18.43: Worldbuilding in Miniature

If you're writing short fiction, how much of your world do you even need to figure out? Should you have it all written out? Can you just wing it? This week on the podcast, we discuss how much of a world to build for a short story (and how). We provide some guiding questions that you can use to build the world of your novel or short story. We explore different narrative structures, DND worlds without police, and the reader's experience. 

Homework: 

Take a big world-building concept and pick one or two iconic elements that bring it to life. Take one and make it a key part of a short scene.

Get ready for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month! For the month of November, writers all over the world are trying to complete a novel, or write 50,000 words. In honor of NaNoWriMo, all of our November episodes are going to focus on writing a novel or big project.

You don't need to write a whole book, though! We encourage you to work on a smaller project, or simply commit to writing every day.

Thing of the Week:

The Quiet Year (a map-drawing tabletop role-playing game)

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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