Alright my lovely people, what's your world building weakness or a mistake you made early on? If that question is too stressful to ponder because you don't want to think about your folder full of loose notebook pages sitting in a dark corner, instead tell me what brand name mistaken for a product name is your favorite? I like Velcro because I literally cannot think of an alternate word to describe that dark magic product. Fluffy Pocky Sticky Stuff? Yeah, doesn't have a very Scifi ring to it.
My weakness is picturing the landscape and buildings. I nail the characters, the story, the outfits, communication, but when it comes to geography and architecture I suck balls. 😂
Those are solid weaknesses. I got to cheat with my current series because it's post apocalyptic so I just Google street walked Seattle then imagined everything 20 years dirtier and more broken and overgrown. But my next series has aliens and their architecture and I have no idea what to do with that lol Do you write scifi or fantasy?
My weakness is probably worldbuilders' fixation, where I neglect actually writing the story to get all the minute lil deets in perfect order. If all the names don't mean something and has at least a lil bit of back story, oops haga oh well gotta build that in
@@StephaniaBonnet I really want to try fantasy but my head always tries to find a logical explanation for everything and I can't let the magic be magic. I hope one day to get there but so far I've only managed a scifi fantasy world
Fun fact, there are still saber-toothed deer, which makes no goddamn sense to me personally, but fangs on herbivores makes sense just fine. In fact, most herbivores are plenty willing to opportunistically eat meat and bugs - fallen baby birds, carrion, gnaw on bones, etc.
Don't those deer use the fangs for self defense though as well as against competing males? Also you don't really need dagger canines to eat fallen birds or bugs or gnaw on bones as that's mostly in the back teeth. The canines are mostly for the kill and/or defense if I recall. Though there are some cool examples like walruses who use their massive teeth at least in part for breaking ice. So you can definitely come up with cool ways to explain canines in herbivores. Self defense, poking holes in trees for sap, breaking some nut or fruit specific to your world, or you can just use the rule of cool and just let them have pointy canines because it looks cool.
@marvalice3455 it could just be something seen as hot to the deer. Editing to add, they could just be something that was once used for self-defense and/or competing for mates but remained as a sort of vestigial trait.
@@marvalice3455 Meaning no offence, you're confidently wrong. Water deer, for one, have long been observed to use their tusks in intraspecific combat for mating rights. This is a well-established fact, not speculation at all.
Interesting. The defenition I remember learning was that it had to no longer serve any real purpose and be a "left over", but it's been like 7 years since I took my last university evolution class, so I accept your defenition. I wish my degree had required more evolution courses (or that they'd even offered more than the two I took) those were by far my favorite classes
@@CloudKitten a whale' s hip certainly doesn't serve it's original purpose, that's all it means. Some whales even have the detached femur inside bodies unattached to anything.
@@CloudKitten First, let me say there's a lot of great information in your video. However, the use of vestigial as a structure that serves no purpose at all is a misinformed definition, widely propogated in popular science articles which are often not authored by experts in the field. The actual biological definition of vestigial is as follows: vestigial refers to an organ or part (for example, the human appendix) which is greatly reduced from the original ancestral form and is no longer functional or is of reduced or altered function. www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/vestigial This definition has not changed in over one hundred years. Robert Wiedersheim coined the term in 1893 simply as organs that had "lost their original physiological significance." And even Darwin defined the idea in Origin of Species in 1859: "An organ serving for two purposes, may become rudimentary or utterly aborted for one, even the more important purpose, and remain perfectly efficient for the other.... [A]n organ may become rudimentary for its proper purpose, and be used for a distinct object." So, rest assured that all those vestigial structures you learned about in the past are STILL vestigial, we've simply discovered reduced or altered functions in them.
Tell that to my two evolution professors in university where I got my 4 year degree in biology. But actually, because I paid thousands of dollars for a degree that is apparently not even useful for passively mentioning things on RUclips let alone for any actual career lol But also you say
@@CloudKitten the definition they gave you was an old definition. It used to be the dominant one, but it was based mostly on speculation rather than direct observation.
Yeah but they are arguably still vestigial since they have lost all or some of their ancestral function. But good point in that the very thing that makes them no longer useful (modern medicine) and takes away much of the selective pressure that would ultimately eliminate them. I could counter argue that complications from wisdom teeth (infection from them not being removed, or complications in removal) offers some negative pressure, or that genetic drift could have some sway, but let's be honest, we'll be full cyborgs long before that pressure would lead anywhere. My using a currently present example alone sets me up for failure because of modern tech and our speed of advancement. So I guess what I'm saying is that you are correct good sir, but I think I am also correct. I'm ultimately putting my money on cybernetics though. At least the money I have left after paying off the student loans for a degree that told me whale pelvic bones were one of the best examples of vestigial traits.
@@CloudKitten Yeah, they are arguably vestigial. We might be able to modify human genetics, but things that are negative don't always get evolved out. See preeclampia, runs in families, but only kills sometimes, so it's still around and a top killer of pregnant women, even with modern medicine. If something doesn't affect reproduction, it won't get evolved out, even if it's negative. (If a bird has the right shape beak, it finds more food, lives longer, and has more babies who can then survive better and live longer and have more babies, etc.) Cybernetics are pretty much here (see people controlling cybernetic arms with their minds) but the tech is rare and expensive. It would be great to solve so many health problems by replacing the problem. (Still think genetic modification is really promising though to prevent future generations from getting the same issues.) Also, sorry. Didn't mean to come off as super snarky. Still did though.
Actually even that won't be enough. Because everyone is born with them. We could only lose them if a few people start to be born without them, and the rest of us start dying for having them. And even that wouldn't actually work, because there are far more people for whom wisdom teeth cause no issue than for whom they actually have problems. So the selective pressure would be for a jaw size that fits all your teeth (the trait we already have) rather than having fewer teeth (the trait which currently doesn't exist). You cannot select for a trait unless it actually exists in the first place.
When I was outlining my series, my first instinct was to come up with the characters, build the basic outline of the story, and fill in the blanks of the World building from there. I realized that character and story are what’s truly important. Now I am trying to strengthen it.
I'm realizing that more and more every day. If you've seen Arcane you should check out my recent video on that as my thoughts have evolved a lot since I published this one. I can't remember what my take was here, but I know I used to prioritize worldbuilding more than I should have been. Sounds like you started out on the right track.
I just found your channel today and I wanted to tell you that your content is funny, useful, and detailed. I’ve been looking for a good writing channel like yours forever! I’ve been binging your videos today and love the quality. Keep being an amazing person making crazy good content! Subbing was a no-brainer!!
