Quick Link: Going Beyond the Default in Your Worldbuilding

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

World building is the frame that holds a story together. If you have ever gone to a Disney park, you will find yourself in another world. The whole park is framed to provide an unique and delightful experience for the guest. And Walt knew what made this concept so important was the details.  Every nook and cranny of the parks is filled with whimsy that continues to pull you into the world that is specifically Disney.  That is the concept that Juliette Wade is discussing at Janice Hardy’s Fiction University, how to make your story’s setting uniquely yours.

~ * ~

Going Beyond the Default in Your Worldbuilding

June 15, 2016
By Juliette Wade, @JulietteWade

Part of the How They Do It Series

Creating a rich world makes for a great novel, no matter if that world is based on fantasy or the world we know. But all too often, we rely on the default setting for our genre–such as medieval Europe for fantasy–and we rob ourselves of the chance to craft something unique. To share some tips on creating interesting world, please help me welcome worldbuilding guru, Juliette Wade.

Juliette hosts the Dive into Worldbuilding show on Google Hangouts, where she uses her academic expertise in anthropology and linguistics to take discussions of worldbuilding topics beyond the default. Her short fiction explores language and culture issues across the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She has appeared in Clarkesworld, Fantasy&Science Fiction, and Analog magazines.

If you’re a fan of worldbuilding and want to take your skills further, you can also become a part of the Dive into Worldbuilding workshop. Join Juliette’s Patreon and get brainstorming prompts, research links, exclusive peeks into research topics, or even get Juliette to help you with your work directly. https://www.patreon.com/JulietteWade

Take it away Juliette…

Janice asked me to come by and talk about going beyond the default in your worldbuilding. So what exactly does that mean?

To answer that question, let’s start by talking about what “default” means. On your computer, it means an application that your computer opens automatically, without you having to do more than click. In your brain, it means the idea that you go to first, without having to think.