Storyworld First: Creating a Unique Fantasy World for Your Novel

It's a decent starting point, and she does bring up some things to keep in mind. But if you've ever created your own world before, don't bother. The book is definitely for beginners, though having her point out important things is good if you want to keep things in the forefront of your mind.The book did feel like a continuous ad for her novels, however. Yes she makes a point pointing out how she did xyz in her novels, but the book could have benefited by bringing in more examples beyond her own writing. Yes she brings in Tolkien, e.g. but if she had explored other novels more, the book would've been stronger.Also, when she's making a point, she drags on.Case in point, on page 12:/Users/rh/Desktop/Screen Shot 2016-12-26 at 12.09.17 AM.pngI understood after the first example; I can understand adding 2 examples, maaayyybbeee 3. But she goes on, and she does this throughout the book. My eyes skip over sentences when this happened and I find myself bored. Not good writing. Definitely makes me NOT want to purchase her novels.Overall, though, the book is decent enough and her strength is is having everything organized and providing external resources.Case in point, a fantasy map generator on profantasy.comDefinitely did not know about that site and it made me realize I can find online map germinators to create my maps, rather than using lined paper and colored pencils, ha!

As a gamer, roleplay world builder, and storyteller, I enjoyed reading the paperback version (borrowed) and decided that I needed the Kindle version as a quick reference when writing fantasy while traveling.The handouts and character sheets provide another dimension to the creative process, and I love the links to them for ease of use in the Kindle version. Some readers are less fond of links. They are vital for using the sheets to build a variety of worlds or game spaces.As to the comment about the lack of a deity system, that is a complex subject and other reference material is needed to plan something akin to D&Ds Deities and Demigods. Newcomers to world building might be better oriented to identifying a value system and philosophy behind the world beliefs, rituals, schools of thought, religions, and holidays.The examples trigger ideas that are not limited to what is stated in the book, and as such, spur the reader to reflect and imagine their unique spaces.The humor, I like, and had to smile at the poetic references and ways to handle it. I felt conspiratorial when reading it, as if gathered around a table with a gaming or writing goup, planning the next campaign or fantasy world.I highly recommend Storyworld First in Kindle and in paperback form as an idea generator and a reminder to develop worlds that feel real and compelling to the reader. It stimulates creative thinking and invites the reader to extend beyond its boundaries.The Kindle version has links to the specific worksheets, and the paperback displays the planning sheets for easy referral and in Ch 1, features a link to the author's site for printing them.Many thanks to the author for sharing her world examples and ideas. It felt less like self promotion and more like a thoughtful way of illustrating the world building tips. *cheers*

I've thought I should read this book for a while now, then I saw another writer talking about it again recently and made up my mind to finally read it. I decided to go with the physical copy of the book because I like having writing resources that I can hold and make notes in.The book is well written, easy to understand, and pretty short and concise. I don't read hardly any Fantasy or Science Fiction, or really any books that take place in a made-up world. Therefore I didn't really "get" any of the examples, but I was still able to follow along with what the author was trying to convey.There were some sections I skipped over because they were talking about how to incorporate magic into books, and since I never plan on doing that, I didn't figure I needed to read those segments. There were also various times that the author used examples from books that I'm not comfortable with, so I skipped over those parts too.At the end of the book there are a lot of helpful "Extras" that I know I'll be referencing. The book was actually full of information that I have a feeling I'll be referencing in the future. It really gave me a better idea of how to throughly think through the world I'm building for my readers - no matter if the world takes place here on earth or not.Once again I'm amazed by how much time, thought, and research goes into writing.I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars, 8 out of 10. (The lack of 5 stars is mainly because of all the magic that I'm uncomfortable with, as well as the references to books that I can't recommend.)

I bought this book ages ago and it's sat on my tablet waiting its turn. For some reason the cover demotivated me something about the presentation didn't make me take it seriously. I was wrong, this is an excellent book full of useful tips and seeds of ideas. It is not a book about writing, in many ways it is a book about not writing, urging preparation offering countless areas of research that will flesh out those thin weak aspects of your concept.

Wow! This book was an eye opener. I bought this for my almost 12 year old who loves writing, hoping it will help her create her worlds. I ended up reading it and I am so glad I did. Now, I am considering putting down my idea into a book. This is highly recommended for anybody who is finding it difficult to build that world for their book. I now appreciate all those authors that take time to include little things like maps, weird creatures etc. in their books. It really takes someone with a great imagination to come up with those. I hope my daughter will be a great author one day. Thanks for putting this together.

This is a brilliant guide to building storyworlds, which I found incredibly useful. It's practical no nonsense approach rooted in the realities of writing SFF narratives supported by a believable storyworld makes this a must have book on every serious writer's bookshelf. I especially value the worksheets and links to Jill Williamson's online resource material.

Very helpful book - I was able to pick out lots of great pointers to help me with my writing.

Super addition to my 'how-to' library. Recommended.