Gladly, I build fantasy so brand names is largely irrelevant to my worldbuilding. Mistake 2 is a big one for me though, I've got a story but it I'll have to pull it apart when I finally finish the worldbuilding for the parts of the world that it covers (and then have to figure out what I want to reveal so early on) Evolution is a big part of my world! How the majority of the races came to where they are today is through a group of shapeshifters who had originated on the continent, left, and then some of them found some differences with others of their kind and came back to the continent, though to the opposite side and they didn't immediately realize it. As the shapeshifters spread out and settled down, they lost their ability to shapeshift and gained abilities that would best fit their environment. Some traits were determined by the shapeshifters themselves, and they instantly gained those traits rather than through evolution. All races that originated from the shapeshifters can still have shapeshifter children, but the ones that instantly gained determined traits have these more often and have more instability. I use Rule Of Cool a lot and justify it (magic that literally bends reality to the user's will to make them lucky, giant wolves and hedgehogs came from an ancient race that could turn into animals but then lost this ability) but I could use it more probably I write a lot of stuff down and then forget where I put it. Or it didn't work with what I came up with later. Details I tend to write down and forget what they mean: names of places and where the heck I got the ideas. There's a whole area that's based on ancient greek mythology names. And then I forgot where I found the links or why I named it that in the first place. 5c I have covered though *virtual thumbs up* I use google docs and largely bookmark them into folders that I keep on my bookmarks bar. Ad: Hmm interesting might check it out. Looks like WorldAnvil a bit but not extortionately priced. I'm super guilty of making things that no one will ever see. The large majority of my worldbuilding has been ancient history that is hardly accessible anymore or even remembered. Some of it may not even be relevant to the story I'm writing... Oh well! I've built it already. I'll just have to make it show up at some point? Or in another story. Counterpoint: Jormungandr is in norse mythology. But I guess hes a sea snake (eel?) so what do I know either. My world is largely northern hemisphere based for the continent I'm focusing on, but if I ever feel the need to focus on any other part of the world (I probably will not) I'll keep environment in mind. I mean, there's a large variety of environments on the continent that wouldn't be there if not for magic, so environment is already in my mind. But thinking about other stuff to focus on I'll keep it in mind. 7b: already got this (for the most part). In the icy north there's magic users who make boat houses out of glaciers and sail them around, controlling their melting points in hotter places so they don't just fall apart. In the scorching desert there's a large number of oases that are locations where the bodies of dragons were buried, and these are cool and even sometimes rainy for a big radius around the spot. Splitting rivers is something that is a real pet peeve of mine when it comes to when I show maps to people. Like they're focusing so hard to find splits. And when they do 99% of the time they're wrong, and I say "that's upriver you ******" and then they get mad. In the same vein there's lakes and people looking for if it has more than one output. Like... no, dude, that's a second input. Last one: It's medieval fantasy. I tell someone that and they're like "ugh, no." then I say, "Orcs! Elves! Dwarv-" "NO!" they shout and run away. I try to put in nuances and original bits. It's just that the world is easily described as medieval fantasy. Subscribed! This was fun picking through my mistakes and things I've gotten right. Thanks!
This is the first of your videos I've seen, and it's one of the most relatable videos I've seen in a while... I'm guilty of a lot of these mistakes (such as not building the world around the story, forgetting to write stuff down or writing them down with no organization, developing things nobody will see...) but I've found that many of the things I try to write out don't really need to be justified. Like who knew D&D players would rather play a game than try to read three pages of disorganized notes on the geographical anthropology of an orc tribe 😂. I'm definitely subscribing to your channel!
Remember, a realistic Earth-like planet is not likely to have two large moons. They will interfere with each orbits enough to destabilize one or both, thus eventually losing one or both - or drag them crashing down - way before intelligent life can evolve. Planets the size of gas giants can support more stable(ish) moons because their gravity wells are big enough that their respective gravities won't prevent stability. If any of them are or become too close though, or crash together, you end up with rings. If they get too far or are disturbed, they can get launched away. Earth-like planets with even one moon are likely to be realistically rare as well.
I've been wanting to do a video on just space worldbuilding alone because it's crazy how much there is to factor in. But I know basically nothing about planetery physics so the research neccesary keeps throwing me off lol. Very good point about moons. That's a really common one I see in all sorts of fiction
12 Miles Below actually does sayings that fit the world very well. Edit: As for evolutionary traits, Natural Selection states that useless traits will only be removed if it provides a statistical decrease in survivability. If it is useless, but not detrimental, then it just atrophies due to lack of use, but never genetically disappears. As well, if that thing exists, the creature may find a use for it regardless of whether that was the intended usage of that feature. For example, I am double jointed in my thumbs. This feature is pretty much entirely useless, but somehow is a trait that has been able to pass down.
Wisdom teeth aren't going to disappear though. Evolution is as much about those that die as it is those that live. Basically, unless having wisdom teeth substantially diminishes your capacity to produce offspring, it's going to stick around looking the same as it always has. Since it doesn't diminish that potential, there is no evolutionary means to remove it barring some genetic engineering or some unimaginable and probably catastrophic change.
Ah, I looked further in the comments, and saw someone else say this. I actually assumed no one had mentioned it because it was honestly not a key element to the video, and comment sections usually focus on only a handful of key contentions/agreements.
@Samara Hamilton unless it meaningfully affects your ability to mate, it won't vanish since the genes won't be weeded out. Even then, the number of people born without wisdom teeth would have to dramatically increase reproduction to do anything.
What I sorta did was come up with a basic foundation for worldbuilding so I could understand the mechanics I'm working with so I had something to start with character design, and then once that was done I sort of build the world and the characters together
This is a good method! There really are so many different good combinations and they change the vibe of the story in hard-to-pin-down but fundamental ways. I think my method pretty closely matches yours though it shifts a lot between projects and moods
I remember a few years back I drew a fantasy map for one of my stories with all these split off and branching rivers and stuff, and I was super proud of it at the time. Looking back at it now there’s so many rivers that I can barely see the country borders and other stuff, lmao. Also I’d love to see a river anatomy video.
I am legit scared to draw any sort of map because I know I will mess up the geography in all sorts of ways. How do mountain ranges work? How does sea level affect lakes? How do mountains affect weather? What makes a desert?!?! It's all so intimidating. I'm currently still writing my dystopian series so I'm safe, but next series I need a map of an alien planet and I just
Hahah! Jokes on mistake 2- I have no story for my worldbuilding! And if I do have a story it is going to fit into the world, not the world fit into the story!
Interesting. I searched ice snakes and was disapointed but figured that wasn't indicative of whether there were snakes in icy places, especially places that aren't icy all year. I wasn't sure the extend to which the cold bloodedness inhibited them. Thank you for the cool info!
@@CloudKitten Yea snakes are weird! We have snakes where I live in canada and it gets pretty cold in winter, around -30. We call them ''couleuvres'' in french, not sure what they're called in english. Idk how they survive, I guess they hybernate? More research is needed haha
I was drawing my alien species that speaks via telepathy as I watched this!! I am so happy that someone mentioned it! I hate myself for doing it, because now I have to make a sign language -and- convert that into written language!! 😭😂
1B is why I have several placeholders in my story for things like [deer in the headlights]. I know there are no headlights in this world, I don't know yet if this character knows what a deer is but I am not slowing the writing momentum down. Something that always sticks out to me is fantasy where the days and months have the same names as the real world. When you have a whole fancy pantheon but we've still got a Wednesday I'm going to notice. I honestly don't know how big a deal that one is, maybe other people are fine but I see it. That being said, I've got stuck on the renaming of some of that in my world building so I get skipping it.
Hi, just want to point out a distinction about the term "vestigial". It seems common to connect a "vestigial" trait to something that is useless, but that's actually not what it means. "Vestigial" in an evolutionary sense just means that a morphological structure or trait is now diminished or changed from what its original function was. Pelvic bones in whales may still have a function, but that function is vastly reduced from what it used to be, and it's possible that future evolutionary paths will see a complete removal of the pelvic bone as we know it. Our coccyx used to attach muscles of a prehensile tail, but since we no longer have tails it is a vestigial trait, even though it still serves as an attachment point for several muscles in that region.
