peace. It's set in 1815 Imperial Russia. There are not a lot of people who know anything about 1815 Imperial Russia. The political dynamics of Frances relationship with Russia are only hinted at. The landscape is wide open spaces and harsh winters. They could be describing Oklahoma. And this is a real world. I'm not saying you shouldn't have notes but the story is about Andre, Pierre and Natasha. But back to my question: why have World building at all? Yes it's fun but you can find yourself going down a deep rabbit hole trying to decide how many silvers are in a florin and the current exchange rate with the ducat.

[@viyusavery248]

It's not necessary but depending on the story it can weaken the impact on the audience Can you imagine how dune would not work without it's desert , worms and religion around water ?

[@timbuktu8069]

@@viyusavery248 Well sure and I'm not saying it's not fun. But it can also be scaled back to the bare minimum. Even in Dune you don't need all the biological details of sandworms or whether or not a couple of good ole boys can stop them with a pickup truck and some dynamite, (They picked on the wrong rec room.) sorry-where was I? You need enough information to keep the story moving. Anything more than that is un-necessary.

[@elindis]

World building is one of the draws of the fantasy genre. There are fantasy stories where the setting features are unimportant, but most fantasy readers enjoy exploring imaginative territories.

[@weismanwriter9426]

"you don't need to have a world to tell a story" is such a profoundly incorrect statement. I have no idea where you get this idea from but that's not at all how storytelling works. Worldbuilding exists in literally every single genre, period. Without worldbuilding there is zero substance to a setting, zero immersion. A world cannot exist without its story and the story cannot exist without its world. Especially in fantasy. Are readers supposed to just fill in the blanks for a fictional world that clearly doesn't exist? No. It's the authors job to make sure that the world around the story is as deep, immersive, and outright real as the story they're trying to tell. Having one without the other is the same as cooking a full-course meal and deciding that a key-ingredient was unnecessary.

[@timbuktu8069]

@@weismanwriter9426 "you don't need to have a world to tell a story" is such a profoundly incorrect statement. I'm glad to see you're so enlightened and might I add well read. I could name hundreds of stories that don't require a world. But just for sport and amusement take any Agatha Christie story. Many of them take place in an isolated mansion or an island or a boat. No "world" needed. I have repeatedly said world building is FUN but not needed.

[@weismanwriter9426]

Immediately don't agree with the whole 'schmerp' rule as a whole. I agree with it being unnecessary to give new names to common things like door frames and trees (or things that really don't need new names in general, which is a lot), but for animals it makes zero logical sense for a fantasy world to use the same names for animals of similar biologies to one. It's immersion breaking to read a fantasy story full of magic and then the ecology is literally just Earth's. Fantasy worlds absolutely should develop differently than Earth did, with different kinds of cultures, geographies, themes, ideologies, ecologies etc. Readers will immediately drop your book if the broader view of the setting is different on Earth and then you just have normal horses lol.

[@elchiponr1]

Wut?

[@kit888]

Grangon picked up his blindik and shoveled some mushpit into his mouth. It had been three vulubas since he had eaten. He could get fresh niniboobas in this town. He still had 500 millizooms to spare. A man wearing a green carxis bumped into him. The man drew his lukumen and pointed it at Grangon. Grangon threw his jajhim at the man and snatched his vaaantip from the table, holding it in front of him like a shield. He hoped the feeliwurrz wouldn't get involved. He didn't want to spend the night in the local twerpdoom.

[@elchiponr1]

@@kit888 all he had to eat was the gabagool that his grandmother Carmine had brought by for his son's Bvar Witsma, and that been in the freezer for three mumfs

[@justinfikestorycastle]

I literally can’t think of any major fantasy series that don’t have some real world flora or fauna present, especially horses (game of thrones, mistborn, lord of the rings, wheel of time, etc), so saying that readers will immediately drop your book if you include them is just wrong. That said, it depends on your gorals for the story and what you’re trying to do and what genre you’re writing in. Unusual ecologies and alternate worlds are more common in science fiction, for example.

[@MrWepx-hy6sn]

@@justinfikestorycastle Stormlight Archive was coming to mind but they do have horses. They don't have dogs or cows tho

[@cegesh1459]

5 obvious things....

[@jethrostaz4407]

As one of the dozens of Gygax'athax's in the world I feel personally attacked and deeply offended.

[@justinfikestorycastle]

Haha I honestly wasn’t sure if anyone would catch that. 10 points to you 😂