Writers in the Storm

by Janet Forbes

It’s called the worldbuilding trap.

Worldbuilders disease.

In fact, it seems like worldbuilding is Public Enemy #1 amongst writers. 

But why?

Some of the biggest, best, and most memorable books - especially, but not only, books in genre fiction - are steeped in worldbuilding. And strong settings are the reason fans buy not just sequels, but lorebooks and artbooks of their favorite novels, video games and TV series. 

It’s why there are so many Lord of the Rings spinoffs. 

And dammit, it’s why I know Klingon.

Whatever your genre, your readers want to escape to the place you’ve created. They want to immerse themselves in your book, open the cover like they’re pulling the duvet over their heads, and revel in your world setting. Worldbuilding, then, is just about the most important thing for a writer, especially of genre fiction. So why do some writers seem to hate it so much?

Here’s my spicy take…. Worldbuilding gets a bad rap because authors don’t know how to handle it.

Worldbuilding has been framed

Worldbuilding in your novel is the egg in your souffle. If it’s well balanced, well-mixed, it makes everything work better. If it goes wrong, it leaves everything smelling of farts. 

And it’s particularly a problem in genre fiction. Here’s why.

As fantasy and scifi developed as genres, prologues that told you ALL about the world were common. Told. As in, the opposite of Show-Don’t-Tell.

Large, dull paragraphs of exposition-dumping (often using Butler-and-Maid style dialogue) were also common, as authors struggled to convey information about their fascinating new world settings using less-than-stellar methods.

Authors who’ve read a lot of older genre fiction, and those who are younger in their craft, often fall into these mistakes. And it makes people hate worldbuilding.

But as always, it’s clunky writing that’s the real villain here. 

Worldbuilding has been framed. 

Worldbuilding Exposition - how to get it right?

OK, so if you’re still following my metaphor, how do we remove the eggy smell from our souffle?

There are two main ways to do this. 

1. Baking in the worldbuilding to our core elements
2. Making sure new information is in motion, and emotional

Baking the Worldbuilding into your souffle book

Somewhere in your novel writing process, you’ll have figured out the three basic elements - setting, characters and plot. 

The trick to a strong novel is to make those things knit together beautifully. It’s time to break out my favourite saying:

“Your setting is the tapestry across which your story is told, weaving through your characters & plot.”

Janet Forbes

The reason for that eggy worldbuilding smell is usually because the setting is tacked on as an afterthought. Let’s add some pointy ears and a weird religion to this character. Yup - that’s definitely going to smell by next chapter.

Instead, use your characters and your locations as vehicles to convey the intricacies of your world.

For characters, consider building in:

• Unique backgrounds that give insight into your wider setting
• Taboos and morals influenced by, or in reaction to, those backgrounds
• Interesting professions (and past professions) unique to your world
• Associations with important organizations (universities, clans, crime syndicates)
• Naming conventions tied into cultural or religious ideals
• Physical expressions of their background, religion, training etc. (tattoos, weapons, clothing, piercings)
• Idioms that have deeper cultural meanings - e.g. not room to swing a warg

For locations, consider:

• Choosing representative locations in your setting - instead of a general store, make the scene happen in a potion shop, a cybertech garage or an exotic animals shop! 
• Filling your location descriptions with the trappings of your world. Tapestries of ancient battles, songs of long-lost heroes in the background, or induction hyper-spanners littering the workshop. 

But also, plot is deeply steeped in setting: the organizations that act, the history that set current events in motion. Make sure you've woven all the elements of your plot from and into your setting, and your book will be tighter and stronger. 

By the way, I always recommend starting with a worldbuilding “meta” when the story is just a spark in your mind’s eye, before you get too deeply into character and plot. It definitely helps this baking-in process. 

In motion and emotional - Worldbuilding exposition done right

Exposition - that is, delivering crucial information to your readers - is necessary. It moves the story forward. Deepens the conflict. Provides stakes. 

But as I mentioned, exposition done wrong leads to that eggy smell. 

So how do you get exposition right? 

Step 1: Ask yourself - should this fact be here?

Consider if you really need to introduce the information. It might be critical if it’s:

• important for your plot (foreshadowing!)
• adding to the mood of the scene 
• leading to deeper understanding of a character

If it’s not doing any of those things, see if you can remove it, or introduce it as a mood element or a detail later. If it DOES need to be there, then consider:

Step 2. How do I make my readers care about this fact?

After all, we’re writing because we want our readers to feel things. We want them to be eager for new knowledge. This is my rule for exposition of new information:

All your exposition should be in motion and emotional. 

Janet Forbes

Essentially, this is an extension of the “show-don’t-tell” principle, and should be treated with the same rules (and with the same caveats!).

Here’s an example. 

Let’s say, I need my audience to learn about the First Principle of Magic. It’s critical for the solution at the climax of my novel. How can I introduce that to my audience in a way that is in motion or emotional to my MC (main character)?