You know, I always keep a certain degree of reasonable skepticism when it comes to these kinds of "Writing guides" videos, but I think this one was pretty good, self-aware, and nondogmatic
Honestly doubt that many of the people complaining about rivers in fantasy settings are fluvial geomorphologists whom should be heeded as knowledgeable experts on the subject matter. 🤔
Even Tolkien struggled with building a world, not to mention how long he took to make a map that worked. You don't have to build a world to make a good story, but you have to adhere to the world you allude to in a story, so your original story doesn't fall apart. If you plan several stories from this world or are making a game or several books, you should of course build a good foundation. What you can do, which perhaps is a bit easier, is to reveal bit by bit of the world as needed, and only have the structure or shadow of the world planned out. That way you have time and space to adjust a bit.
Isn't everything in an alternate world gonna use a different language and so what we read is essentially a translation and tbh no one will understand if I refer to velcro as a hook and loop fastening
That's a fair point. Truthfully my opinion on this has changed a lot since this video released. If you've seen Arcane check out my newest video as that's a better representation of my stance now. Though I do still think terminology should be treated carfully to some degree to avoid readers who nit-pick as I used to. But nowedays I'm off the opinion that story comes first. June 2020 feels like it was a whole lifetime ago...
I know most people world build for the sake of a story. But as someone who's hobby is world building, and just world building. its sort of funny (or sometimes frustrating) to try to find tips online (or get reviews on the work) and always just have "oh what's the theme of the story, how dose this bit of world building affect the story, what's the story, how it important to the story, story, story...." like man there is no story. its just for the joy of world building. now can you tell me if this volcano is in the right spot? if there is a story, its a consequence of naturally arising from the world building. now here are all the alternate names I know for the things you listed as brand names: nova cane (I have no idea what that is so I can't give it an alternate name, is it toothpaste? you showed a picture of a dentist's it fluorite paste?). oiji board= spirit board/ scribing plate/ talking board (evil's gateway). Styrofoam Idk, closest I have heard is them being called foam cups. windbreaker= rain coat, parka, outer jacket, weather jacket, light coat. Frisbee= discus, throwing disc, flying saucer. Band aid= adhesive tape, medical tape, adhesives, plasters (note in another language) first aid tape. dumpster= the dump, trash, dumping container. jetski, never heard another word for it, even in other languages. taser= stun gun. velcro only ever heard it called that, perhaps call it hook adhesives, I know what inspired thier invention (stick totes, burrs, burdock plant, etc. And finally seeing eye dogs as you pointed out are called guide dogs or service dogs. (sharpie = permanent marker) its interesting to think about what my weakness is in world building (its military history. war and politics and technology). when world building for the sake of world building, the normal issue of world building syndrome is not a problem. because what story ae you distracting yourself from? though in the cases when I have made stories, then the world building is second fiddle, I hardly have any notes on the world building for them. I have made a lot of mistakes in world building, but I learn and grow too them, so if anyone actually reads tis, its alright to make mistakes in world building you can learn and grow from them. The first time I heard the "if it's good you will remember it" adage was from an interview with Stephen king about his story writing process. sir, sir, you have an entire book you wrote that you claim to not remember writing, im not taking that advice. Easy to say I write down (most) ideas that come to me, I do keep writing down ideas in random places, then I'll take the time to gather the ideas into a single place. scrap the ideas that don't work, compare them to the preexisting ideas and adjust them as needed. prune the limbs of the tree so to say. prevents notes from being too long or to vauge. im currently in the process of transferring those notes onto a digital format (I suffer/j) it was a fun and informative video, so thank you for it.
That's what I'm struggling with as well. It did start out as a "story"... 8 years ago. It never had a clear beginning, conflict, theme, or endgame, so I guess it's only natural that it ended up this way. It's so much fun that I started another world with the sole purpose of worldbuilding it and make more OCs that can live there, and there is one more concept waiting for me in the folder 😂 I am simply having fun playing god, making every region into a personal experiment. So yeah, yeah, story potential and all that, now, keep talking about that theoretical evolution 😏 Disclaimer: I do not encourage people to follow my footsteps, I have a 60 page long document explaining the magic system, lore, and random things that just exist there. Don't put yourself through this torture if your goal really is to get a good story.
I'm the same way when it comes to world-building, although I also do it with the secondary purpose of (some day lol) using them as settings for TTRPG's. Currently I'm actively working on 2 and have another 2 on the back-burner, with more lurking as nebulous thoughts in my subconscious lol. Always feels like I'm perpetually in motion, but never getting any closer to the destination 😂
If reflective reasoning is the perfume that makes our heart race, organizing notes stimulates our souls like only sorting black socks in a lush summer night can...
You should look it up, it's super cool. The gist is that due to the way their nucleotides combine, they have a much higher rate of mutation (slips) which results in a much higher rate of success as many mutations result in termination of the whole process. But I studied it a long time ago, and just woke up so I fear I'm not doing it justice. Here's a reddit reply that does a better job if you're interested in more www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1hhzcn/why_do_we_have_different_sized_dogs_but_all_the/cauj8yz?context=3
@@CloudKitten wow! I didn't anticipate a response, thank you for the information!! It's not surprise I'm subscribed to your channel, given the great content :)
Awe thank you I'm so happy you enjoyed it ❤ I am quite legitimately considering a short river anatomy video. Unsurprisingly it has horrible search ratings, but I just really think the writing world wants to know more about rivers and they just don't realize it yet lmao
3:25 what is a gorilla, if not your exact description? A gorilla would probably knock your soul out of your body before it bites you, but they have giant canine teeth.
Thanks! I’m currently building a world where I’m in the process of creating government systems, economical structures, and well you get the gist again this helped a ton, thanks!
I did hear that a vestigial trait isn't necessarily useless, it just means it has lost much of its ancestral function, so the pelvis of a whale might count, as they don't use them for walking the way their ancestors did. I concede you may know better than I on this topic though.
This video is pretty old and my opinions on this have shifted. If you want a more up-to-date take on this, check out my video on the Worldbuilding of Arcane. I have definitely developed into a more "story first" opinion over the years.
The word hell doesn't belong in star wars but han solo said see you in hell in empire strikes back. Even geroge lucas one of the kings of world building slipped up once.
To the First two points unfortunately there is an excuse: The narrator. The narrator doesn‘t have to live in the same world or the same time. Theoreticly the narrator might be human in our time Reading a book and telling a story. So the phrase would make sence again. We just don‘t know.
I don't think I will run into any of these I come up with ideas as I am creating so ya and my world is either the distant future or a alien planet so no brands my world is also meant to be parity realistic so evolution is one of my focuses oh also I don't plan on creating a story my world building is just for world building of a realistic universe with at very most one humanoid alien species but probably not or just vaguely.
Honestly even if you run into them don't default to cutting them out on my account. It's all subjective and most anything can serve the narrative when used well. There are no rules in art, and I certainly don't make them. Truthfully I made this video back in an era where I was a bit more critical and black and white in my approach to writing. If you've seen Arcane, check out my more recent video on that as it better conveys my current views of worldbuilding. It sounds like you're putting good thought into your world, and I think that's the most important element of worldbuilding
a good example for mistake number 9 everyone remembers the stupid name of the mineral in james camron's pocahontas but hardly anyone knows that the name unubtanium has a pretty good in fiction justification
You have a lot of information to provide us writers! Any chance you can include the list or a heading for each so we can sort them out and remember your main points better? It's tough to listen without an outline of sorts.
1:15 So in Other Words. What is in the Name of a “Rose”? What did we use to call a Rose before? It’s the same as Asking What was a “Cat” called by before we designated that name?
