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    World Building 101
    World Building 101
    World Building 101
    Ebook35 pages31 minutes

    World Building 101

    By Julie Ann Dawson

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    About this ebook

    Originally designed for a seminar conducted by author and game designer Julie Ann Dawson at Suny College, World Building 101 provides both writers and RPG designers with an easy-to-follow process through which to create a functional and believable setting. Whether you are creating a small town for your cozy murder mystery or an entire galaxy for your science fiction epic, you'll find the methodology outlined in this book essential to keeping your world building on the right track. Instead of offering a step-by-step blueprint, this booklet provides writers with a new way of thinking in order to make sure that your setting is realistic and consistent. With this product, you will:

    *Learn how to avoid the "kewl" factor that can cripple the functionality of your setting.
    *Develop a clearly defined logic that will help shape your setting in a natural manner.
    *Define the important aspects of your setting that will shape everything from your setting's environment to your characters' belief systems.

    This booklet is divided into five sections. Each section includes short writing exercises to help you put the concepts in this booklet into practice. You'll also be able to follow The Process in Practice as the author summarizes how the original workshop attendees applied the process to their collective world building exercise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBards and Sages Publishing
    Release dateAug 17, 2012
    ISBN9781301085323
    World Building 101
    Author

    Julie Ann Dawson

    Julie Ann Dawson is an author, editor, publisher, RPG designer, and advocate for writers who may occasionally require the services of someone with access to Force Lightning (and in case it was not obvious, a bit of a geek). Her work has appeared in a variety of print and digital media, including such diverse publications as the New Jersey Review of Literature, Lucidity, Black Bough, Poetry Magazine, Gareth Blackmore’s Unusual Tales, Demonground, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and others. In 2002 she started her own publishing company, Bards and Sages. The company has gone from having two titles to over one hundred titles between their print and digital products. In 2009, she launched the Bards and Sages Quarterly, a literary journal of speculative fiction. Since 2012, she has served as a judge for the IBPA's Benjamin Franklin Awards.

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    • 4/5
      World Building 101 has applicable examples and is structured to easily be followed while working on your own world. I gave it four out of five stars because I would've liked to read further about how to avoid creating cliched, overdone stereotypes. It just...ended.

    Book preview

    World Building 101 - Julie Ann Dawson

    World Building 101

    A world development primer for writers and rpg designers

    Smashwords Edition

    by Julie Ann Dawson

    ©2006/2012 Julie Ann Dawson

    Bards and Sages Publishing

    Bellmawr, NJ

    Cover Image by Rick Hershey

    Used with permission

    Digital License:

    This digital booklet is licensed for the use and enjoyment of the original purchaser. Please do not make copies or engage in illegal file-sharing of this product. While we do not rely on DRM, we do employ DAP (Digital Arcane Protection). Illegal file sharing may result in gremlins or other mystical creatures overtaking your computer or ereader. Such infestations would be considered acts of gods and most likely not covered by your warranty. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

    Contents

    Author's Introduction

    Part One: Developing a Clearly Defined Logic

    Part Two: In the Beginning

    Part Three: Developing Your Logic

    Part Four: Building a Civilization

    Part Five: Creating the Crunch

    Author’s Introduction

    This booklet is based off of the course syllabus I created for a workshop on world building I first held at Suny College in Brockport, NY. Over the years, I've used this booklet in a variety of workshops to help writers identify weaknesses in their settings and assist RPG designers with their setting development.

    As an RPG publisher and speculative fiction writer, world building is an essential part of what I do. Whether it is creating an entire new campaign setting or launching a fantasy novel, a functional, believable world is necessary to insure that your audience is willing to suspend belief long enough to appreciate your efforts.

    While this product specifically addresses the unique concerns of creating roleplaying material, the process itself can also be used in speculative fiction writing. This process is just that, a process. It is not an outline or step-by-step set of directions to create a universe. There already exist dozens of resources to take you through the actual mechanics of world creation. Instead, consider it a way of thinking.

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