1. In motion: MC is involved in a magical explosion, but leverages the First Principle of Magic to save another character. Essentially, involved with MC doing things.
2. Emotional: MC is humiliated by another, who taunts them for not knowing the First Principle of Magic. A friend explains it while MC has a small meltdown that they’re out of their depth. Involved with MC feeling things. 

In both those instances, the audience has learned the First Principle of Magic. But it was through an exciting scene that gave emotional depth and action to the novel, and developed the characters, too. You can apply this to anything you like - faster-than-light travel, a societal taboo, or whatever.

That’s worldbuilding feeding into plot, feeding into character, and feeding back into worldbuilding… 

And it’s going to make you a souffle book I’m dying to devour. 

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If you need help avoiding Worldbuilders Disease - i.e. compulsively building your setting instead of writing your novel - then do check out the worldbuilding “meta”. It’s a great tool for prioritizing what worldbuilding information you NEED (and avoiding the trap of worldbuilding you don’t need).

What are your tips for folding the worldbuilding into your stories?

About Janet

Janet Forbes (she/her) is a published fantasy author, RPG game developer and (secretly) a velociraptor, and has been building worlds since she was knee-high to an orc. 

In 2017 she co-founded World Anvil, the award-winning worldbuilding and writing software (and tabletop RPG manager) which boasts a community of 2 million users. 

As a writer, Janet has published short fiction in several collections, was the lead author of The Dark Crystal RPG (2021) with Riverhorse Games and the Henson Company, and has also written for Infinite Black, Kobold Press and Tidebreaker. 

As a D&D performer, she has played professionally for the likes of Wizards of the Coast, Modiphius and Wyrd Games. Janet is passionate about teaching, and has given seminars on writing and other topics for Exeter University, GenCon, Dragonmeet, the Circle of Worldbuilders, Full Sail Writers Conference, PWA’s Fantasy week, and more. She holds a BA and MA in Early Music Performance, is an experienced archaeologist, and speaks 5 languages.

Top image by Deleyna via Midjourney

by Diana Gabaldon

Writing successfully (meaning that you get words on the page) is largely a matter of understanding how your own brain works, and working with it.

Some of us are linear writers, who find outlines indispensable and (mirabile dictu) normally write a book from Page 1 to The End. Some of us…. umm…. well, we’re not and we don’t, but we do write books anyway, and no one will ever find out how we did it, unless we choose to tell them.

Regardless of the technical details, though, all writers deal with Mind Games.

These are the games your mind plays with you to distract you from working. There’s the “Wait ‘Til I Have a Big Block of Time” game (Pro tip: nobody has time. You make it, or you don’t have any), the “I Feel Like I’m Neglecting my Husband/Family When I Write” (Look, take your husband to bed and wear him out, then get up and write. He won’t mind at all…), and many, many others. But one of the most insidious is the one called “I Feel like a Fraud/Failure.”

Everybody has doubts about their writing (well, most good writers do…). How do you deal with this? Or, since it’s me writing this—how do I deal with it?

Putting on an Attitude

Hmm. Well, I mostly try not to take out frustration on family members. I am kind of a mellow person most of the time, anyway.

But the question of attitude toward the quality of one’s writing... well, let’s see if I can explain that one in any kind of comprehensible way.

It’s not really that I’m automatically pleased with everything I write, no. It’s just that I see it as a work in progress. I’m involved in it, as an ongoing thing. So it doesn’t really matter all that much if the first thing I put on the page looks good or bad—all that matters is that it’s there and I’m working on it. Eventually, it’ll either look all right, or I’ll decide this isn’t the time or place for this bit and go work elsewhere.

I judge the writing, is what I mean—“Nah, too long, not enough action, mmm, too many words, whoops, repetition... move this clause up? No.... drop the whole paragraph to the bottom—decent phrase, but it doesn’t fit here yet. Why did he say that?”—but I don’t think I often judge myself, if that makes any sense.

Nuts and Bolts

See, I’ve been writing for a long time. Not just fiction, but writing in general. I know what a sentence is; I know how to spell; I know how grammar works—and I know I know that. So it’s just a matter of, “Here is the work I’m working on right now; what am I doing with it? Is it as good as I can make it, or is there still something that can be improved?”

I think—having read a lot of messages from a lot of writers—that many people sort of write with their eyes closed.

That is, they pound something down—maybe a lot of something—and then sort of peek through their fingers at what they’ve done. They then emit cries of anguish or outrage at what they see, and proceed to beat themselves about the head and shoulders because what they see isn’t what they hoped for.

Frankly, this seems kind of strange to me, but I know a lot of people do it. I just don’t know why.

If you write something, and it isn’t right, you just mess with it until it is, or until you decide this isn’t the time and place, and do something else for a while. It isn’t personal, I mean.

You are not a Bad Person

I doubt this makes much sense, but that’s about it. It’s a job. An important, challenging, and wildly entertaining job—but a job, not a test of my individual worth as a human being.

It’s not a test of yours, either.

You are not a Bad Person because you want to write a book and feed your children Lunchables so you can have fifteen minutes at the keyboard. You aren’t a Failure because you haven’t found an agent on the first try. You’re not a Fraud because you secretly call yourself a writer—if you put words on a page, you’re a writer; the fine points can wait.

