WorldCraft Club

People aren’t self motivated so much as faction oriented. Belonging is a powerful part of the human experience whether it’s a family, a guild, a rebellion or bowling league we tend to seek the best for the people we’re closest to. These kinds of ties and relationships can create great conflict and add real depth to your worldbuilding. Seth and James dive into some of their favorite factions and explore how factions answer a deep need in your character building and world crafting. Contact - Join the Club! Become a Patron to get exclusive content, early episodes and a vote in the direction of the pod.Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)TwitterInstagram

Ah yes, the brain melting question of every Worldbuilder. It’s clear that the worldbuilding that inspired 3 generations of writers and Worldbuilders can’t fairly be called bad but all of us can point to moments where it was real hard to call it good. Midichlorians, sar’lacs, the expanded universe, KOTOR, the Force Unleashed, James and Seth dive into the Star Wars Universe in search of an answer to the unanswerable question. Contact - Join the Club! Become a Patron to get exclusive content, early episodes and a vote in the direction of the pod.Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)TwitterInstagram

Fantasy science or deus ex machina? What is magic? Is it a set of physical laws that govern elements of your setting? Is it the unknowable will of the gods? Can it be learned, mastered even? Is it opaque and mysterious? Magic is ever present in fantasy (some would argue it’s the essence of the genre) but grappling with its implications can feel daunting. Seth, Marcos and James do a dive into magic’s uses as a narrative tool, about how it changes a world and shapes your stories. Our intrepid hosts discuss the differences between hard and soft magic and explore some tools that can help uncover your Magic’s narrative purpose and help to give it shape. Big Shoutout to These Great Creators - We were definitely inspired by some of these guys and we wanted to make sure they got a shoutout in our episode description. Fantasy Maps and Worldbuilding On FacebookHello Future Me on soft magicBrandon Sanderson's 3 Laws Contact - Join the Club! Become a Patron to get exclusive content, early episodes and a vote in the direction of the pod.Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)TwitterInstagram

War, war never changes, and it’s everywhere. At least in fiction. When we think about war in stories (except for the most gritty retrospectives) we think about glory, battle and the horrors of conflict but we rarely think about the folks at home and what troops would get up to during downtime. What does an average Imperial in the 41st millennium think of the never-ending war? What is it that drives a population to continue conflicts that may be costing them dearly? In this episode of the WorldCraft Club podcast James, Marcos and Seth talk about the parts of war that are felt in a more subdued and mundane way, the way that many inhabitants of your world will interact with it. This will add depth to your settings where war is a prominent factor. Note: Not gonna lie, this episode is Warhammer 40k heavy, you’re in for a treat. Assorted Links - Smarter Every Day - Nuclear Sub ExplorationLyman Stone on Westeros Demographics Contact - Join the Club!Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)WCC Twitter

Adventure Time and Lord of the Rings obviously have a lot in common, but how much? There is a strong temptation to write worlds that entirely consistent ships in a bottle, where all the details are ironed out. That world, as long as it stays bottled, is perfect. When you put characters in it, though, and start writing your story you’ll find that the ship in a bottle is insufficient and the world must be experienced to truly come alive. Worlds can’t be separated from their audience or their media and as we experience those worlds the unknowns that we see, those dark shapes just beneath the surface of the narrative, drive a sense of wonder which is what draws us deeper into the world. Adrian Gramps and James dive into creating worlds that endure and find that, as ever, narrative and characters are what drive a vibrant world. Assorted Links and References The Argonath - LOTRMichael DC Drout Lecture - How To Read Tolkien Contact - Join the Club!Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)WCC Twitter

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.” Douglas Adams Seriously, he had a point. The amount of space in, well, Space is just mind boggling. In science fiction we need a way to get from point a to point b and we need to break light speed to do that. But we can’t. So what do we do? We either bend physics to go through it like in Mass Effect or we go around (or under) it like in Star Wars or Warhammer 40k. This technological leap is massive, though and we will find that we have our work cut out for us examining its implications. That’s why brought the big guns, Ed Horton joins Seth and James to talk about all things FTL in this exciting episode of The WorldCraft Club Podcast. Where you can find Ed's stuff - Ed's Book Contact - Join the Club!Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)WCC Twitter

