#96: 5 Worldbuilding Tips for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2023

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, I’m sharing my top 5 worldbuilding tips for science fiction and fantasy writers, with examples from popular novels. Here's a preview of what's included in the episode:

[02:39] Tip #1—Go narrow and deep in your worldbuilding, not wide and shallow. Pick 2-3 worldbuilding categories to focus on, and only flesh out whatever's relevant to your plot and/or characters.

[05:43] Tip #2—Determine what kind of magic or technology will exist in your story world. Will your magic/tech be used to create and solve problems (hard magic/tech)? Or will it be a bit more nebulous (soft magic/tech)?

[09:20] Tip #3—Avoid generalizations when it comes to the people or creatures who populate your story world. Real people have their own unique worldviews, beliefs, fears, and dreams. So should your population!

[11:21] Tip #4—Your story world needs its own internal logic—for every cause, there’s an effect; for every action, there’s a reaction. Whatever you change in your world, consider the ramifications to build your internal logic.

[12:33] Tip #5—Use your target audience’s age range to help inform your story’s learning curve. In general, middle-grade stories will have a more shallow learning curve whereas adult stories will have a steeper one.

[14:56] Final thoughts and episode recap.

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Ep. 95 - How to Start Writing Your Sci-Fi or Fantasy Novel

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Real quick, my five-day live challenge called Unlock Your Story is about to begin.
0:04.7	We're about to shut down enrollment and get started on September 28th,
0:08.5	so I wanted to give you one last chance to head over to SavannahGilbo.com forward slash
0:13.3	challenge to save your seat before your chance is gone. If writing a novel has been a dream of yours
0:18.0	for a while or something on your to-do list that you'd really like to check off,
0:22.2	then join me inside the Unlock Your Story Challenge, where I'll help you develop the four
0:26.4	foundational elements of a working story idea. A plot that hooks interest at protagonists
0:30.8	with a compelling goal, conflict with high stakes, and a theme with heart in just five days.
0:35.6	It's only $47 to join, but the doors are closing very, very soon. You can either
0:40.2	head to savannagilbo.com forward slash challenge to sign up, or you can find me on Instagram
0:45.1	at savanna.gilbo and send me a DM with the word challenge. If you DM me the word challenge,
0:50.1	I will send you a link with all the details you need to join. Hope to see you there.
0:54.2	If you've ever read the first book in that series, you know that the learning curve is quite
0:58.4	steep. And what I mean by this is you're just dropped into the world right away, and it's almost
1:03.3	as if you have to catch up to what's on the page. And I've seen reviews for this where some readers
1:08.2	felt it was a little too steep and they were confused until they were, you know, a bit farther
1:12.8	on in the story, but that is a series that's meant for adults, so it is appropriate to have a
1:17.8	little bit more of a steep learning curve there. Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy
1:23.4	Podcast. My name is savannagilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works.
1:28.4	I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming.
1:32.0	So each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step
1:36.8	strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing
	...

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