What games does your brain play with you while you are writing?

About Diana

Diana Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, #1 NYT-bestselling OUTLANDER novels, described by Salon magazine as “the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting ‘Scrooge McDuck’ comics.”

As of January 2022, Diana’s books are published in thirty-eight languages and sold in one hundred and fourteen countries.

Learn more about Diana on her website: DianaGabaldon.com,

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

by Diana Stout, MFA, Ph.D.

When I received my first book rejection, I cried. (More on that rejection later.) Over the years, I've witnessed many writers who've cried, whined, or raged because of a rejection. Some even proclaimed they're going to quit writing. It's not an uncommon reaction to feel emotional when rejected.

But, take heart. All writers have been rejected at some point in their writing career. All of them. Even published writers get rejections.

The difference between a seasoned writer and a new writer is that the experienced writer knows a rejection doesn't signify the writing was bad. There are many reasons why a manuscript is rejected.

13 Possible Reasons for Rejection

Here are 13 different scenarios, all of which I've heard uttered by editors, publishers, agents, and producers at workshops, conferences, and through my own rejections.

1. The writing wasn't good. Generally, this rejection indicates a submitted first or unpolished draft.
2. They liked the story but couldn't get past the many punctuation or grammar errors on every page that become a distraction.
3. Submission directions weren't followed.
4. Standard manuscript formatting wasn't used.
5. Last week, they'd purchased a story much like yours. (This happened to me twice and both times, they wished they had purchased mine instead!)
6. They love the writing, like the story, but it doesn't fit their needs. While they can't tell you what they're really looking for, they'll know it when they see it.
7. They love the writing, like the story, but it doesn't fit their audience.
8. They love the writing, like the story, but they're not sure how they would market it. It just doesn't fit in their wheelhouse.
9. Your story takes place in New Orleans. The editor hates anything to do with New Orleans.
10. Your main character's name is Brad. She just divorced her husband of 10 years, whose name is Brad.
11. The editor is simply having a bad day and is rejecting everything that crosses their desk that day.
12. The editor had decided to reduce their mammoth query pile. If your project doesn't hook them in the first paragraph, it's rejected.
13. The editor is looking for a spectacular potential out-of-the-box best-seller. Anything less than that gets rejected, no matter how good the writing.

As you can see, most of these rejections have nothing to do with your writing. It has more to do with the editors' needs or idiosyncrasies.

Only two of the rejections above—#1 & #2—are about the writing and it's because the manuscript wasn't polished. The next two rejections are about not following directions. So, only 4 of the 13 rejection reasons have anything to do with the writing or manuscript itself.

In late 1985, I submitted my first book and eight months later got a rejection with signatory initials that told me the editor had dictated the message. She was a big-name editor. It wasn't the typical mimeographed rejection so many used back then.

After thanking me for the submission, telling me the book didn't fit the requirements of their American Romance line, she said, "It is too melodramatic, based on trite misunderstandings among the characters, as well as contrived circumstances."

I cried. Three days later, upon re-examination, I realized she'd done me a favor. She'd told me exactly why she had rejected it. Also, I noticed she had said nothing about the setting. She liked the setting! Of course, her liking it was my contrivance, but it worked. I used the setting in another story, which Avalon Books later published.

As you submit, keep in mind that

• rejections are a part of the writing business. It means you're succeeding by moving forward. It's surprising how many writers don't submit.
• rejections aren't personal. It's always about business and about them. It's about their determination of your writing as a money-maker for them.
• trying to find an agent, editor, producer, or publisher is like trying to find a marriage partner. Not everyone is a good fit.
• rejections are subjective. Same with contests. Different editors or judges could mean different results.

Today's typical rejection procedure is that if you haven't heard from them by a stated X number of months, consider the work rejected.

Did your rejection come with a comment or two on what is wrong or on how to improve it? Celebrate it! Any comment means the editor liked something about your work and wanted you to know it.

Did your rejection come with a message of submit again or we look forward to hearing from you again? It means they like your voice and your style of writing and want you to submit again! It's now a matter of finessing a match of a project to their audience.

Do not, however, rewrite a rejected manuscript and resubmit it unless you're asked to do so specifically.

So, what should you do when you get a rejection?

Send the work out again—right away. If you've submitted it half a dozen times, however, and are still getting rejected, it might be time to re-read, rewrite or revise, and get some expert advice from an editor or writing coach.

Good luck on your submissions!

Every author has a rejection story. Please share yours in the comments!

About Diana

Dr. Diana Stout is a screenwriter, author, blogger, writing coach, and former university English professor of writing classes who loves helping writers. Her students have said, "She smiles when she talks about writing." An award-winning writer in multiple genres, she's been told that she's "a writer to watch." With her most recent publication of Buried Hearts: A Laurel Ridge Novella (#4), she was told by Wild Women Reviews that " the characters—all of them—jump right off the pages. They are so real, so well portrayed. You make it look easy."

Find Dr. Stout at https://sharpenedpencilsproductions.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay