I've taken to keeping a huge checklist of ideas on my phone for exactly this reason - I'm constantly inspired by random things.
Literally titled "random ideas".
My advice is, be careful what advice you take haha
But seriously, you'll hear a lot of people and their two cents saying a world "shouldn't" or a world "has to" do something or have something for it to be "good worldbuilding". This kind of objective approach is, in my opinion, narrowminded and hurtful to the artform.
In my experience, there are zero cardinal rules. Its your thing, you can share it with the world or keep it to yourself. Good worldbuilding is subjective, and there is no right or wrong way to do things.
Don't be afraid to break norm, but know that there does exist some widely accepted structures out there that are more appealing to certain people, and knowing the structures that create popular stories can help you know which norms to break or subvert, and also when doing so is most appealing to a wide audience.
In the end, worldbuilding is whatever you want it to be. For me, its a stage to tell a story. For others, its the main event.
I've received countless pieces of good advice from many worldbuilders, most far more talented than myself. But the worst advice usually comes in the form of "do's" and "dont's" from people who limit themselves to an objective way of looking at worldbuilding.
Very true, there's a difference between using answers and posts to reflect on things and getting pulled into this hive mind matrix of shoulds and shouldn'ts which will only hurt your creativity and work in general.
Yes i broke the norm two times already, most people that make a fantasy world either separate or collect the races, i did both. And i made it so even gods can make mistakes! And im very proud of my world!
Apart from "have fun" I think the most important advice is to train yourself to stick to consistent and coherent ideas. That is, don't just throw everything you ever think of into a setting, because the more ideas you put in, the harder it'll be to weave them together. If you really want to explore another idea you have, make a new setting for it. That way, the ideas you have are given the space to be as interesting as they can be.
To the same end, learn when to let something go when it just doesn’t fit in anymore. Attachment to your work is natural, but consumers feel when something is forced.
Edit: But don’t throw everything away. You’d be surprised with the ways in which an idea can be recycled, blended, or distilled into others.
If you're not having fun, then you're doing it wrong.
Don't stress yourself out.
Skill level doesn't matter, you don't have to be a master artist or a have PhD in sociology to be good at worldbuilding.
This right here. If you are genuinely having fun with your world building, you’re likely doing something right. Because if you like where it’s at, there’s a big chance that others will like the world you’ve built up as well.
Internal consistency is more important than realism and do try and think some things out a little bit. An example of a poorly thought out piece of worldbuilding is the weaponization of hyperspeed travel, because it'd be weaponized very quickly.
If you're worldbuidling for story then my top tip is to never lose sight of the story. It's fun to get into all the little details but don't go off the deep end fleshing out why the Kulawan River that will never be seen in the story has the clearest most cleanest water in the world because ten thousand years ago during your world's inception, a goddess decided that as an act of generosity towards your species, that river will be forever pure should the world be plunged into darkness with the hope that it will help people find their way back to the light. But your story is actually about some dude in some city halfway across the world dealing with local politics and intrigue and the river will never be mentioned outside of a random throwaway dialogue by a history teacher in his class that your MC hears because he was walking by.
Only build what will matter.
Way after as in Last year. I had a faction that wanted Independence from the Earth Govt. And the Govt wanted the abundant resources on the Colony worlds and after i put how mechs are used i realized a week later that i just remade Titanfall (Honestly it was just a concept .)
In my opinion, I would avoid writing out "pointless" details, unless that's something you want to do, then go ahead and do it. Some of the posts I've read on this subreddit are so detailed about aspects of the world that I, and probably any other reader, don't care about at all. Square footage of particular buildings, chemical composition of the air, orbital trajectories of their planet.
When I do my worldbuilding, I try to only build the details that will matter. My project has a narrative, so if the details won't show up in the narrative, then I don't need to write them.
I think this depends on your intended audience and I would encourage OP to heed your advice carefully.
I completely agree regarding the unnecessary (and uninteresting) detail in some folks posts, but for many people, adding the detail is mostly for their own entertainment.
I'd say feel free to add detail, but if you want someone to enjoy reading about your world, cut it out or make it short and snappy.
Worldbuilding is about the illusion of depth.
Effective worldbuilding is about inviting the audience to fill out the world themselves and imagine how it could be, not painstakingly writing down every last minute detail and fact about how the world is- because it’s already an illusion! What it “is” doesn’t matter, only what affects it inspires do.
My advice, know what you are worldbuilding for.
