World Building Workshop For Fantasy Writing

Tags: Writing

Writing fantasy: The step-by-step method to writing a believable and compelling world that will enchant your readers

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4

- Build a believable and compelling world for a fantasy story
- Map out your world -- natural features (mountains
- rivers
- forests
- etc.) and people made features (countries
- cities
- and roads)
- Create fantastic creatures that survive in your world's habitats

What you'll learn

Build a believable and compelling world for a fantasy story
Map out your world -- natural features (mountains
rivers
forests
etc.) and people made features (countries
cities
and roads)
Create fantastic creatures that survive in your world's habitats
Develop peoples and races and establish their societies and cultures
Plan out your world's timeline to get the big picture of your world's story
Form a healthy relationship between your world and your story
Learn crucial concepts used all throughout the world building process
Learn how to establish rules for your world so your world is more believable
Learn how to create a world of depth so your world is more compelling
Learn how to create meaningful names for the various people
places
and things in your world

* Requirements

* A great imagination and a willingness to put in the work!
* A notebook or word processor
* A basic knowledge of fantasy literature and media is helpful but not necessary

Description

As a fantasy writer, you want to take your readers to exotic places like they’ve never seen before, a world of wonder that they want to get lost in.

Here at the World Building Workshop for Fantasy Writing, that’s my aim. By the end of this course, you will have created a believable and compelling world that your readers will want to get lost in again and again.

"The World Building Workshop for Fantasy Writing" is taught by me, Jason Link, the author of the Legender series, an epic adventure that Publishers Weekly calls a grand fairytale.

For the last 20 years I have been practicing the art of world building in fantasy literature, and in this course, I share with you the insights I've gained on that journey. Years and years of research compiled in one place.

The massive task of world building has been broken down into manageable chunks and follows a logical flow.

In this course, you will...

  • map out your world -- natural features (mountains, rivers, forests, etc.) and people made features (countries, cities, and roads)
  • plan out your world's timeline to get the big picture of your world's story
  • create fantastic creatures that survive in your world's habitats 
  • develop peoples and races and establish their societies and cultures
  • form a healthy relationship between your world and your story
  • learn crucial concepts used all throughout the world building process
  • learn how to establish rules for your world so your world is more believable
  • learn how to create a world of depth so your world is more compelling
  • learn how to create meaningful names for the various people, places, and things in your world

By the end of this course, you will have a believable and compelling world that will enchant your readers.

Praise for Jason's course "World Building for Beginners":

  • "This was a great course! I wrote so many notes down. Each video in each section had so many helpful tips, examples and resources. Well made! This was very motivating. You are very supportive! Thank you!"
  • "This course has gone over in a brief time what I spent the last year learning. Great stuff!"
  • "A good introduction to understanding, developing, and leveraging the relationship of your invented world to the story you write. There are interesting and insightful references in the course that help you develop your new world and story."


Praise for the world building done by Jason Link:

  • "I am not one to lightly compare a fantasy author to Tolkien, for so few have succeeded in creating such vast worlds and peoples as Tolkien did, and even fewer have produced Tolkien's world-spanning mythology. Jason Link has created a vast and beautiful world, peopling it with fantastic creatures and races, while deeply respecting the spiritual underpinnings of the world he has created."
  • "Perhaps the best part of reading was that feeling you get when you are immersed into a different world, which is exactly what Link has built. There are cultures, geographies, languages, and creatures that come together to make a fun yet deeply sophisticated world. In this way, The Legender reminded me of the greats like Tolkien."
  • "The author did a wonderful job of painting a captivating picture of the world of The Legender for us. Although it is a world totally different from our own, I felt connected to it and completely intrigued by the characters, scenery, creatures and story."
  • "The fantasy world that the author draws you into is described in such beautiful detail that it is both believable and compelling. The characters are well-developed and intriguing, and the story definitely picks up the pace as you move along. I will admit that the new creatures are very different from what is seen in other fantasy novels, but the author does a wonderful job of describing these creatures in such a way that your imagination easily fills in the picture."
  • "Jason Link has a gift for not only creating a captivating new world, filled with creatures and cultural practices a reader has never thought of, but also maintaining a consistent and believable voice throughout the twists and turns of the story."
  • "A created world such as this has room for tomes and tomes of adventures and histories for its readers."


Do you wish readers to have a similar reaction to the world of your story?

If so, join me in this course so I can show you how to create a believable and compelling world that will enchant your readers--a world your readers will want to get lost in again and again. 