5:10 Yea, magic. The turtle did not evelved, but instead was created by *insert a god name*. Oh? Your word isn't fantasy but sf? The gigant turtle is created by ancient aliens. Or is a robot. Ptoblem solved!
Wait why wouldn't a spacefairing society have a concept of nails? You're still building things and maintaining them. Tying into the brand name thing, there's also refernces to real world locations. My original modern fantasy has "townies" instead of hamburgers since there's no Hamburg to name them after. Somehow i don't think the sword is part of Zacian's actual body. I think she just has a sword thay she carries around. Her shield-bearing brother on the other hand, that's totally a hardened mane.
Most original way of sub-begging... Here, let me turn that red light off for you. Building a new world for you sci-fi colony... Where the hell are you plonking them? There are reasons why earth civilization turned out the way it did. One could make good arguments that plonking your colonists in THE BEST SPOT, is best. Ok, but one could also argue that adverse land develops strong cultures and thus thriving civilizations. Many ancient nations in ideal locations died. Just look for pyramids. However, a better argument is to say, earth is a British colony. Now, if you look at Britain, you'll find an island of rock, wet cold and generally miserable. And on that note, what drove us out of Africa in the first place. I remember some woman talking about the native colonization of the americas, she said, "you don't stop at a place and look around and say, 'this place is paradise, let's move on'." There is an argument that Bangladesh is the best location for humanity to... start over from, it has everything. Ahem... here's what you need... Fresh moving water, a river. Fish, oh my lord fish, they have saved humanity more times than you can count. Transportation of other resources from other locations. Rivers find their starts in mountains; metals, ores, rocks, coal, concrete, etc. These river quite often pass through forests, lumber, animals, fruits, nuts, medicines. Ok, rivers... check! A landing site. A big flat area nearby that can take the impact of multiple shuttles landing and taking off. Most shuttles don't require The Great Plains worth of flat land to land on, but that does open the door to quick agriculture. Coast! If you plan to conquer the whole damn planet, you'll need a way to transport large quantities of product to at least set up shop in the other desired locations. This means boat building; piers and dry-docks, whichever level of technology is up to you, but you chose THIS location because this is where you can land your shuttles. Details details and other details... coast, check! Hang on... you landed your colonist on a desert planet? What kind of sadistic bastard are you!? Who would do THAT!? SAND!!! It gets everywhere... EVERYWHERE!!! Next thing you know, you're gonna get an angsty pent-up teenager with mommy issues and a laser-stick mowing down toddlers! THINK about what you're defining as "habitable planet"!!! GAH!!!
Wisdom teeth are functional. Modern diet bring us teeth problems we used to not have. Australian aboriginals have beautiful, perfectly aligned teeth and functional wisdom teeth when theyhave traditional diet. When "white-men's food" were introduced, this trait was lost. Wisdom teeth are not revolutionary residuals, crooked teeth and non functional wisdom teeth are kind of diseases of affluence (i'm not sure of the term).
I've never played D&D let alone done any dungeon mastering so I wouldn't know much about this. My videos are all centered around story writing in the book and screenwriting space, sorry.
This is a really old video and I no longer possess any context for it, and I just need you to know how funny that makes your comment. Maybe this is super relevant, or maybe you just really like lizards and balloons or maybe you are just a very cleverly programmed bot. It is now one of life's greatest mysteries. Shhh, don't spoil it.
I'm sorry you lost me at people not believing in evolution. Also I think you missed the whole "rule of cool" section where I then say you don't actually need to consider evolution if you don't want to. And you know the whole section where I say I don't make the rules, and my opinions on evolution are a pet peeve and that the complaint wasn't common on the reddit threads, and you know, all those other disclaimers telling people they can write how they want and art is subjective. Soooo I think maybe I lost you at evolution. And thus we are perhaps both lost now. Me especially. Please send help. And not the flat earthers, I already had a run in with them and they don't like me. Send the "You Fucked Up The Rivers" people, they seem cool.
Cloud Kitten Chronicles well it’s not that big a deal or something to get worked up over. Not everyone has the same beliefs, a little understanding and tolerance goes a long way
im currently working on something like this and it started with a story but i had almost no idea how the planet would look so I started working on a book of creatrues written by the main protaginist and kinda fell into the rabbit hole of building the world. Also I went to think about the color scheme of the animals or the reason some look like animals from earth and the tribes and traditions of the elves whom are native to the planet. to solve most of my problems i look at the real world and came up with some lore of the history along the way. i think I may hhave gone too far on all the small deatails but i just wanted to make sense of things so i postponed the acual story to try and not get lost in how to build the story. *also dont mind my grammer and spelling* and i have a question do you have a discord server made to discuss world building projects with eathother. I feel like that would be somthing nice.
Sorry for the late reply, my life has been hectic lately. Anyways, I think stepping back and taking time to immerse yourself in the world is a great idea. Even when details don't make it into the story the world will feel more filled out because you'll be writing from a place of more familiarity. I think the story is like the tip of an iceberg, all the submerged part that only the writer sees might not be visible but it's essential for keeping the tip afloat. I do have a Discord server for patrons. Currently it's a little quiet and I have billing paused, so if you joined you'd be billed the first month but then not again for a few months while I work to get back into the flow of content creation. But there are some cool writers on the server and project discussion is encouraged.
Alright my lovely people, what's your world building weakness or a mistake you made early on? If that question is too stressful to ponder because you don't want to think about your folder full of loose notebook pages sitting in a dark corner, instead tell me what brand name mistaken for a product name is your favorite? I like Velcro because I literally cannot think of an alternate word to describe that dark magic product. Fluffy Pocky Sticky Stuff? Yeah, doesn't have a very Scifi ring to it.
My weakness is picturing the landscape and buildings. I nail the characters, the story, the outfits, communication, but when it comes to geography and architecture I suck balls. 😂
Those are solid weaknesses. I got to cheat with my current series because it's post apocalyptic so I just Google street walked Seattle then imagined everything 20 years dirtier and more broken and overgrown. But my next series has aliens and their architecture and I have no idea what to do with that lol
Do you write scifi or fantasy?
My weakness is probably worldbuilders' fixation, where I neglect actually writing the story to get all the minute lil deets in perfect order. If all the names don't mean something and has at least a lil bit of back story, oops haga oh well gotta build that in
@@CloudKitten Fantasy.
@@StephaniaBonnet I really want to try fantasy but my head always tries to find a logical explanation for everything and I can't let the magic be magic. I hope one day to get there but so far I've only managed a scifi fantasy world
Fun fact, there are still saber-toothed deer, which makes no goddamn sense to me personally, but fangs on herbivores makes sense just fine. In fact, most herbivores are plenty willing to opportunistically eat meat and bugs - fallen baby birds, carrion, gnaw on bones, etc.
Don't those deer use the fangs for self defense though as well as against competing males? Also you don't really need dagger canines to eat fallen birds or bugs or gnaw on bones as that's mostly in the back teeth. The canines are mostly for the kill and/or defense if I recall. Though there are some cool examples like walruses who use their massive teeth at least in part for breaking ice. So you can definitely come up with cool ways to explain canines in herbivores. Self defense, poking holes in trees for sap, breaking some nut or fruit specific to your world, or you can just use the rule of cool and just let them have pointy canines because it looks cool.
@@CloudKitten"self defense and to compete for mates" is just speculation. They don't typically use the fangs at all when observed
@marvalice3455 it could just be something seen as hot to the deer.
Editing to add, they could just be something that was once used for self-defense and/or competing for mates but remained as a sort of vestigial trait.
