Dark Worldbuilding: Bringing the Shadows to Your World with Michael Williams

10/04/23 • 45 min

Welcome to a special Bonus Season! Enjoy these sessions from this year's Worldbuilding Con!

Tone, mood and aesthetic are all elements that can be used to differentiate your world. Join us for a lively discussion on how to add a darker edge to your worldbuilding efforts. Learn how careful placement of the shadows in your world can add depth, and help your world feel more realistic - or more fantastical.

Does genre affect worldbuilding? Are some naturally darker than others?
What lures us to dark worlds as authors, readers & gamers?
How do we create reader experiences in dark fiction that feel familiar?
What elements of worldbuilding can establish a dark tone?
How to balance a dark, gritty setting with lighter elements? What are some mistakes in dark worldbuilding?
Examples of great dark worldbuilding settings?
How to handle sensitive subjects in worldbuilding?
To swear or not to swear? Do made-up swear words lose impact?
Tips for adding humor in dark or horror stories

🎙️Speaker: Michael Williams | The author of fifteen novels, a number of stories and poems, and the late, lamented “Mythical Realism” travel blog, Michael Williams has been writing and publishing over the last thirty years. His most recent work, the City Quartet—four magical realist novels set in a city that is/is not Louisville, Kentucky—has received widespread critical acclaim. A native of Louisville, he has lived in a number of far-flung spots, but now dwells in sleepy & domestic Southern Indiana. Recently retired from a professorship at the University of Louisville, he is currently drinking bourbon and at work on a long narrative poem that ties to the novels in the City Quartet, because what is a quartet without a fifth?

Welcome to a special Bonus Season! Enjoy these sessions from this year's Worldbuilding Con!

Does genre affect worldbuilding? Are some naturally darker than others?
What lures us to dark worlds as authors, readers & gamers?
How do we create reader experiences in dark fiction that feel familiar?
What elements of worldbuilding can establish a dark tone?
How to balance a dark, gritty setting with lighter elements? What are some mistakes in dark worldbuilding?
Examples of great dark worldbuilding settings?
How to handle sensitive subjects in worldbuilding?
To swear or not to swear? Do made-up swear words lose impact?
Tips for adding humor in dark or horror stories

Previous Episode

Episode 41, part 2: How to design for non-DnD Systems and Settings

... both other people's, and YOUR OWN! In this episode Janet sits down with the amazing DOMINIQUE DICKEY - a pro-RPG designer and writer, and also an INDIE designer and writer. They discuss:

The advantages - and disadvantages - of writing outside DnD
How different systems and game mechanics affect the way you write
Tips for getting into designing professionally for RPG Publishers
The process to get from RPG system idea to something ready to play test
... and more!

Check out Dominique’s newest release "Plant Girl Game” - about a family of plant-kids working to prevent ecological disaster - on Itch and IPR! And for the best tools for worldbuilding in any medium, visit www.worldanvil.com!

Next Episode

Episode 42, part 1: Mood, Tone, Theme & Genre in Worldbuilding w Peter Chiykowski

Are you in the mood... for worldbuilding? Join Janet and our guest Peter Chiykowski of Rock, Paper, Cynic and The Story Engine Deck as we talk about the elements of mood, tone and theme in worldbuilding. These subtle aspects can have a huge impact on how people experience your world - here's how to use them with intention!