The Shaper's World is not limited by standard fantasy tropes or callbacks, it's built on a system of real world physics. You won't find elves or dwarves in The Light of the Outsider. But, what are the pitfalls of creating something altogether different? How do you manage a world where you can't lean on tropes without drowning your readers in endless exposition? The answers to these questions are surprisingly simple and writer, consultant and creative at large Matthew Wayne Selznick has been doing this for years. Today, we learn to trust our audience and follow our passions in worldbuilding to create a world that feels expansive and evokes wonder for a reader. Matthew offers some of the most solid and grounded writing advice we've heard on the podcast to date. Settle in to your comfy chair and listen in on this insightful discussion. Where you can find Matthew's stuff - Matthew's WebsiteLight of the Outsider on AmazonMailing List (Get his first novel free!)FacebookTwitter Contact - Join the Club!Facebook Group (The Collaborators are building worlds!)WCC Twitter

Happy anniversary! It's been one year since we've been publishing content related to Worldbuilding for you! We're excited to continue that journey, but we first wanted to explore the ways we've been learning about worldbuilding. What new tips and tricks have we discussed? What sorts of things are we looking forward to in the future? What is fairy cake and what are believable spaces again? Join us for a time of reflection and setting new goals! Welcome to the Club! Join us on the Worldcraft Club podcast as we dive in to your favorite movies, games, books, and stories to explore the design of their worlds and creative process. We talk about the process of Worldbuilding, the idea of writing and creating a believable space for your story to exist in. Whether designing a new culture to interact with your characters, or placing a setting that ties in closely with your narrative, your hosts Seth, James, and Jonathan are here to discuss the biggest story trends and how their settings bring the narrative to life. Inspire your imagination, learn some tricks to writing, and join the club for your next creative venture. Contact - Join the Club!Facebook GroupWCC TwitterWorldcraft Club Blog

Join us for the whimsical and adventurous tales of Jon, Marcos, and Seth as they explore the deep unknowns of the pulp setting! Will our intrepid archaeologists get lost in an ancient tomb with cursed treasures, or get held up by ne'er do wells as a hardened gumshoe? Join us as we discuss what made Pulp writing a staple of American story telling, and how your worldbuilding can lean into this fun brand of creativity. Welcome to the Club! Join us on the Worldcraft Club podcast as we dive in to your favorite movies, games, books, and stories to explore the design of their worlds and creative process. We talk about the process of Worldbuilding, the idea of writing and creating a believable space for your story to exist in. Whether designing a new culture to interact with your characters, or placing a setting that ties in closely with your narrative, your hosts are here to discuss the biggest story trends and how their settings bring the narrative to life. Inspire your imagination, learn some tricks to writing, and join the club for your next creative venture! Contact - Join the Club!Facebook GroupWCC TwitterWorldcraft Club Blog

What does the WorldCraft Club even do when they're not on air? Why, they build worlds, obviously. Today Marcos and Seth are questioned by James about the worlds they've been making. Seth dives into his digital world of Nova Terra and talks about its origins in the world of programming and testing extreme variables. His world was constructed as the result of a thought experiment, 'how would an AI creating a video game compensate for an extreme outlier?' and from the there the world grew. He talks about the various challenges and benefits of building a world in the GameLit genre. Marcos dives into 'Beyond the Aether' a dungeon punk D&D setting he's now run a few campaigns in. His main vision appears to come from a fever dream he had where paladins with rainbow warhammers astride jet powered dragons rule the skies. In short his world was built from a visual theme that caught his attention and he figured 'why not?' and crafted his psychedelic world from that kernel. Both worlds have their own very unique flavors but, perhaps most importantly, they have different origins. The fairycake (core idea) used to build each of these worlds is vastly different and lead to some fascinating insights into the craft of worldbuilding. So, join us now to have your brain tantalized by some fantastic worldbuilding. Contact - Join the Club!Facebook GroupWCC TwitterWorldcraft Club Blog