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If you don't mind, share your rejected worldbuilding ideas!

TheNecroFaerie

New Member
Well I originally had this idea where humanity was trying to create a new continent on the earth complete with its own unique geological and biological characteristics, but then instead of creating a new paradise they ended up screwing up earths natural climate and weather patterns. But I trashed the idea because I have a very specific idea that involves “scientific” cataloging of creatures, places and certain items. Also because I began writing without thinking the plot through completely.
 
Can't really say I reject most my world building ideas. I recycle them. Or at least try to. Some I have dropped. Like the Sands of Time which was a giant desert that well, had lots of time travel options through mirages and had an evil cyborg wizard in the middle of it. I did keep the giant desert though. Sandworms are too much to pass up. And just reused the Lost World concept that started as the original story base for my earliest stuff.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
Well I originally had this idea where humanity was trying to create a new continent on the earth complete with its own unique geological and biological characteristics, but then instead of creating a new paradise they ended up screwing up earths natural climate and weather patterns. But I trashed the idea because I have a very specific idea that involves “scientific” cataloging of creatures, places and certain items. Also because I began writing without thinking the plot through completely.

I think that is one of the biggest problems when world building. It's not necessarily that the idea is a bad one but it just can't be used in the context of the story that we're trying to tell. The world I began creating in my work in progress was originally just a continental Europe knock-off. Then I was looking at some maps of islands and thought it would make a change to have my story set in a maritime empire made up of islands. I saw an image of a mammoth walking through a 19th Century Moroccan city and that led me to think about creating a world not unlike ours during the last Ice Age geographically but with 1930s technology.
 

TheNecroFaerie

New Member
I think that is one of the biggest problems when world building. It's not necessarily that the idea is a bad one but it just can't be used in the context of the story that we're trying to tell. The world I began creating in my work in progress was originally just a continental Europe knock-off. Then I was looking at some maps of islands and thought it would make a change to have my story set in a maritime empire made up of islands. I saw an image of a mammoth walking through a 19th Century Moroccan city and that led me to think about creating a world not unlike ours during the last Ice Age geographically but with 1930s technology.

That last part sounds really interesting, gives you a lot of creative space to work with, but yeah I found trying to make the original idea to work very challenging. One of the biggest problems was that it wasn’t believable and didn’t make sense to me. I tried to add “terraformers” to help make sense of it but the more I went along the more holes I discovered in the plot. Even though I consider the idea a dead one I found it to be a learning experience and makes me more appreciative of how much work authors and even show writers put into bringing their stories to life. I hope one day someone pursues the idea though and can do it better justice than I did.
 
I don't have any outright rejected ideas, just ideas that I'm currently not using for now but I may at a later date or in another project.
Amongst those put on the backburner for now...

A world where an impenetrably high mountain range circles the equator that no one has yet been able to cross. All of the current known civilisations live in the southern hemisphere, with the north a mystery.

A few talented craftspeople are able to imbue their creations (made of cloth, wood or metal) with a life force, whereas they after become servants imbued with traces of the makers will, sometimes living on past their creators death. It is commonly thought that the maker splits their soul when they imbue a creation with life.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
One I have considered but—so far—rejected is a world in which Hiawatha (as told by Longfellow) is true history. It would be in a more or less contemporary setting, with European settlers in America having had much less of a success in colonization. This is unrelated to the primary fantasy world in which I have set most of my fiction, which is the main reason I have not pursued it. Still, I might borrow some from the idea one of these days (ha, if I finish all my other projects!).
 

ThinkerX

Myth Weaver
A idea I rejected and then returned to in an altered format. The inspiration was a water world with two large islands and archipelagos of smaller ones. Each of the larger islands was claimed by mutually hostile human nations who attempted the occasional colony or mission of exploration elsewhere. Initially, I thought that idea worth stealing outright...but then abandoned it because it didn't fit in with my other worlds.

Then, a few weeks back, inspiration struck: suppose the nations on these islands were 'other than human?' And suppose they were not mutually hostile? Hence, I now have one island populated by a slowly collapsing lizardman 'nation' that once boasted tech straight out of 'star trek' on the one island, and skreea (birdmen) on the other. The races/nations are sometimes hostile and sometimes friendly. Decided to toss in some goblin tribes to assist the lizardmen, and maybe a dwarf clan or three to help out the birdmen. Humans are...extremely scarce.

The germ of the story for this is a lizardman and a skreea partnering with each other to investigate mysteries mutual to both their races.
 
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