Accelerated World Building
Avoid feeling overwhelmed by learning what you need to invent and why!
Enroll in Course
Covering every aspect of world building from life and places to cultures and beyond, this course will help you decide what you need to invent for your setting, based on story needs. When done, you'll have a completed checklist and a better understanding of what it takes to invent everything - even things you've decided to skip.
Are You Ready To...
Stop wondering what you should create and why?
Eliminate indecision & get the work done with confidence, excitement, & purpose?
Course Outline
| Module: About the Course Module: Do We Need To Create Gods? Module: Do We Need To Create Species/Races? Module: Do We Need To Create World Figures? Module: Do We Need To Create Animals? Module: Do We Need To Create Plants? Module: Do We Need To Create Monsters? Module: Do We Need To Create Undead? Module: How Much Setting Do We Need to Invent? Module: Do We Need To Create Places of Interest? Module: Do We Need To Create Maps? |
Module: Do We Need to Alter Time and Create History? Module: Do We Need To Create Culture? Module: Do We Need To Create Organizations? Module: Do We Need To Create Armed Forces? Module: Do We Need To Create Religions? Module: Do We Need To Create the Supernatural? Module: Do We Need To Create Magic Systems Module: Do We Need To Create Other Systems? Module: Do We Need To Create Items? Module: Do We Need To Create Languages? Module: Conclusion |
Get started now!
Course Background
This course is based on material in the best-selling book series, The Art of World Building, by course instructor Randy Ellefson. It's the longest and most thorough series on the subject and has sold thousands of copies to aspiring world builders around the world. Best-selling author Piers Anthony, and The Forgotten Realms inventor Ed Greenwood, have both praised the series.
He also runs a related podcast, with over 40,000 downloads, from which additional material for the course is drawn. The numerous Facebook groups and forums he frequents have also made clear the need for the step-by-step process he employs here.
A Letter From Randy
Founder of World Building University
When I first started inventing worlds, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I've come to love everything about the process.
I love to joke that I find it hard to believe that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, because it takes me forever. Wouldn't it be great to speed up the process? Since I've been inventing worlds for over 30 years, you can save considerable time by learning from an expert.
Even if you disagree with some of my approach, you'll have learned from my experience to make that decision and strike out on your own. "Know the rules before you break them" goes the expression, but there are no rules. Just things to do, and things to avoid.
Mostly, there are many things to know. And that knowledge is now yours for the taking.
Course Curriculum
-
StartDo We Need to Create Gods? (7:56)
-
StartDo We Need to Create Species/Races? (8:31)
-
StartDo We Need to Create World Figures? (4:13)
-
StartDo We Need to Create Animals? (5:29)
-
StartDo We Need to Create Plants? (5:19)
-
StartDo We Need to Create Monsters? (4:11)
-
PreviewDo We Need to Create Undead? (9:21)
Get started now!
Your Instructor
Author Randy Ellefson has been building worlds since the late 1980s and bring his extensive experience and passion to World Building University (WBU). His popular non-fiction series, The Art of World Building, is the inspiration for WBU and includes a podcast with scores of episodes.
While Ellefson has created multiple worlds, he's also spent 3 decades on a single planet, his main setting. In doing so, he's created seven unique species (in addition to humans), with multiple races of each. Few have his extensive experience or passion for world building, or take so much time out to teach others the art.
Ellefson has authored a half dozen non-fiction books, another six fantasy books, and over a dozen stories, three of which received Honorable Mentions in the prestigious Writers of the Future contest.
For support, you can email [email protected] and he'll respond to any issues you are facing. In some instances, he may have to refer you to Teachable's support (the platform hosting the courses), as some tech issues are on their end.