Building Worlds

I was reviewing things on the Gazette in preparation for 2026 and found I never properly told the story of why I started worldbuilding and why I want you to be building alongside me.

In a word: Verisimilitude.

I figured this out when trying to improve my own storytelling. Ask my mother, I’ve been telling stories since I could talk. I haven’t stopped telling them, I simply changed from rambling; to writing. The difference between my childhood work and today is how I approach the world. Before it wasn’t important, the characters, the plots. They were the important parts. Now I’ve come to realize that they are two parts of the triangle that holds together an amazing story. By ignoring the world I could never keep it together.

Worldbuilding takes what can be seen as a neat setting and turns it into a world that people will get lost in, want to come back to, one that can become home to sequels, spin-offs, or entirely new stories. When used well, it makes a story so connected to the world that the two become inseparable; characters, settings, and events all building off and supporting each other. It changes the dynamic between storyteller and audience; from fearing their sword of disbelief to building a castle of belief together.

Much like another famous suspended sword, the common view of storyteller audience interaction is one that has an inherently dangerous undertone. If the storyteller breaks that thread suspending the disbelief it will fall, skewering the poor sod on its way. Yet that’s not really how it works.

If you take the time and think about the world-story interaction even blunders will be unable to breach the belief in the story. To pull from one of the most popular, and now infamous, series of my youth, Harry Potter. There is a scene where Ron lists a number of wizarding fables, and fairy tales before turning to Harry and Hermione asking if they remember them. Ron should know Harry and Hermione wouldn’t know the wizarding fables, as they would know the Muggle ones. How many people stopped believing in the world of Harry Potter because of a misstep by Rowling with Ron?

Now building the world is a problem and a half. Doing it properly weaves a fabric of stories from the past into the future, one that can be embroidered with stories. It’s what I’ve learned over a decade working on a single world, and learning about the craft. Each iteration I kept the mess I had built as building a world is the process of weaving the story behind the story, the story behind the characters, and the story behind the setting into a new story. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of knowledge.

Good worldbuilding isn’t about what one knows or doesn’t know. It is about asking the right questions, and then tracing the answers. Often it’s the same few questions: How does the physical world affect the culture? How does the culture change the physical world in response? How do those interactions affect the average person?

It became easy to see which storytellers thought about them, and those who hadn’t. In the first, and in hindsight rather rough, Worldbuild Wednesday on this platform I built a little matrix; intentional vs. incidental crossed with explicit vs. implicit. That matrix is the core of my world-first philosophy. Make sure the setting, the characters, and the plot intentionally reinforce and rely on each other, rather than doing it by accident or incident. It leads to stronger characters, tighter plots, and punchier beats.

Thus my goal: move as many storytellers from the incidental column over to the intentional column.

Which is where Worldbuild Wednesday comes in, my attempt to share my knowledge, or at least my thoughts with you. It has evolved as time has gone on from a question-and-share to an essay; and it will continue to evolve as time goes on. Join me as we head into 2026 every Wednesday to discuss a worldbuilding topic, how I think about it, and how I would use it to improve any story.

If this resonated with you; if you’re ready to move from incidental to intentional worldbuilding join me at Grathew’s Gazette. Every Wednesday in 2026 we will dive deeper, asking questions, and exploring how their answers adjust the plot.

Let me know what you think. I read every comment.

If this has changed your mind on how you think about worldbuilding feel free to share it. My goal is to help more storytellers find community, here or elsewhere. I’d love to hear what conversations get sparked by this.

Lastly if you have any letter to send to the editor feel free to message me.

See you soon.

Grathew