Mastering Fiction: Worldbuilding

[@wilfarr11]

Just the video I was looking for! Great timing.

[@bradley.p.beaulieu]

Exxxccceelent!

[@stefanwimmer6282]

Wow, very impressive! I think this is the most informative, organically flowing and packed to the brim with useful examples take on world-building that I have encountered on YT up to date. I’m world-building myself at the moment, so this inspired me and kickstarted some approaches that were definitely missing. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, passion and strategies. As you asked for, I’ll happily share a strategy of my own. I like to look (at least briefly) at the way the world, that is home to my story and characters, has come to be. Lots of world building and character ideas tend to appear once I get to face that question. E.g. Is the species of my character/s a native/intruder to the world? Has an outer-worldly power/god created the world or was it natural evolution? Is the world in a stable situation or are we in danger/decline? Are the creators of the world hands on/off? Is there an overarching godly plan the characters are aware of/are oblivious to? & many more… I hope this helps all of you fellow world-building nerds to dream up fantastic new things. Thanks again Bradley, keep up the excellent work and I’ll be excitedly waiting for the videos to come. Cheers, Stefan

[@bradley.p.beaulieu]

Thanks so much for sharing. And yes, I definitely try to delve into a lot of "why is the world this way?" investigations. It opens up a lot of ideas, from further world building to plot to character. And it just makes the world feel richer when written/read.

[@trendane]

When you spoke of using images and such as a touchstone, it reminded me of various times that a song from the 80's with play and, suddenly, I can vividly recall the texture of a model I was building or the smell of a paperback book I was reading when I heard it. Similarly, if I re-read those books, oftentimes many passages will summon the memory of those songs.

[@bradley.p.beaulieu]

Yeah, I've had similar experiences. It's wild how songs, other sounds, smells, etc., can whisk you back to the past. I listened to a few K-pop songs during my last trip to Paris because I knew it would bring me back there when I listened to them. It's fun listening to those songs, now. I'm right back on my walks through the Paris streets.

[@dshiek33]

interesting, I am Panster and have ADHD, so I write as go, but I need to go Planster in some way. I need to remind myself that Scrivener has changed so much from the last time I used it. yeah, being a person of adhd and panster i am a top world builder

[@JeffreyJuanitaTaylor]

Hello Bradley, I just applied for a Master's in creative writing and will hopefully be accepted and join in January. I do have a question, do you have the capacity to teach someone like me? I really want to learn and I am looking for a mentor! I love to write! I know it's bold, but I am asking because I honestly know with some guidance I will help make an impact on the world. Writing quite literally saved my life. If it weren't for God and Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, I would have ended my life. I owe a debt to this community, and I have a passion for it!

[@thomasvaillant7496]

It's funny that you mentioned how naming the horses akhala instead of akhal teke was meant to make them stand out, because in the French translation they're just called akhal teke...

[@bradley.p.beaulieu]

Huh... I didn't realize. That's kind of amusing, actually.