Why is worldbuilding is essential in your writing? Today, we answer this question and dive into some working definitions of how we want to talk about it. After the break, we discuss why we chose this book Arkady Martine’s “A Memory Called Empire” and highlight what it does well. We dive into the elements that help make Martine’s worldbuilding so accessible and effective.
Thing of the Week:
“Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman (think about what it teaches you about POV!)
Homework:
Pick your favorite fictional worlds and for each write down three defining attributes that establish culture, legal systems, and physical spaces.
Here’s a link to buy your copy of “A Memory Called Empire” if you haven’t already:
https://bookshop.org/lists/close-readings-season-19
Sign up for our newsletter:
https://writingexcuses.com
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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18.38: How Do You Write A Series With Books That Stand Alone?
18.37: Mandatory Failure
18.36: The Soggy Middle Pays the Rent (or, "Stand Alone With Series Potential")
18.35: How to Organize Your Writing, or Managing the Mega-Arc
18.34: Seventeen Years of Foreshadowing
18.33.5: State Of The Podcast
18.33: Deep Dive: The Schlock Mercenary Finale
18.32: The Kirsten Vangsness Expansion Pack
18.31: Getting Personal: Mining Your Life for Themes
18.30: Planting Supernatural Seeds
18.29: Collaboration And Partnership
18.28: Writing Conversational Dialogue
18.27: Framing Stories
18.26: Broadening Your Writing Wheelhouse: Video Game Dialogue, RPG Adventures, & More
18.25: To Narrator or Not to Narrator
18.24: “Dark One: Forgotten” Deep Dive
18.23: Our Advice on Giving Advice
18.22: On Mentorship: Sending the Elevator Back Down
18.21: The Empathy Gap: How to Understand What Your Publisher is Telling You
18.20: So You Want To Work In Publishing?
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