@@troyjohnson2395 so many attempts at a just so story.
@@marvalice3455 Meaning no offence, you're confidently wrong. Water deer, for one, have long been observed to use their tusks in intraspecific combat for mating rights. This is a well-established fact, not speculation at all.
As an evolution buff, I should say a vestigial organ is just an organ with reduced function, it does not have to be useless.
Interesting. The defenition I remember learning was that it had to no longer serve any real purpose and be a "left over", but it's been like 7 years since I took my last university evolution class, so I accept your defenition. I wish my degree had required more evolution courses (or that they'd even offered more than the two I took) those were by far my favorite classes
@@CloudKitten a whale' s hip certainly doesn't serve it's original purpose, that's all it means. Some whales even have the detached femur inside bodies unattached to anything.
@@CloudKitten
First, let me say there's a lot of great information in your video.
However, the use of vestigial as a structure that serves no purpose at all is a misinformed definition, widely propogated in popular science articles which are often not authored by experts in the field.
The actual biological definition of vestigial is as follows:
vestigial
refers to an organ or part (for example, the human appendix) which is greatly reduced from the original ancestral form and is no longer functional or is of reduced or altered function.
www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/vestigial
This definition has not changed in over one hundred years. Robert Wiedersheim coined the term in 1893 simply as organs that had "lost their original physiological significance."
And even Darwin defined the idea in Origin of Species in 1859: "An organ serving for two purposes, may become rudimentary or utterly aborted for one, even the more important purpose, and remain perfectly efficient for the other.... [A]n organ may become rudimentary for its proper purpose, and be used for a distinct object."
So, rest assured that all those vestigial structures you learned about in the past are STILL vestigial, we've simply discovered reduced or altered functions in them.
Tell that to my two evolution professors in university where I got my 4 year degree in biology. But actually, because I paid thousands of dollars for a degree that is apparently not even useful for passively mentioning things on RUclips let alone for any actual career lol
But also you say
@@CloudKitten the definition they gave you was an old definition.
It used to be the dominant one, but it was based mostly on speculation rather than direct observation.
You do realize we won't evolve away from wisdom teeth unless everybody with wisdom teeth started dying for some reason...
Yeah but they are arguably still vestigial since they have lost all or some of their ancestral function. But good point in that the very thing that makes them no longer useful (modern medicine) and takes away much of the selective pressure that would ultimately eliminate them. I could counter argue that complications from wisdom teeth (infection from them not being removed, or complications in removal) offers some negative pressure, or that genetic drift could have some sway, but let's be honest, we'll be full cyborgs long before that pressure would lead anywhere. My using a currently present example alone sets me up for failure because of modern tech and our speed of advancement. So I guess what I'm saying is that you are correct good sir, but I think I am also correct. I'm ultimately putting my money on cybernetics though. At least the money I have left after paying off the student loans for a degree that told me whale pelvic bones were one of the best examples of vestigial traits.
@@CloudKitten Yeah, they are arguably vestigial. We might be able to modify human genetics, but things that are negative don't always get evolved out. See preeclampia, runs in families, but only kills sometimes, so it's still around and a top killer of pregnant women, even with modern medicine. If something doesn't affect reproduction, it won't get evolved out, even if it's negative. (If a bird has the right shape beak, it finds more food, lives longer, and has more babies who can then survive better and live longer and have more babies, etc.)
Cybernetics are pretty much here (see people controlling cybernetic arms with their minds) but the tech is rare and expensive. It would be great to solve so many health problems by replacing the problem. (Still think genetic modification is really promising though to prevent future generations from getting the same issues.)
Also, sorry. Didn't mean to come off as super snarky. Still did though.
As a side note, People are often born without wisdom teeth and fangs. I was born with 2 of 4 wisdom and neither canines. Hence obviously Homosuperior.
Let the purge begin…
Actually even that won't be enough. Because everyone is born with them.
We could only lose them if a few people start to be born without them, and the rest of us start dying for having them.
And even that wouldn't actually work, because there are far more people for whom wisdom teeth cause no issue than for whom they actually have problems. So the selective pressure would be for a jaw size that fits all your teeth (the trait we already have) rather than having fewer teeth (the trait which currently doesn't exist).
You cannot select for a trait unless it actually exists in the first place.
- Rivers don't split!
- RULE OF COOL!
- But in real life...
- But MY WORLD is not Real Life! Shoo!
When I was outlining my series, my first instinct was to come up with the characters, build the basic outline of the story, and fill in the blanks of the World building from there. I realized that character and story are what’s truly important. Now I am trying to strengthen it.
I'm realizing that more and more every day. If you've seen Arcane you should check out my recent video on that as my thoughts have evolved a lot since I published this one. I can't remember what my take was here, but I know I used to prioritize worldbuilding more than I should have been. Sounds like you started out on the right track.
I just found your channel today and I wanted to tell you that your content is funny, useful, and detailed. I’ve been looking for a good writing channel like yours forever! I’ve been binging your videos today and love the quality. Keep being an amazing person making crazy good content! Subbing was a no-brainer!!
Thank you so much for the kind comment and for the sub ❤ it means a lot and has made my day
Gladly, I build fantasy so brand names is largely irrelevant to my worldbuilding.
Mistake 2 is a big one for me though, I've got a story but it I'll have to pull it apart when I finally finish the worldbuilding for the parts of the world that it covers (and then have to figure out what I want to reveal so early on)
Evolution is a big part of my world! How the majority of the races came to where they are today is through a group of shapeshifters who had originated on the continent, left, and then some of them found some differences with others of their kind and came back to the continent, though to the opposite side and they didn't immediately realize it. As the shapeshifters spread out and settled down, they lost their ability to shapeshift and gained abilities that would best fit their environment. Some traits were determined by the shapeshifters themselves, and they instantly gained those traits rather than through evolution. All races that originated from the shapeshifters can still have shapeshifter children, but the ones that instantly gained determined traits have these more often and have more instability.
I use Rule Of Cool a lot and justify it (magic that literally bends reality to the user's will to make them lucky, giant wolves and hedgehogs came from an ancient race that could turn into animals but then lost this ability) but I could use it more probably
I write a lot of stuff down and then forget where I put it. Or it didn't work with what I came up with later. Details I tend to write down and forget what they mean: names of places and where the heck I got the ideas. There's a whole area that's based on ancient greek mythology names. And then I forgot where I found the links or why I named it that in the first place. 5c I have covered though *virtual thumbs up* I use google docs and largely bookmark them into folders that I keep on my bookmarks bar.
Ad: Hmm interesting might check it out. Looks like WorldAnvil a bit but not extortionately priced.
I'm super guilty of making things that no one will ever see. The large majority of my worldbuilding has been ancient history that is hardly accessible anymore or even remembered. Some of it may not even be relevant to the story I'm writing... Oh well! I've built it already. I'll just have to make it show up at some point? Or in another story.
Counterpoint: Jormungandr is in norse mythology. But I guess hes a sea snake (eel?) so what do I know either. My world is largely northern hemisphere based for the continent I'm focusing on, but if I ever feel the need to focus on any other part of the world (I probably will not) I'll keep environment in mind. I mean, there's a large variety of environments on the continent that wouldn't be there if not for magic, so environment is already in my mind. But thinking about other stuff to focus on I'll keep it in mind.
7b: already got this (for the most part). In the icy north there's magic users who make boat houses out of glaciers and sail them around, controlling their melting points in hotter places so they don't just fall apart. In the scorching desert there's a large number of oases that are locations where the bodies of dragons were buried, and these are cool and even sometimes rainy for a big radius around the spot.