Check out the free previews to get a sample of what you'll learn and then enroll to get started world building today!


Who this course is for:

  • Fiction writers interested in creating fantasy worlds

Course content

21 sections • 79 lectures

Welcome! Preview 02:05

What You Will Accomplish in this Course Preview 03:43

Join the World Building Workshop Facebook Group Preview 00:59

Join your fellow world builders in a community where you can share ideas, ask questions, and receive encouragement.

Why We Write Fantasy Preview 00:22

Section Intro: The World Building Journey Ahead Preview 00:44

The Goal Where You are Headed Preview 01:32

How Your World and Story Will Change Preview 06:27

Why You Need to Look Outside Fantasy Preview 06:45

Assignment: Recording Your Experiences Preview 00:53

List the media you have encountered and the experiences you have had that might enrich your world building.

Section Intro: The Art of World Building Preview 00:58

Creating a World Your Readers Want to Read About Preview 09:37

The Challenge of Creating a Believable World Preview 03:00

A Deep World is a Believable World Preview 05:16

Writing for Younger and Older Readers Preview 00:59

Assignment: Examining a Fantasy World Preview 00:39

For your first homework assignment, I would like you to watch 3 short videos. As you watch, think about the following question: Is the world presented in these videos believable and compellingWhy or why not?

To watch the videos, click on each of the links listed below. (I suggest watching them in order.)

  1. LittleFoot

  2. The Yuyu

  3. Waterlollies

Of course, your evaluation is not limited to just these videos or the world they present. I encourage you to study the worlds in your favorite fantasy and science fiction books and movies and ask yourself: "What makes them so believable and compelling?"

Examining a Fantasy World

After watching the video shorts about Brackenwood (links provided in the previous lesson), share your thoughts about the world explored in those shorts.

Section Intro: Making the Rules Preview 00:32

How Rules Grow Creativity Preview 02:46

Rules (or Guidelines) for Making Rules Preview 07:00

Assignment: Using Limitations Preview 01:07

Section Intro: Naming Preview 00:34

How to Create Meaningful Names Preview 06:14

Assignment: Testing the Names You've Created Preview 03:45

Section Intro: Mapping Part 1 Preview 00:55

Getting Started with Your Map Preview 04:11

Mountains Preview 04:09

Knowing the Different Kinds of Mountains Preview 00:48

Rivers and Lakes Preview 04:47

Forests Preview 04:44

Knowing the Different Kinds of Forests and Trees Preview 01:27

Section Intro: Uncharted Territory Preview 00:38

Underground and Undersea Worlds Preview 02:23

Inventing New Land Features Preview 02:47

Section Intro: Up in the Sky Preview 00:53

Making Your Weather and Seasons Preview 02:58

Looking Up to the Celestial Bodies Preview 04:04

Section Intro: Fantasy Creatures Preview 00:42

Should You Use Real or Imaginary Creatures in Your World Preview 07:44

Let's Not Forget Non-biological Creatures Preview 04:40

Section Intro: Creature Environments Preview 00:26

How Habitats Shape Creatures Preview 03:09

The Ecosystems that Keep Your Creatures Alive Preview 07:30

Section Intro: How Creatures Survive Preview 00:37

How Herbivores Eat Preview 05:36

False Ideas About Predators Preview 01:57

How Carnivores Get Food Preview 07:09

How Creatures Protect Themselves Preview 06:04

Section Intro: Creating Creatures Preview 00:46

Methods for Creating Creatures Preview 08:53

Putting Your Creatures in an Animal Family Preview 03:08

Example of a Bestiary Preview 08:34

How Did Creatures Come to Exist in Your World? Preview 00:20

Section Intro: People and Races Preview 00:36

What "Race" Means in Fantasy Preview 02:08

Making a New Fantasy Race Preview 06:31

How Did the Peoples of Your World Come into Existence? Preview 00:21

Section Intro: Society Preview 00:29

Evolution of Societies Preview 06:39

Building the Governments of Your World Preview 09:04

Establishing the Systems of Social Capital Preview 05:33

And There's Everyday Life Preview 02:18

Common Jobs in Medieval Europe Preview 02:46

Section Intro: Your World and Your Story Preview 00:53

Keep Your Story First and Your World Second Preview 03:55

Revealing Your World is an Art Preview 08:20

The Invisible (yet Necessary) Parts of Your World Preview 05:26

Examining World Revealing in Action Preview 14:47

Congratulations! Preview 01:03

Bonus - Exclusive discounts on my other courses Preview 00:35