Worldbuilding for Fantasy Fans and Authors

Something a little different for this week, everyone. My work obviously has a strong emphasis on fantastical worlds, and I know there are a fair number of writers or writing-curious people reading along, so it's not rare for me to get questions about worldbuilding, or if I have any sort of guide on the subject. I have never tried to write something like that myself, but today I do have something for you to consider.

If you're looking to think about fantasy in a more analytical way, or to consider your own worldbuilding from new angles, this book is a good place to start:

https://www.amazon.com/Worldbuilding-Fantasy-Authors-Forging-Realms-ebook/dp/B089GKQYVP

There are of course many books about how to write fantasy worlds, many of them with admirable qualities, but what I especially like about this one is that it cites liberally. Instead of trying to create a formula for building worlds out of whole cloth, it gathers ideas from many different sources. Whether it's Tolkien's On Fairy-Stories or NK Jemisin's newest Masterclass, you'll get well-cited thoughts about the subject.

Any single book trying to cover such a large topic will by nature be somewhat introductory, but in addition to being a good foundation, this is also a good jumping-off point due to those citations. If any section catches your interest, you have good leads for going further built into all the sources being integrated.

I wouldn't say this is solely for writers - it's a very readable book, using examples from some of the most popular franchises to emphasize how worldbuilding can be accomplished in different ways. That's another strength: some how-to books fall into the trap of advocating for only a single path, but this book embraces the fact that worldbuilding can exist for different purposes and fill different roles.

Anyway, I hope that has been of interest for this week. I don't know if I can do an update every week, but I have blueprints and the Deathseed cover ready to share, among other vague plans. Thanks for your support during this interim between books!