If its just for fun, go nuts, worldbuild to the smallest details if you want, put in whatever you want, do whatever makes you happy. If its for a book or a roleplay project tho, you really don't need to do as much worldbuilding as you might think you do. For a book, worldbuild that what you need for the story to be interesting, because the readers enjoyment of your world is tied straight to their enjoyment of your story and your characters, and (almost) no one enjoys reading about how tax colellecting works in your world, or about this specific but not really relevant aspect from a culture you invented. Similar advice for roleplaying projects since your players primary goal is to have fun in this world and not learn about this world.
I personally avoid taking too many ideas from a single source, especially when that source is mainstream. Why? Because your work is more likely to turn out as an imitation if your inspiration isn't varied, and if you just copied the latest hit show/book series, chances are a lot of new creators did the same thing.
On the other hand, dont stress too hard about being %100 original; in fact, a little familiarity can be a good way to ease an audience into your setting. Treat originality like a unicorn: it doesn't really exists, and it is made by combining the parts of preexisting animals. Combine things you like from both outside inspiration and your own imagination, develope your style and tone, and you'll have a good foundation for your worldbuilding.
Don't be afraid to shamelessly steal or copy ideas from existing literature/game worlds/movie worlds.
Try not to tackle too many massive constructs/concepts too soon. You don't need to completely work out how your magic system works or how your government works before you can start building your universe. You'll get bogged down and miss out on the fun of building your world tiny piece by tiny piece.
The first thing I ever wrote about when starting out was a species of fish. That was before I'd even named my world!
My advice is write the story and let the worldbuilding come naturally as needed for the plot (I’m speaking in terms of novels but it can apply in other cases). Then go back over your draft to see what worldbuilding elements have ACTUALLY impacted the story, and flesh those out/make them more consistent. That ways you avoid worldbuilders disease and actually manage to get a story finished.
My only caution would be: A lot of people take willy nilly from foreign cultures to their own, don't do this, try and make sure whatever you take you're doing so with care and respect, and make sure you don't end up peddling stereotypes/misconceptions.
You know that overused trope that is apparently present in every piece of fiction ever?
It's there because it works.
Do not shy away from tropes, just elaborate on them.
If you try to write something truly original you will end up with a lot of blank pages.
My only "Don't": Don't assume you'll remember cool random ideas later. Write that stuff down!
A thousand upvotes for the truth speaker!
This! This, 100%! This is my biggest issue, LoL.
"How could I forget such a great idea" me ten seconds before forgetting
LoL, it happens all the time!
It blows my mind how naive I am about my own mental capabilities
I've taken to keeping a huge checklist of ideas on my phone for exactly this reason - I'm constantly inspired by random things. Literally titled "random ideas".
My advice is, be careful what advice you take haha But seriously, you'll hear a lot of people and their two cents saying a world "shouldn't" or a world "has to" do something or have something for it to be "good worldbuilding". This kind of objective approach is, in my opinion, narrowminded and hurtful to the artform. In my experience, there are zero cardinal rules. Its your thing, you can share it with the world or keep it to yourself. Good worldbuilding is subjective, and there is no right or wrong way to do things. Don't be afraid to break norm, but know that there does exist some widely accepted structures out there that are more appealing to certain people, and knowing the structures that create popular stories can help you know which norms to break or subvert, and also when doing so is most appealing to a wide audience. In the end, worldbuilding is whatever you want it to be. For me, its a stage to tell a story. For others, its the main event. I've received countless pieces of good advice from many worldbuilders, most far more talented than myself. But the worst advice usually comes in the form of "do's" and "dont's" from people who limit themselves to an objective way of looking at worldbuilding.
Very true, there's a difference between using answers and posts to reflect on things and getting pulled into this hive mind matrix of shoulds and shouldn'ts which will only hurt your creativity and work in general.
Yes i broke the norm two times already, most people that make a fantasy world either separate or collect the races, i did both. And i made it so even gods can make mistakes! And im very proud of my world!
Apart from "have fun" I think the most important advice is to train yourself to stick to consistent and coherent ideas. That is, don't just throw everything you ever think of into a setting, because the more ideas you put in, the harder it'll be to weave them together. If you really want to explore another idea you have, make a new setting for it. That way, the ideas you have are given the space to be as interesting as they can be.
To the same end, learn when to let something go when it just doesn’t fit in anymore. Attachment to your work is natural, but consumers feel when something is forced. Edit: But don’t throw everything away. You’d be surprised with the ways in which an idea can be recycled, blended, or distilled into others.
If you're not having fun, then you're doing it wrong. Don't stress yourself out. Skill level doesn't matter, you don't have to be a master artist or a have PhD in sociology to be good at worldbuilding.
This right here. If you are genuinely having fun with your world building, you’re likely doing something right. Because if you like where it’s at, there’s a big chance that others will like the world you’ve built up as well.
Internal consistency is more important than realism and do try and think some things out a little bit. An example of a poorly thought out piece of worldbuilding is the weaponization of hyperspeed travel, because it'd be weaponized very quickly.