Splitting rivers is something that is a real pet peeve of mine when it comes to when I show maps to people. Like they're focusing so hard to find splits. And when they do 99% of the time they're wrong, and I say "that's upriver you ******" and then they get mad. In the same vein there's lakes and people looking for if it has more than one output. Like... no, dude, that's a second input.
Last one: It's medieval fantasy. I tell someone that and they're like "ugh, no." then I say, "Orcs! Elves! Dwarv-" "NO!" they shout and run away. I try to put in nuances and original bits. It's just that the world is easily described as medieval fantasy.
Subscribed! This was fun picking through my mistakes and things I've gotten right. Thanks!
This is the first of your videos I've seen, and it's one of the most relatable videos I've seen in a while... I'm guilty of a lot of these mistakes (such as not building the world around the story, forgetting to write stuff down or writing them down with no organization, developing things nobody will see...) but I've found that many of the things I try to write out don't really need to be justified. Like who knew D&D players would rather play a game than try to read three pages of disorganized notes on the geographical anthropology of an orc tribe 😂. I'm definitely subscribing to your channel!
I'm so glad I found this channel. 😌👌🏿
I am also happy you found this channel ❤
Remember, a realistic Earth-like planet is not likely to have two large moons. They will interfere with each orbits enough to destabilize one or both, thus eventually losing one or both - or drag them crashing down - way before intelligent life can evolve. Planets the size of gas giants can support more stable(ish) moons because their gravity wells are big enough that their respective gravities won't prevent stability. If any of them are or become too close though, or crash together, you end up with rings. If they get too far or are disturbed, they can get launched away.
Earth-like planets with even one moon are likely to be realistically rare as well.
I've been wanting to do a video on just space worldbuilding alone because it's crazy how much there is to factor in. But I know basically nothing about planetery physics so the research neccesary keeps throwing me off lol. Very good point about moons. That's a really common one I see in all sorts of fiction
12 Miles Below actually does sayings that fit the world very well.
Edit: As for evolutionary traits, Natural Selection states that useless traits will only be removed if it provides a statistical decrease in survivability. If it is useless, but not detrimental, then it just atrophies due to lack of use, but never genetically disappears. As well, if that thing exists, the creature may find a use for it regardless of whether that was the intended usage of that feature. For example, I am double jointed in my thumbs. This feature is pretty much entirely useless, but somehow is a trait that has been able to pass down.
Wisdom teeth aren't going to disappear though. Evolution is as much about those that die as it is those that live. Basically, unless having wisdom teeth substantially diminishes your capacity to produce offspring, it's going to stick around looking the same as it always has. Since it doesn't diminish that potential, there is no evolutionary means to remove it barring some genetic engineering or some unimaginable and probably catastrophic change.
Ah, I looked further in the comments, and saw someone else say this. I actually assumed no one had mentioned it because it was honestly not a key element to the video, and comment sections usually focus on only a handful of key contentions/agreements.
@Samara Hamilton unless it meaningfully affects your ability to mate, it won't vanish since the genes won't be weeded out. Even then, the number of people born without wisdom teeth would have to dramatically increase reproduction to do anything.
Great tips! World building is one of the writing skills that most intimidates me. I love the rule of cool, I'd never heard of that before!
NOO! Don’t fast forward the biology talk! My starved anthro major half has been needing sustenance!
#reletable
What I sorta did was come up with a basic foundation for worldbuilding so I could understand the mechanics I'm working with so I had something to start with character design, and then once that was done I sort of build the world and the characters together
This is a good method! There really are so many different good combinations and they change the vibe of the story in hard-to-pin-down but fundamental ways. I think my method pretty closely matches yours though it shifts a lot between projects and moods
I remember a few years back I drew a fantasy map for one of my stories with all these split off and branching rivers and stuff, and I was super proud of it at the time. Looking back at it now there’s so many rivers that I can barely see the country borders and other stuff, lmao. Also I’d love to see a river anatomy video.
I am legit scared to draw any sort of map because I know I will mess up the geography in all sorts of ways. How do mountain ranges work? How does sea level affect lakes? How do mountains affect weather? What makes a desert?!?! It's all so intimidating. I'm currently still writing my dystopian series so I'm safe, but next series I need a map of an alien planet and I just
Hahah! Jokes on mistake 2- I have no story for my worldbuilding! And if I do have a story it is going to fit into the world, not the world fit into the story!
Go for it! This is art. There are no rules.
The only continent without snakes is antarctica. Snakes slithered their ways across the globe.
Interesting. I searched ice snakes and was disapointed but figured that wasn't indicative of whether there were snakes in icy places, especially places that aren't icy all year. I wasn't sure the extend to which the cold bloodedness inhibited them. Thank you for the cool info!
@@CloudKitten Yea snakes are weird! We have snakes where I live in canada and it gets pretty cold in winter, around -30. We call them ''couleuvres'' in french, not sure what they're called in english. Idk how they survive, I guess they hybernate? More research is needed haha
I was drawing my alien species that speaks via telepathy as I watched this!! I am so happy that someone mentioned it! I hate myself for doing it, because now I have to make a sign language -and- convert that into written language!! 😭😂
1B is why I have several placeholders in my story for things like [deer in the headlights]. I know there are no headlights in this world, I don't know yet if this character knows what a deer is but I am not slowing the writing momentum down. Something that always sticks out to me is fantasy where the days and months have the same names as the real world. When you have a whole fancy pantheon but we've still got a Wednesday I'm going to notice. I honestly don't know how big a deal that one is, maybe other people are fine but I see it. That being said, I've got stuck on the renaming of some of that in my world building so I get skipping it.
Hi, just want to point out a distinction about the term "vestigial". It seems common to connect a "vestigial" trait to something that is useless, but that's actually not what it means. "Vestigial" in an evolutionary sense just means that a morphological structure or trait is now diminished or changed from what its original function was. Pelvic bones in whales may still have a function, but that function is vastly reduced from what it used to be, and it's possible that future evolutionary paths will see a complete removal of the pelvic bone as we know it. Our coccyx used to attach muscles of a prehensile tail, but since we no longer have tails it is a vestigial trait, even though it still serves as an attachment point for several muscles in that region.
You know, I always keep a certain degree of reasonable skepticism when it comes to these kinds of "Writing guides" videos, but I think this one was pretty good, self-aware, and nondogmatic
disappointed that the biology ramble was cut 🥺
Honestly doubt that many of the people complaining about rivers in fantasy settings are fluvial geomorphologists whom should be heeded as knowledgeable experts on the subject matter. 🤔
I also question their fluvial geomorphologistic (definitely a word) expertise. Seems kinda sus that they'd be experts at that and also writing
Even Tolkien struggled with building a world, not to mention how long he took to make a map that worked. You don't have to build a world to make a good story, but you have to adhere to the world you allude to in a story, so your original story doesn't fall apart. If you plan several stories from this world or are making a game or several books, you should of course build a good foundation. What you can do, which perhaps is a bit easier, is to reveal bit by bit of the world as needed, and only have the structure or shadow of the world planned out. That way you have time and space to adjust a bit.
Isn't everything in an alternate world gonna use a different language and so what we read is essentially a translation and tbh no one will understand if I refer to velcro as a hook and loop fastening
That's a fair point. Truthfully my opinion on this has changed a lot since this video released. If you've seen Arcane check out my newest video as that's a better representation of my stance now. Though I do still think terminology should be treated carfully to some degree to avoid readers who nit-pick as I used to. But nowedays I'm off the opinion that story comes first.
