Worldbuilding in fantasy (and science fiction) is often carried out through the creation of an apparatus of notes and documents organized into topics: cultures, geography, magic, and so forth. Much of this material is never used in an actual story because it belongs to our world. It remains in the background. But what if more worldbuilding could be done with storytelling?
Cooperative story-telling games are the apex of group entertainments. That is a conviction of mine that no amount of persuasion has ever been able to shake. And Dungeons and Dragons is the father of them all. It’s been a major influence on my storytelling all the way back to childhood...
Perhaps it all goes back to Corwin of Amber. It certainly resonates with him. A man who has forgotten who he is – but the world hasn’t forgotten. And if he doesn’t remember, very quickly, he may never have a chance to remember. Thankfully, Corwin knows enough at the moment of his waking out of the fog to know that he has forgotten something...
I wrote my first fantasy novel from 2009 to 2010. My mom liked it, my brother-in-law (who reads widely in the genre) was polite but unenthusiastic, friends at school thought it got better as it went along (one said it was “A good first book,” which is a rather nice way of saying, “I’m sure you’ll get better”). Even my then-girlfriend couldn’t get into it. But I convinced myself it was great for...