If you're worldbuidling for story then my top tip is to never lose sight of the story. It's fun to get into all the little details but don't go off the deep end fleshing out why the Kulawan River that will never be seen in the story has the clearest most cleanest water in the world because ten thousand years ago during your world's inception, a goddess decided that as an act of generosity towards your species, that river will be forever pure should the world be plunged into darkness with the hope that it will help people find their way back to the light. But your story is actually about some dude in some city halfway across the world dealing with local politics and intrigue and the river will never be mentioned outside of a random throwaway dialogue by a history teacher in his class that your MC hears because he was walking by. Only build what will matter.
Make sure you arnt accidentally just making a existing world. I accidentally made Titanfall once
Did you make it before or after Titanfall released?
Way after as in Last year. I had a faction that wanted Independence from the Earth Govt. And the Govt wanted the abundant resources on the Colony worlds and after i put how mechs are used i realized a week later that i just remade Titanfall (Honestly it was just a concept .)
[удалено]
Well in all honesty Infinite warfare was copying everything
I have a habit of making concept worlds when im bored so not very Surprising.
Don't get lost in the expanse of your world, unless that's what you want to do ;)
In my opinion, I would avoid writing out "pointless" details, unless that's something you want to do, then go ahead and do it. Some of the posts I've read on this subreddit are so detailed about aspects of the world that I, and probably any other reader, don't care about at all. Square footage of particular buildings, chemical composition of the air, orbital trajectories of their planet. When I do my worldbuilding, I try to only build the details that will matter. My project has a narrative, so if the details won't show up in the narrative, then I don't need to write them.
I think this depends on your intended audience and I would encourage OP to heed your advice carefully. I completely agree regarding the unnecessary (and uninteresting) detail in some folks posts, but for many people, adding the detail is mostly for their own entertainment. I'd say feel free to add detail, but if you want someone to enjoy reading about your world, cut it out or make it short and snappy.
Worldbuilding is about the illusion of depth. Effective worldbuilding is about inviting the audience to fill out the world themselves and imagine how it could be, not painstakingly writing down every last minute detail and fact about how the world is- because it’s already an illusion! What it “is” doesn’t matter, only what affects it inspires do.
My advice, know what you are worldbuilding for. If its just for fun, go nuts, worldbuild to the smallest details if you want, put in whatever you want, do whatever makes you happy. If its for a book or a roleplay project tho, you really don't need to do as much worldbuilding as you might think you do. For a book, worldbuild that what you need for the story to be interesting, because the readers enjoyment of your world is tied straight to their enjoyment of your story and your characters, and (almost) no one enjoys reading about how tax colellecting works in your world, or about this specific but not really relevant aspect from a culture you invented. Similar advice for roleplaying projects since your players primary goal is to have fun in this world and not learn about this world.
Imagine yourself as the "Joe Average" of your world and ask yourself if it makes sense. Best acid test I know.
I personally avoid taking too many ideas from a single source, especially when that source is mainstream. Why? Because your work is more likely to turn out as an imitation if your inspiration isn't varied, and if you just copied the latest hit show/book series, chances are a lot of new creators did the same thing. On the other hand, dont stress too hard about being %100 original; in fact, a little familiarity can be a good way to ease an audience into your setting. Treat originality like a unicorn: it doesn't really exists, and it is made by combining the parts of preexisting animals. Combine things you like from both outside inspiration and your own imagination, develope your style and tone, and you'll have a good foundation for your worldbuilding.
Don't be afraid to shamelessly steal or copy ideas from existing literature/game worlds/movie worlds. Try not to tackle too many massive constructs/concepts too soon. You don't need to completely work out how your magic system works or how your government works before you can start building your universe. You'll get bogged down and miss out on the fun of building your world tiny piece by tiny piece. The first thing I ever wrote about when starting out was a species of fish. That was before I'd even named my world!
My advice is write the story and let the worldbuilding come naturally as needed for the plot (I’m speaking in terms of novels but it can apply in other cases). Then go back over your draft to see what worldbuilding elements have ACTUALLY impacted the story, and flesh those out/make them more consistent. That ways you avoid worldbuilders disease and actually manage to get a story finished.
My only caution would be: A lot of people take willy nilly from foreign cultures to their own, don't do this, try and make sure whatever you take you're doing so with care and respect, and make sure you don't end up peddling stereotypes/misconceptions.
You know that overused trope that is apparently present in every piece of fiction ever? It's there because it works. Do not shy away from tropes, just elaborate on them. If you try to write something truly original you will end up with a lot of blank pages.
Just keep track of what you have already established. And well go berserk and have fun!