June 2020 feels like it was a whole lifetime ago...
I know most people world build for the sake of a story. But as someone who's hobby is world building, and just world building. its sort of funny (or sometimes frustrating) to try to find tips online (or get reviews on the work) and always just have "oh what's the theme of the story, how dose this bit of world building affect the story, what's the story, how it important to the story, story, story...." like man there is no story. its just for the joy of world building. now can you tell me if this volcano is in the right spot?
if there is a story, its a consequence of naturally arising from the world building.
now here are all the alternate names I know for the things you listed as brand names: nova cane (I have no idea what that is so I can't give it an alternate name, is it toothpaste? you showed a picture of a dentist's it fluorite paste?). oiji board= spirit board/ scribing plate/ talking board (evil's gateway). Styrofoam Idk, closest I have heard is them being called foam cups. windbreaker= rain coat, parka, outer jacket, weather jacket, light coat. Frisbee= discus, throwing disc, flying saucer. Band aid= adhesive tape, medical tape, adhesives, plasters (note in another language) first aid tape. dumpster= the dump, trash, dumping container. jetski, never heard another word for it, even in other languages. taser= stun gun. velcro only ever heard it called that, perhaps call it hook adhesives, I know what inspired thier invention (stick totes, burrs, burdock plant, etc. And finally seeing eye dogs as you pointed out are called guide dogs or service dogs. (sharpie = permanent marker)
its interesting to think about what my weakness is in world building (its military history. war and politics and technology).
when world building for the sake of world building, the normal issue of world building syndrome is not a problem. because what story ae you distracting yourself from? though in the cases when I have made stories, then the world building is second fiddle, I hardly have any notes on the world building for them. I have made a lot of mistakes in world building, but I learn and grow too them, so if anyone actually reads tis, its alright to make mistakes in world building you can learn and grow from them.
The first time I heard the "if it's good you will remember it" adage was from an interview with Stephen king about his story writing process. sir, sir, you have an entire book you wrote that you claim to not remember writing, im not taking that advice. Easy to say I write down (most) ideas that come to me, I do keep writing down ideas in random places, then I'll take the time to gather the ideas into a single place. scrap the ideas that don't work, compare them to the preexisting ideas and adjust them as needed. prune the limbs of the tree so to say. prevents notes from being too long or to vauge.
im currently in the process of transferring those notes onto a digital format (I suffer/j)
it was a fun and informative video, so thank you for it.
That's what I'm struggling with as well. It did start out as a "story"... 8 years ago. It never had a clear beginning, conflict, theme, or endgame, so I guess it's only natural that it ended up this way.
It's so much fun that I started another world with the sole purpose of worldbuilding it and make more OCs that can live there, and there is one more concept waiting for me in the folder 😂
I am simply having fun playing god, making every region into a personal experiment.
So yeah, yeah, story potential and all that, now, keep talking about that theoretical evolution 😏
Disclaimer: I do not encourage people to follow my footsteps, I have a 60 page long document explaining the magic system, lore, and random things that just exist there. Don't put yourself through this torture if your goal really is to get a good story.
I'm the same way when it comes to world-building, although I also do it with the secondary purpose of (some day lol) using them as settings for TTRPG's. Currently I'm actively working on 2 and have another 2 on the back-burner, with more lurking as nebulous thoughts in my subconscious lol. Always feels like I'm perpetually in motion, but never getting any closer to the destination 😂
If reflective reasoning is the perfume that makes our heart race, organizing notes stimulates our souls like only sorting black socks in a lush summer night can...
Waitttt I wanted to know about the slippery genome
You should look it up, it's super cool. The gist is that due to the way their nucleotides combine, they have a much higher rate of mutation (slips) which results in a much higher rate of success as many mutations result in termination of the whole process. But I studied it a long time ago, and just woke up so I fear I'm not doing it justice. Here's a reddit reply that does a better job if you're interested in more www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1hhzcn/why_do_we_have_different_sized_dogs_but_all_the/cauj8yz?context=3
@@CloudKitten wow! I didn't anticipate a response, thank you for the information!! It's not surprise I'm subscribed to your channel, given the great content :)
@@jfecaz I can't let a fellow curious person live on wondering.
And thank you so much for being a subscriber ❤
Love your videos! I laughed quite a bit. I would also kill for a river anatomy video haha
Awe thank you I'm so happy you enjoyed it ❤ I am quite legitimately considering a short river anatomy video. Unsurprisingly it has horrible search ratings, but I just really think the writing world wants to know more about rivers and they just don't realize it yet lmao
@@CloudKitten I'd totally be down for it! I bet fantasy writers would especially appreciate it
Why did you fast forward the biology lesson? It was interesting!
3:25 what is a gorilla, if not your exact description? A gorilla would probably knock your soul out of your body before it bites you, but they have giant canine teeth.
I think a video on river anatomy would be neat
Thanks! I’m currently building a world where I’m in the process of creating government systems, economical structures, and well you get the gist again this helped a ton, thanks!
Love your video…
Your channel is destined for greatness. God bless you for Worldbuilder’s Guilt Syndrome…
[Edit] and giving me it…
Subscribed. Really appreciated this! Please keep up the good work 👍🏾
Thank you good sir ❤
I did hear that a vestigial trait isn't necessarily useless, it just means it has lost much of its ancestral function, so the pelvis of a whale might count, as they don't use them for walking the way their ancestors did. I concede you may know better than I on this topic though.
Also, I want a teacup cat...
This was fun! I’m going to check out your other vids. Oh and I subscribed :)
"Not accounting for evolution"
1. You're assuming that macro evolution exists
2. You're assuming that evolution exists within one's fictional world
This video is pretty old and my opinions on this have shifted. If you want a more up-to-date take on this, check out my video on the Worldbuilding of Arcane. I have definitely developed into a more "story first" opinion over the years.
Related to mistake 1, sandwich, named after the Earl of Sandwich (location).
6;26 dont show me a tortoise when talking about turtles.
The word hell doesn't belong in star wars but han solo said see you in hell in empire strikes back. Even geroge lucas one of the kings of world building slipped up once.
I love your cats name!!!! Is it a Skyrim reference perhaps?
It is! I loved Skyrim and now love Elder Scrolls Online :D
Why I can't make myself sit and write all this down? I like to imagine but then sitting and writing down all this feels tedious. Help!
Leaving the top side of a cabinet unfinished, even if no one would see it, would keep me up at night.
You and I both.
To the First two points unfortunately there is an excuse: The narrator. The narrator doesn‘t have to live in the same world or the same time. Theoreticly the narrator might be human in our time Reading a book and telling a story. So the phrase would make sence again. We just don‘t know.
Good point and I appreciate you bring it up!
I don't think I will run into any of these I come up with ideas as I am creating so ya and my world is either the distant future or a alien planet so no brands my world is also meant to be parity realistic so evolution is one of my focuses oh also I don't plan on creating a story my world building is just for world building of a realistic universe with at very most one humanoid alien species but probably not or just vaguely.
Honestly even if you run into them don't default to cutting them out on my account. It's all subjective and most anything can serve the narrative when used well. There are no rules in art, and I certainly don't make them. Truthfully I made this video back in an era where I was a bit more critical and black and white in my approach to writing. If you've seen Arcane, check out my more recent video on that as it better conveys my current views of worldbuilding.
It sounds like you're putting good thought into your world, and I think that's the most important element of worldbuilding
does kajiit sell wares?
