246. Against Worldbuilding

“Worldbuilding” has become a necessity for authors of genre fiction, but sci-fi author M. John Harrison thinks it’s crippling both writers & their audiences.

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Links for the Curious

• Marshall, H. A flare of light or ‘the great clomping foot of nerdism?’: M John Harrison’s radical poetics of worldbuilding. TEXT 24, (2020).
• Harrison, M. J. very afraid. Uncle Zip’s Window https://web.archive.org/web/20080410181840/http://uzwi.wordpress.com/2007/01/27/very-afraid/ (2008).
• Worldcasting Podcast. Worldbuilding Magazine https://www.worldbuildingmagazine.com/worldcasting/.
• Salao, C. Worldbuilder’s Disease: How to Recover and Actually Finish Your Story. TCK Publishing https://www.tckpublishing.com/worldbuilders-disease/ (2022).
• Jake, R. What is Cognitive Estrangement? On Science Fiction & Le Guin. https://ryleyjake.co.uk/books/sci-fi-cognitive-estrangement-the-dispossessed/ (2020).
• Welcome to Nitpicker Central 2. https://www.nitcentral.com/index_legacy.htm.

• Jemisin, N. K. Watch N. K. Jemisin Speaks at WIRED25

  WIRED. https://www.wired.com/video/watch/n-k-jemisin-speaks-at-wired25.

• Eliott, K. The Status Quo Does Not Need World Building

  Tor.com. https://www.tor.com/2013/11/05/the-status-quo-does-not-need-world-building/.

• The Law of Conservation of Detail. TV Tropes https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLawOfConservationOfDetail.
• The Da Vinci Code mistakes. https://www.moviemistakes.com/book5681.
• Sub-creation. Tolkien Gateway https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Sub-creation (2023).
• Sinclair, B. Snow Crash author on the state of storytelling in games. GameSpot https://www.gamespot.com/articles/snow-crash-author-on-the-state-of-storytelling-in-games/1100-6339423/.
• Denardo, J. SF Signal: MIND MELD: What are the Best Examples of SF/F Worldbuilding? https://web.archive.org/web/20111013094618/http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/07/mind-meld-what-are-the-best-examples-of-sff-worldbuilding/.
• Weinersmith, Z. Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Inaccurate. https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/inaccurate.
• Sanderson, B. Sanderson’s Laws of Magic - The Coppermind - 17th Shard. https://coppermind.net/wiki/Sanderson’s_Laws_of_Magic.

• Zutter, N. R.A. Salvatore and Patrick Rothfuss on What Does and Doesn’t Make Epic Fantasy Worlds Work

  Tor.com. https://www.tor.com/2018/10/08/r-a-salvatore-patrick-rothfuss-epic-fantasy-panel-nycc-2018/.

• Nyilasy, G. Nitpickers: Uncritical critics of film and television fiction. in (2004).
• MST3K Mantra. TV Tropes https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MST3KMantra.
• Picacio, J. Michael Moorcock: Multiverses. Locus Online https://locusmag.com/2014/12/michael-moorcock-multiverses/ (2014).
• Mackintosh, P. Lovecraft the Un-Nerdist: On Worldbuilding and Shared Worlds. greydogtales http://greydogtales.com/blog/lovecraft-the-un-nerdist-on-worldbuilding-and-shared-worlds/ (2020).
• Goof up in Indiana Jones & the Temple …? https://groups.google.com/g/net.movies/c/8yeFgPLkTHU/m/b-0lBJFMKygJ (1984).
• Motor-Anteater-8965. Funny mistake in Avengers Infinity War: Tony Stark’s mustache changes while he’s confronting Thanos. r/marvelstudios www.reddit.com/r/marvelstudios/comments/18ek9n3/funny_mistake_in_avengers_infinity_war_tony/ (2023).
• Cinemasins. Everything Wrong With The Avengers In 3 Minutes Or Less. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYVZjKgoKdg (2021).
• Moorcock, M. Epic Pooh. in Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretation: JRR Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings (2008)” (2008).
• Rugnetta, M. Dirt on the Camera Lens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lrwAhd27ng (2021).
• Jenkins, H. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. (NYU Press, 2006).
• Continuity Porn. TV Tropes https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ContinuityPorn.
• Bellisario’s Maxim. TV Tropes https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BellisariosMaxim.
• Michel, L. Against Worldbuilding. Electric Literature https://electricliterature.com/against-worldbuilding/ (2017).
• Kennedy, A. Against Worldbuilding. GamesIndustry.biz https://www.gamesindustry.biz/against-worldbuilding (2017).
• Sanderson, D. 15.45: Worldbuilding Fantasy, with Patrick Rothfuss. Writing Excuses https://writingexcuses.com/15-45-worldbuilding-fantasy-with-patrick-rothfuss/.
• Daily Kos. WriteOn: Plotter vs. Pantser, Methodological vs. Intuitive. Daily Kos https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/25/2171274/-WriteOn-Plotter-vs-Pantser-Methodological-vs-Intuitive.

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