Drakevarg
Troubadour
One of the recurring issues I have with worldbuilding is, frustratingly enough, actually committing my thoughts to text. It's a world I'm building, after all. Worlds are big. Where do I start? I have the same problem whenever I write a review for a sufficiently massive RPG. Too much stuff happens in it, too many ideas and emotions pass by to really articulate anything beyond a vague overview.
As a result, all I'm ever able to write about is either the macro - big, sweeping notions that are too big to really play any role beyond a backdrop; or the micro - little, petty ideas that don't warrant any more attention than a margin scribble. I need a middle ground.
Taking a bit of an inspiration from the in-game books found in Elder Scrolls games, the approach I'd like to take is to express concepts through articles - written from either a Watsonian or a Doylist point of view, doesn't matter - and let the world grow organically in the gaps. But just like any other article, a subject isn't enough - it needs a thesis. I can't just grab a header like "Country X - Religion" and write a page or two. It's too vague.
So getting to something resembling a point, does anyone have some good ideas for questions that can supply a direction to write in? Having specific, limited concepts to explore is going to produce a lot more usable thought than broad categories.
As a result, all I'm ever able to write about is either the macro - big, sweeping notions that are too big to really play any role beyond a backdrop; or the micro - little, petty ideas that don't warrant any more attention than a margin scribble. I need a middle ground.
Taking a bit of an inspiration from the in-game books found in Elder Scrolls games, the approach I'd like to take is to express concepts through articles - written from either a Watsonian or a Doylist point of view, doesn't matter - and let the world grow organically in the gaps. But just like any other article, a subject isn't enough - it needs a thesis. I can't just grab a header like "Country X - Religion" and write a page or two. It's too vague.
So getting to something resembling a point, does anyone have some good ideas for questions that can supply a direction to write in? Having specific, limited concepts to explore is going to produce a lot more usable thought than broad categories.