Only if you have coin 🪙
Do you recommend any apps for note taking?
Ah, so pelvic bones help whales bone.
a good example for mistake number 9
everyone remembers the stupid name of the mineral in james camron's pocahontas but hardly anyone knows that the name unubtanium has a pretty good in fiction justification
I also fell down the river anatomy rabbit hole, please make a video about it and save others
😂 there is so much more to it than you expect until you're neck deep
@@CloudKitten my favourite part was not knowing what something was called and just googling terms until I got what I wanted
You have a lot of information to provide us writers! Any chance you can include the list or a heading for each so we can sort them out and remember your main points better? It's tough to listen without an outline of sorts.
1:15
So in Other Words. What is in the Name of a “Rose”?
What did we use to call a Rose before? It’s the same as Asking What was a “Cat” called by before we designated that name?
why cut biology
it good
So now I'm worried my story is just hunger Games with Islands dinosaur and dragons
Thank you!
5:10 Yea, magic. The turtle did not evelved, but instead was created by *insert a god name*.
Oh? Your word isn't fantasy but sf? The gigant turtle is created by ancient aliens. Or is a robot.
Ptoblem solved!
Wait why wouldn't a spacefairing society have a concept of nails? You're still building things and maintaining them.
Tying into the brand name thing, there's also refernces to real world locations. My original modern fantasy has "townies" instead of hamburgers since there's no Hamburg to name them after.
Somehow i don't think the sword is part of Zacian's actual body. I think she just has a sword thay she carries around. Her shield-bearing brother on the other hand, that's totally a hardened mane.
do Zacian and Zamazenta have genders ? it's been a while since I played SwSh but I thought legendaries were all genderless :o
@@hydrogen-8 They're referred to as brother and sister even though they don't have in-game genders
Most original way of sub-begging... Here, let me turn that red light off for you.
Building a new world for you sci-fi colony...
Where the hell are you plonking them? There are reasons why earth civilization turned out the way it did. One could make good arguments that plonking your colonists in THE BEST SPOT, is best. Ok, but one could also argue that adverse land develops strong cultures and thus thriving civilizations.
Many ancient nations in ideal locations died. Just look for pyramids. However, a better argument is to say, earth is a British colony. Now, if you look at Britain, you'll find an island of rock, wet cold and generally miserable. And on that note, what drove us out of Africa in the first place. I remember some woman talking about the native colonization of the americas, she said, "you don't stop at a place and look around and say, 'this place is paradise, let's move on'."
There is an argument that Bangladesh is the best location for humanity to... start over from, it has everything. Ahem... here's what you need...
Fresh moving water, a river. Fish, oh my lord fish, they have saved humanity more times than you can count. Transportation of other resources from other locations. Rivers find their starts in mountains; metals, ores, rocks, coal, concrete, etc. These river quite often pass through forests, lumber, animals, fruits, nuts, medicines. Ok, rivers... check!
A landing site. A big flat area nearby that can take the impact of multiple shuttles landing and taking off. Most shuttles don't require The Great Plains worth of flat land to land on, but that does open the door to quick agriculture.
Coast! If you plan to conquer the whole damn planet, you'll need a way to transport large quantities of product to at least set up shop in the other desired locations. This means boat building; piers and dry-docks, whichever level of technology is up to you, but you chose THIS location because this is where you can land your shuttles. Details details and other details... coast, check!
Hang on... you landed your colonist on a desert planet? What kind of sadistic bastard are you!? Who would do THAT!? SAND!!! It gets everywhere... EVERYWHERE!!! Next thing you know, you're gonna get an angsty pent-up teenager with mommy issues and a laser-stick mowing down toddlers! THINK about what you're defining as "habitable planet"!!! GAH!!!
12:05 fuuuuuuuck
Don't worry, 99% of us fuck up the rivers and 99% of readers don't notice
Wisdom teeth are functional. Modern diet bring us teeth problems we used to not have.
Australian aboriginals have beautiful, perfectly aligned teeth and functional wisdom teeth when theyhave traditional diet. When "white-men's food" were introduced, this trait was lost.
Wisdom teeth are not revolutionary residuals, crooked teeth and non functional wisdom teeth are kind of diseases of affluence (i'm not sure of the term).
So they can't just go back to the original diet? What happened to what they used to eat? Why didn't that spread instead?
What about the clear use of wisdom teeth to give the person wisdom.
As a dm I make the story to serve the world so I kinda disagree with you
I've never played D&D let alone done any dungeon mastering so I wouldn't know much about this. My videos are all centered around story writing in the book and screenwriting space, sorry.
You're awesome, instafollow.
Thank you!!!
🎈🦎
This is a really old video and I no longer possess any context for it, and I just need you to know how funny that makes your comment. Maybe this is super relevant, or maybe you just really like lizards and balloons or maybe you are just a very cleverly programmed bot. It is now one of life's greatest mysteries. Shhh, don't spoil it.
Evolution doesn’t have to happen in your book especially if you don’t believe in it and wouldn’t include it anyway
I'm sorry you lost me at people not believing in evolution.
Also I think you missed the whole "rule of cool" section where I then say you don't actually need to consider evolution if you don't want to. And you know the whole section where I say I don't make the rules, and my opinions on evolution are a pet peeve and that the complaint wasn't common on the reddit threads, and you know, all those other disclaimers telling people they can write how they want and art is subjective. Soooo I think maybe I lost you at evolution. And thus we are perhaps both lost now. Me especially. Please send help. And not the flat earthers, I already had a run in with them and they don't like me. Send the "You Fucked Up The Rivers" people, they seem cool.
Cloud Kitten Chronicles well it’s not that big a deal or something to get worked up over. Not everyone has the same beliefs, a little understanding and tolerance goes a long way
The fact that people dont know that seeing eye dog is a 'brand name' for guide dogs makes me snicker a lot.
I am constantly in a state of forgetting this fact lol
@@CloudKitten
When i had a guide dog it was always "is that seeing eye dog?"
Me: yeah, sure...
Why is that funny to you? Do you expect the average person will know that?
im currently working on something like this and it started with a story but i had almost no idea how the planet would look so I started working on a book of creatrues written by the main protaginist and kinda fell into the rabbit hole of building the world. Also I went to think about the color scheme of the animals or the reason some look like animals from earth and the tribes and traditions of the elves whom are native to the planet. to solve most of my problems i look at the real world and came up with some lore of the history along the way. i think I may hhave gone too far on all the small deatails but i just wanted to make sense of things so i postponed the acual story to try and not get lost in how to build the story. *also dont mind my grammer and spelling* and i have a question do you have a discord server made to discuss world building projects with eathother. I feel like that would be somthing nice.
Sorry for the late reply, my life has been hectic lately. Anyways, I think stepping back and taking time to immerse yourself in the world is a great idea. Even when details don't make it into the story the world will feel more filled out because you'll be writing from a place of more familiarity. I think the story is like the tip of an iceberg, all the submerged part that only the writer sees might not be visible but it's essential for keeping the tip afloat.
I do have a Discord server for patrons. Currently it's a little quiet and I have billing paused, so if you joined you'd be billed the first month but then not again for a few months while I work to get back into the flow of content creation. But there are some cool writers on the server and project discussion is encouraged.
i audibly gasped when i saw that you're a thicc woman, im so happy to encounter my kind in these world-building spaces- keep up the great work!
Did you actually say "polyestereen" and "public bone?" And the "Styrofoam" trademark was originally owned by Dow, rhyming with cow.