In realistic fiction, the writer can let the reader assume that the world works the way our own world works. World building exercises in science fiction litreactor. Pdf worldbuilding in science fiction, foresight, and design. Banks researching science fantasy sharon baker june 2015. It doesnt matter if youre writing short fiction, an episode of a web or television series, or the screenplay for a major motion picture, you need to be able to create worlds that your readersviewersaudience would want to. The ultimate list of 42 worldbuilding resources the dabbler. Read books worldbuilding science fiction writing by gillett, stephen 1996 ebook textbooks. I will abbreviate this collectively as sff, for science fiction, fantasy, and other. Even if the world in your writing is another planet or version of reality, use specific elements from your daily life such as sensory details or cultural concerns. This book is designed to give science fiction writers the solid grounding they need in real science to make their fictions read like fact.
As an undergraduate, he received the hopwood short fiction award from the university of michigan 1976. Building settings this article goes through many different ways writers can play with science fiction worlds, and provides examples for. How to create immersive worlds for sciencefiction and fantasy. Lastly, when someone is approaching writing a science fiction novel, especially if its the first time theyve written in the genre, world building is crucial but its a bit of a chickenandegg story. Writing good science fiction or fantasy requires strong worldbuilding skills. However you shape the world comes back to shape you. The following list of questions is meant to aid authors of fantasy fiction who are seeking to create believable imaginary settings for their stories. How to create realistic fantasy and science fiction settings. Ten great examples of science fiction world building. The scriptorium world building basic worksheet science fiction. As a science fiction fan, i love to be transported into new and fantastical worlds. The worldbuilding practices of science fiction authors have the potential to play a key.
Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task for many science fiction or fantasy writers. These are questions to get you thinking about the world you are creating and the beings that inhabit it. It can also exist outside the realm of scifiliterature and rpggaming. Get an adfree experience with special benefits, and directly support reddit. This book, written by a scifi author with a phd in geology, is explicitly targeted at science fiction writers and covers worldbuilding. Obviously, science and technology loom large in science fiction but that doesnt mean you need a ph.
I found orson scott cards book on writing science fiction and fantasy to be illuminating. Are the laws of nature and physics actually different in this world, or are they the same as in real life. Im a writer and writing teacher and have been doing both for a very long time. World building science fiction writing pdf free download. Worldbuilding guide for writers and world builders part 1. In science fiction, the world or setting of the story can be strange and unfamiliar.
Well i tend to do most of my science fiction based either on places ive been, or places ive lived basically my whole life. Is it world building, characters, plot what comes first. Novelists of science fiction or fantasy know worldbuilding is a huge part of the fun of writing, from magical medieval worlds to apocalyptic dystopias. Worldbuilding for fantasy and science fiction jericho.
Brand new for 2016 are brandon sandersons writing lectures at byu. There might be historical or cultural differences, but water still flows the way it flows, fire burns, rocks roll down hills, etc. World building is a major focus when writing in the science fiction and fantasy genres and all their subgenres, like space opera, cyberpunk. Professor hynes is also a media and literary critic. This sheet is intended to be used by people who want to create a historical, fantasy or science fiction world for role playing or writing. Its the very essence of any good fantasy or science fiction story, and the basis of a sense of place in other genres.
World building for fantasy questions fantasy is a genre that includes magical elements or a supernatural humanoid racesspecies such as elves, vampires, dwarfs, and fairies and that means it needs a set of world building criteria that differs from the above. When youre writing, the plot and the worldbuilding are so tightly linked that they cant be separated. Writing science fiction or fantasy is like riding that unicycle up there while juggling five red rubber balls. The necessity of using real science to create a sense of wonder in your. This 20 page downloadable guide will come as a fillable pdf file. In both fantasy magic and science fiction technology, the rules for how things work are entirely yours to create. My problem is not with nonrealist writing, but in applying the rules of certain types of science fiction and fantasy to all types, and beyond. Brenda clough is writing a fourpart series on scifi and fantasy worldbuilding for career authors this summer. How to create a believable world for your characters. Its been described as being like another character in the story, and the plot can be decided by the world in a way that it may not be in realist fiction. So things like government, currency, military, and everything else is the same. Worldbuilding science fiction writing, by stephen gillett how to write science fiction and fantasy, by orson scott card the writers complete fantasy reference, by writers digest. This 20page downloadable guide will come as a fillable pdf file.
The creation of new worlds and new universes has been a key element of science fiction and fantasy. Religion how does religion exist in this world, if at all. Whether youre writing science fiction or fantasy youre going to have to look at creating a unique world for your stories to take place in. The subject is our favorite example of worldbuilding. Worldbuilding in science fiction, foresight and design journal of.
