Comments on: How to Write Unforgettable Settings: World Building https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/ Helping writers become bestselling authors Tue, 08 Apr 2025 11:40:37 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: What Killed It For Me #3: Too Much Going On | WRITERS HELPING WRITERSWRITERS HELPING WRITERS https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-54999 Sun, 23 Mar 2014 20:47:11 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-54999 […] 3. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel. As a fantasy author, I know our tendency to go a little crazy with the world building. We’re so into our new world and its uniqueness that we come up with new inventions and new names for everything. But too much of this becomes tiring for readers. If you have a unique element, make sure it’s necessary. Forster’s asars play an important part in the story because they designate which house each girl belongs to. Through this article of clothing, she avoids having to identify each girl’s house when the girls are introduced. So think carefully before coming up with a new form of lighting, time telling, transportation, or messenger service. Keep the unique components that add to your story and stick with what already works for the rest. (For more tips on creating a believable setting, see this post on World Building Rules and Elements). […]

]]> By: Karen Lange https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6328 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:34:57 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6328 Wonderful stuff, as always. 🙂 You guys are such a great resource!
Thanks a bunch,
Karen

]]> By: Matthew Rush https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6288 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:51:20 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6288 Thanks Becca.

]]> By: Laura Pauling https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6284 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:51:37 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6284 Great advice. Especially with a different world. It seems to be such a hard balance between world setting and story, but I know when I’m reading when it’s done right. I don’t notice it! And that’s hard!

]]> By: tracikenworth https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6283 Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:32:42 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6283 My stories are set in a post-apolyptic world of the future. Although, a lot of things are the same, there are, of course, some natural changes. I try and keep it simple and to the point. My characters use a lot of the same devices we have now, with a twist to a few. There are still GPS, cell phones, computers etc. But their workings are a bit different. I try and focus on the uniqueness of the culture my characters reside in. Your tips are very sound and of great use to anyone who wants to deepen their backgrounds.

]]> By: Amos Keppler https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6282 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:57:03 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6282 A fairly thorough work-through this, but most of it is a given.

It’s just like research, in a way, except that you have to research what initially isn’t there.

]]> By: Carol Riggs https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6281 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:01:02 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6281 Hey, good stuff, and very timely for what I’m working on. Thanks!

]]> By: Lindsay N. Currie https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6280 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:37:30 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6280 Excellent post. I agree with your thoughts on leaving bread crumb trails, weaving in bits of your setting and world throughout the story so that it’s evenly dispersed and not smacking them in the head repeatedly in the first chapter only:)

]]> By: The Golden Eagle https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6279 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:12:22 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6279 Thank you for the advice!

]]> By: Stina Lindenblatt https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6276 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:55:27 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6276 Thanks for the great advice! It’ll be helpful for a project I’m planning.

]]> By: Charlie Pulsipher https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6275 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:39:52 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6275 Great advice as always. 23 pages?! I will have to work on my questionnaire. Mine is no where near 23 pages. More like two or three pages of random notes. I yell “bull crap” at movies or tv shows too. My poor wife has learned to deal with my rants when shows veer away from their own rules. I think I ranted about Heroes for weeks…maybe longer.
Funny Stuff I Write

]]> By: Michelle Gregory https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6274 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:34:10 +0000 https://writershelpingwriters.net/2011/01/creating-unforgettable-settings-part-4/#comment-6274 i thought i wanted to write fantasy because i could make up my facts, but my world is still set in an earth-like place, so i still have to put earth elements into it and mix them with magic. now i’m starting to think that writing fantasy is harder than writing non-fantasy.

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