Link Feast For Writers, vol. 19 – World Building
Every writer needs world building (a.k.a. setting), regardless of a genre. Good setting creates and enchances the conflict of the story, and anchors your characters in their world. What characters want and need has no meaning without a context and history.
Hence a big part of the links this week focuses on world building. And well, also because it’s a favourite hobby of mine 😉
You can find the regular features (writing, author platform, deep stuff etc.) when you scroll down further. Happy browsing.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing:
More than Magic & Gadgets–Taking Science Fiction and Fantasy to Another Level by Kristen Lamb
World Building
How Much World Building Should You Do Before Writing the Novel? by Lynn Viehl
Building a World from Top-Down, Bottom-Up or Sideways by Sofie Bird
World Building Do’s by Lynn Viehl
World Building No No’s by Lynn Viehl
The Elevator Speech For Your Setting by Berin Kinsman(After the first paragraphs the advice might not be 100% applicable to writing since it’s aimed for roleplaying games)
Information Density, or, Cramming a Fifty Pound Sausage in a Five-Pound Sack (Swan Tower)
Creating a Story Bible by Suzanne Johnson
Your Writer’s Bible by Sofie Bird
World Building Questions by Patricia C. Wrede
Building Secondary Worlds by Mark Charan Newton
Using Tarot Cards to Create a World by Raeyn Barclay
Drawing Inspiration From Further Afield: Fantasy Set In Non-Western Cultures by Aliette Bodard
World Building 101 by Charlie Stross
World Building Heuristics by Charlie Stross
“The ratio of the near future is: 90% of it is just like today, 9% is stuff that is on the drawing boards, and 1% is unutterably strange and alien and unexpected.” – Charlie Stross
World Building: Psychology by Charlie Stross
World Building: The Unknown by Charlie Stross
Lost and Found: The Orphaned Hero in Myth, Folklore, and Fantasy by Terri Windling
Overused Tropes of Fantasy (Roleplaying Tips)
Medieval Demographics Made Easy. Numbers For Fantasy World
9 to 5: Character Jobs in Fantasyland by S.B. Stewart-Laing
10 Divine Concepts (Roleplaying Tips)
Magic? It’s Complicated (Old Words for Old Worlds)
Sanderson’s First Law of Magic by Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson’s Second Law of Magic by Brandon Sanderson
Magic Systems by Juliette Wade
How To Keep Your Story’s Superpowers/Magic Extraordinary by B. McKenzie
On Writing
Reading Like a Writer by Patricia C. Wrede
Making the Most of Ideas – The Fear by David B. Coe
Story Elements Checklist by Alexandra Sokoloff
Complicated Webs & Pacing by Patricia C. Wrede
Micro & Macro Levels of Writing by Patricia C. Wrede
Deep Characters For Plot-First Writers by Suzanne Johnson
6 Tricks Movies Use To Make Sure You Root the Right Guy by C. Coville at Cracked.com
Making Your Book Memorable: Creating Moments by Roni Loren
Michael Hauge’s Workshop: An Antidote To Love At First Sight by Jami Gold
Michael Hauge’s Workshop: Are These Characters the Perfect Match? by Jami Gold
5 Ways To Respect Your Writing by Krissy Brady
Why Write Short Stories by Sandra Wickham
Idea Prompt: Fairytale/Myth + Genre/Setting by Sofie Bird
Stand Out In The Slushpile: Some Basic Tips by Erika Holt
Author Platform, Blogging & Social Media
How To Create Your Own Brand & Find Your Voice by Marie Forleo (5:08 min video)
Digital Self-Publishing Checklist by Lori Devoti
Advertising Your Freebie eBooks by Karin Cox
Building a Following: The Four Types of Bloggers by Roni Loren
Why I Quit Blogging (and What To Do If You’re Struggling) by Jon Morrow
5 Ways To Systemize Your Blogging by Nick Thacker
How To Legally Use Your Own Photos On Your Blog by Melinda Van Lone
8 Ways To Grow Your Social Media Footprint by Jenny Hansen
How To Build A Rabid Following On Twitter To Promote Your Blog Posts by Jon Morrow (4:56 min video)
Facebook For Authors: Understanding EdgeRank by Chris Robley
Collected Wisdom
Twitterific by Elizabeth Spann Craig (August 12)
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (August 10)
World Building Resources by Juliette Wade
(In case you are wondering, there are no links to Gene Lempp’s Blog Treasures and Roni Loren’s Friday Features this week because those formats were on a short break)
Deep Stuff
5 Important Things I Learned Teaching Autistic Kids by Jenny Hansen
Modern Heroes by Kim Vandervort
Sisterhood by Karin Rita Gastreich
Chasing a Storm & Finding One Inside by Lara Zielin
Fun Stuff
Behold Fantastic (Pinterest boards for lovers of history and fantasy)
Immortal Monday: Death Deities & Meg Cabot’s Abandon by Debra Kristi
10 Fantasy Must Reads by Patricia C. Wrede
When Giants Walked the Earth by Ash Silverlock
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Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Immortal Monday and the Myth of Louhi: The Sorceress of the North | Debra Kristi's Blog - [...] to hand the reins over for the day. If you aren’t familiar with Reetta and her fabulous Link Feast, I…
- Link Feast, vol. 25 – NaNoWriMo Special | Reetta Raitanen's Blog - [...] World Building Link Mashup by me [...]
- World-building toolkit « amuteforamuse - [...] Link Feast for Writers, vol 19 – World-building [...]
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About Reetta
I'm a Finnish fantasy / urban fantasy writer who loves reading, roleplaying and all things medieval. 
Thanks for the links to my blog! I love coming to your link roundups. I always find the best stuff. 🙂
Jami Gold recently posted..The New Publishing Paradigm, Part Two: What Value Do Publishers Add?
Thanks, Jami. I loved the romance tips you shared. I got a huge eureka.
Sweet lady! Thanks for the shout out on my autistic kids post. I enjoyed writing that one. 🙂
Jenny Hansen recently posted..Wishing Y’all A Belated National Underwear Day!
Holy cowbell, I just saw that you linked to my social media post on Writers in the Storm too! You are just full of awesomesauce. Thanks again, Reetta!
Jenny Hansen recently posted..Undie-Shooters Have Made the WANAPanties Parade List!
Your blog is so full of good stuff that it’s hard to choose what to feature 🙂
What a fabulous roundup! Thanks so much for including my blog in the list!
Raelyn Barclay recently posted..Video I Love: The Fool’s Journey
Thank you, Raelyn. I really enjoyed all your Tarot posts.
Thanks for including me. I’m so not deserving. Once again you have a ton of things I need to read. Why do I need to sleep?
Fun fact: I’m planning on highlighting your link feast on my sidebar when I get organized. I need to find someone to set up my site. I’m so lost over there. 🙁
Debra Kristi recently posted..Vampire Truths on Immortal Monday
Aww, thank you so much, Debra. I hope you’ll find someone to help you out. Websites can be confusing even if you know your way around a little.
Thanks for linking to my blog! Your readers might also like my series of reports on worldbuilding topics, which can be found here: http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/12/series-worldbuilding-hangouts-on-google.html The list includes Gender, Manners, Colonialism, Economics, Language Design, Pets, and many other topics.
Juliette Wade recently posted..I finished my revisions! And the nerves are ramping up…
Dear me! I just noticed you already had it, later in the list. Sorry about that, and thanks again!
No worries 🙂 Your worldbuilding links are a great resource. Thanks for dropping by.