Worldbuilding, whether you’re writing one book or thirty, is pretty heady and complicated.

I can go into the list above and break down what you need to get started for worldbuilding ( likely will one day), but the purpose of this writing is to give worldbuilders another tool in the arsenal.

I read and article written on Quora, the question and answer website, about how a worldbuilder tracks everything they do so they don’t have plot holes and errors later. He mentioned the idea of using a personal wiki so he doesn’t make future errors later. WONDERFUL! Link

So I pulled up how to get started on a personal wiki: Link. For the uninformed, a wiki is a hypertext publication edited and managed by its own audience.

What’s the point? Well, if you’re creating a progression or litRPG fantasy, you can track what will happen at different stat levels, class levels, power expansions, and how that will work with the entirety of the fantasy world. Now, you can use scrivener/evernote/campfire and plenty of other programs that allow you to manage and document your world, but a wiki is something special to me. It’s inclusive, easy to manage with WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get…no coding), and allows for hypertext (multiple texts connected through hyperlinks).

I am honestly amazed I’ve never thought of using it for writing. I, an English teacher who helps students create their own wikis, never thought to use one in writing. Terrible.

I will now have to dive into the world of wiki creation for an ongoing series. I’ll update as I go with what errors and issues I find over time. Stay tuned!

Categories: Discovery and Writing Tips Thoughts and Tips

Tagged as: fantasy jd mullenary paolini wiki worldbuilding writing

abnormalvaverage

I'm a high school English teacher in Texas. I also hold degrees in radiography and radio and television broadcasting. Though I obtained certain knowledge and skills from my prior degrees, I do not currently use them.