Answering Your Worldbuilding Questions - Brandon Sanderson's Writing Lecture #9.5 (2025)

Comments · 159

• GA

  @gabriel.creates · 1 year ago

  I like listening to these even though I don’t write books

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• SY

  @sydney2396 · 1 year ago

  I deeply appreciate Brandon's generosity. He's not only a master of his craft, he clearly loves to teach.

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• JE

  @jeremiahjohnson4572 · 1 year ago

  Like a modern Prometheus, Sanderson defies the greedy gods and offers everyone the spark to light their own stories.

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• HA

  @hardy3089 · 1 year ago

  I don’t see how this dude can do these lectures and write as much as he does

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• MA

  @marianacarina2580 · 1 year ago

  I'm writing a LitRPG, and your lecture series helped so much, even with English not being my native language. It's so good to see advice from an actual professional writer who has established himself as a powerhouse, and not an unknown writer whose earnings are only from selling courses. Studies are going to get a lot of time from me this year, but I'll definitely finish this first draft.

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• IM

  @imaginaryguide1895 · 1 year ago

  At least one thing that is helpful for me with re-occuring settings is to pick some pieces and treat them as a character or a lens. Like Brandon mentions that the mists will echo the characters' emotions. Each piece of the scenery either has an opinion, echos a symbol, or helps track a motif. When you're ready to ground a scene, bring it back to one or two of the aspects and have them track with the scene's progression.

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• HE

  @HenryCrabgrass01 · 1 year ago

  Thank you for all the resources you put out and for always being so transparent and intentional!

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• CE

  @centen-u9k · 1 year ago

  I feel like one of the amateur tells, particularly with those used to writing fanfiction, is vague worldbuilding, because there's a base assumption that every reader already understands what the Cosmere (or whatever) looks like.

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• AS

  @AstraGaloi90 · 1 year ago

  I can't remember who originally said it, but I liked the idea that I heard once that was like. If you imagine your world as a giant blanket of fog and you put enough beacons of light in it that they each impart their own essence outward into the world like an aura, that's often all you need to guide your way through the story.

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• TH

  @TheBlueEspeon · 1 year ago

  THIS LECTURE SERIES WAS THE GOAT! THANKS MR. SAND!

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• ME

  @MetalMissionary · 1 year ago

  Fuck Yes, a Steven Erikson Shoutout!

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• TI

  @ticijevish · 1 year ago

  My principle for deciding when and where and how much exposition and backstory to include is summed up in the Latin word sequitur.<br>Meaning &quot;follows&quot;.<br>Whenever a character does something that would be considered odd, or a non sequitur to the reader, you include either backstory, or exposition.<br>The backstory will explain why the character isn&apos;t doing what most people would do in a situation. For instance, you tell the reader why a character won&apos;t call the police cause they&apos;ve been subjected to police harrassment for no reason other than their race or socieconomic status in the past. They believe the police would take the side of the transgressor, and not them, so they won&apos;t call.<br>Or you include exposition of your worldbuilding to explain why the common choice isn&apos;t available, and what other choices are presented instead.

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