"How To Make Your Imaginary World Real"

jannert · Oct 10, 2014

Just ran across a cracking article in Chuck Sambuchino's blog for October 8, 2014. It's written by a guest author, the New Zealand YA fantasy writer David Hair. I think it's well worth a look, as it's a topic which concerns many people here on this forum.

Here's a quote of the first two paragraphs of the article. I'm not sure if the link works, but it's worth a try. If not, just Google Chuck Sambuchino's link to his blog and go from there.

There isn’t a certified qualification or course on world-building (well, not in my neighborhood), but every story requires it. Whether your tale is set in a real place or an imagined one, you need to establish your characters’ world so that the reader can suspend disbelief and fully engage with their story.

Of course, the more differences to our own world you introduce, the more you need to focus on getting those details absolutely right – but you need to do it in such a way that they almost fade into the background so the reader is instead focusing on the characters and the story. You don’t need to explicitly create and explain all aspects of your world in the first couple of chapters. Without some story developing in these chapters your reader may not persevere further into the book. Read more
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peachalulu · Oct 10, 2014

Good article Jannert, thanks for posting!

Ulramar · Oct 10, 2014

If you don't believe in your imaginary world, your reader won't either.

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jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

"How To Make Your Imaginary World Real"

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jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

"How To Make Your Imaginary World Real"

peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

Ulramar Contributor Contributor

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