Whether youre a debut author, a seasoned novelist, or simply looking to flex your creative muscles, writing prompts are an great way to maintain a writing. Writing fellowship from the iowa writers workshop at the university of iowa 19881999 and a michigan council for the arts writers grant 1984. Yet in spite of the variances, romance, on the whole, is also fairly universal, and a large part of that is due to the authorial commitment to. Best fantasy and science fiction writing prompts of 2020. It is comprehensive in its description of the physics of star and planet formation and will tell you everything you need to know and possibly more than you want to know about astronomy, planetology, astrophysics, and chemistry. Worldbuilding is so much more than just a framing device. This is a brand of writing with a particular basis in technological fact. Worldbuilding is the volume in the science fiction writing series edited by ben bova devoted to constructing star systems and lifesupporting planets. The scriptorium world building basic worksheet science fictionfantasy. Writing worksheet geography pdf this 4page worksheet will be most useful to science fiction and fantasy writers, but even if youre writing within the confines of our world, its worth giving geography some thought. Wrede on writing pats blog fantasy worldbuilding questions. When it comes to the sciencefiction and fantasy, there are some key world building elements to consider in addition to the above. Now, to be perfectly clear, the list is in no particular order.
Today, i want to talk about world building, specifically in genre fiction. But i dont imagine ken folletts ever going to write a book about writing fiction because. World building science fiction writing stephen gillett. Theres something wonderful about writing brave new worlds. World building in horror, occult, and fantasy w riting marion zimmer bradley sword and sorcery, dragon and princess darrell schweitzer science fiction. In order to touch on various mediums, each one of these examples is a novel turned into film. Good worldbuilding lends an immersive richness to your writing, while also giving readers the information they need to understand characters and plotlines. Pdf for printing out at home or reading on a computer. You set the rules, and those rules can be anything, but once you set those rules, its essential that you follow them, or give your readers some good, storyrich reason for why the rules have changed.
The atlas as a visual form of knowledge and narrative paradigm in. Good worldbuilding lends an immersive richness to your writing, while also giving readers the information they need to understand characters and plot lines. Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a whole fictional universe. While many of these questions may be helpful or crucial to certain stories, they will not all apply to every.
Writing a novel requires more than good writing chops and fancy literary devicesyou need solid worldbuilding in order to craft a realistic image for our readers and youve heard the word world building being tossed around a lot, especially in association with the science fiction and fantasy genre. I am taking part in a mindmeld post over at later this week. It is meant to be used as a checklist, to make sure that you have the most important areas covered and to. The following is a collection of 5 of the best examples of worldbuilding possible. Worldbuilding is a term youll hear from a lot of writers especially when youre talking about the science fiction and fantasy genres. Saint joan of new york is the latest book from mark alpert, published by springers science and fiction series. The resulting world may be called a constructed world or conworld. If you arent familiar with sff, there are several recommended starter titles herein. As a scifi screenwriter, im jenna avery explores the challenges of world building when creating your sci fi scripts. Download books worldbuilding science fiction writing. Writing great fiction folsom cordova unified school district. Another element that is often different from fantasy world building is your science fiction story can ask. Mine centers largely around the worldly karmatic principle two years in the future. World building and metafiction in contemporary comic books 304.
Gillett has a doctorate in geology, was the science columnist at amazing science fiction and has written sf under a pseudonym. World building is a blueprint in words, calculations, tables and diagrams to help writers transport readers from one world to another. Building sciencefiction worlds find, read and cite all the research you. World building is important in any story, but with science fiction its of particular importance. The importance of worldbuilding in scifi and fantasy. Its challenging, but thats what makes it the circus. Some people will argue, tautologically, that all fiction takes place in a world and thus all fiction worldbuilds. I dont ask that you take what i say to heart, but it you keep reading, you might learn something. This particular category of fiction is home to a number of different subgenres, from historical to contemporary to scifi to fantasy to steampunk to paranormal to monsteralien, and the list goes on. This originally was created as a writing course and now exists as both a website and an ebook, so you can download a copy and take it with you for writing on the go. Science can often be stranger than science fiction, so begin with established scientific understanding, then see where your story goes from there.
The ultimate in worldbuilding was probably lord of the rings, for which j. The trans media archeology, storytelling in the borderlines of science fiction, comics and. Mobi for use with kindles and mobipocket software as of 2007, the worldbuilder exercises are licensed under a creative commons license to help you in. Writing a fantasy novel useful resources now novel. This will help make sure that readers can at least partially picture the scifi world and relate to it. Most of history and politics is influenced by peoples need to gather and guard the natural resources that they collect from the earth. Its about a modern joan of arc, a teenage genius who believes shes been chosen by god to reveal the mathematical design of the universe.