Welcome back to Brandon Sanderson’s 2025 lecture series on writing science fiction and fantasy. We’re thrilled that our favorite “lecture monkey” (his words, not ours) is feeling better this week and is back in the classroom to review more on one of the great hallmarks of his career—worldbuilding.
Last week, we did a dive into Sanderson’s Laws of Magic. Each of those laws should be treated less as laws but more as guidelines, and interrogated from the perspective that they will work in any story, not just ones with magic.
In this installment, we delve into the essential tools of worldbuilding—how to construct immersive settings, develop intricate cultures, and ensure that your world serves the story rather than overtaking it. The Worldbuilder himself provides invaluable insights into how to create depth, maintain coherence, and avoid common pitfalls when designing a fictional world.
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The Purpose of Worldbuilding
Writers often ask: what should come first—the world, the characters, or the plot?
It’s a great question. These are the three pillars of any novel. So, where should you start? Which is the most important? Now, this answer will likely vary from author to author. Everyone has a different view on what makes a story shine.
Sanderson's answer is that a great novel usually forms at the intersection of strong ideas in each of these areas. “For me, generally, I need to have a couple of good ideas in each of the areas before I feel like a novel is coming together," says Sanderson. While some stories may start with an intriguing setting, they only take shape when combined with compelling characters and a driving narrative.
So, why worldbuilding?
Worldbuilding is not just about crafting a complex setting filled with intricate histories and elaborate geographies. It’s about creating a backdrop that enhances the characters’ journeys and the plot’s progression.
If you take nothing else from this lecture, pay attention to this: Some of the most immersive worlds in literature are not necessarily the most detailed, but the most cohesive—where every element of the setting feels interconnected and serves a larger purpose within the story.
Approaching Worldbuilding from Different Angles
Some authors start with a single powerful concept: a unique magic system, a striking location, or a fascinating cultural practice. Others might start with a character and build a world around their experiences. Still, some writers prefer to start with a plot and design the world around the necessary narrative beats.
Your approach is less important than ensuring your world supports rather than overshadows your core story.
Depth Over Density
One of the key principles Sanderson discusses is his Third Law of Magic applies to worldbuilding: “Expand what you have before you add something new.”
Instead of overwhelming the reader with countless details (and weighing down your story in the process), focus on deepening existing ideas. This depth fosters connections between the setting, magic, and plot, making the world feel more cohesive and engaging.
"It’s not about density of ideas. It’s about how the ideas influence each other and the depth that you can play with those ideas,” says Sanderson.
Example: Mistborn’s World
Sanderson illustrates this with Mistborn, where multiple ideas converged into a singular, rich world.
The initial premise—"What if the Dark Lord won?"—started as a plot concept but evolved into a setting feature. Instead of simply presenting a dark and oppressive world, Sanderson explored the logical ramifications of such a world: How would society function under a ruler who had conquered everything? How would rebellion manifest? What cultural norms would arise?
Allomancy, the book’s core magic system, actually didn’t originate in the Mistborn series. As hard as it is to picture now, it was repurposed from a previous novel, then refined to serve the story’s thieving crew. The reason this technique worked so well is that Sanderson made sure the world’s design worked in harmony with character roles and narrative stakes.
The magic, society, and characters all evolved in tandem, making the world feel alive rather than artificially constructed. And that’s the key to all of this! Making your reader feel like they can live inside your story’s world is the goal here, and when that world is alive and breathing on its own, that weaving that spell is easier.
The Three Components of Worldbuilding
Sanderson breaks worldbuilding into three primary categories, each essential to making a fictional setting feel tangible and believable.
To be specific, he says, "When I sit down to build my world guide, what I generally do is I start with my three pillars: setting, plot, characters. Usually setting, character, plot. And I’ll make new headings in Microsoft Word. And I’ll be like, 'All right. I’m going to write down all the iAuAutdeas I’ve had over the years as this story has started to build and grow.'"
Okay! Armed with that structure, we’re ready to dive in. Feel free to pull up your own world guide and follow along. Or, we’d recommend saving this article for when you’re ready to work on that document, as the following section functions best as a reference.
1. Physical Setting
- Geography: Does the landscape shape the culture? Are there mountains that isolate regions? Deserts that challenge survival?
- Climate and Weather: How does the environment affect the daily lives of the inhabitants? Does it impact food sources, clothing, or architecture?
- Flora and Fauna: What unique plants and creatures populate the world? How do they interact with humans or other beings?
- Cosmology: What celestial bodies exist? Do multiple moons affect tides or mythology? Is the planet part of a larger system?
2. Cultural Setting
- Laws and Government: What systems of rule are in place? How do different regions govern themselves?
- Religions and Belief Systems: What do people worship, if anything? How does faith influence daily life and political power?
- Technology and Innovation: How advanced is society? Are they in a medieval setting, or do they have steam-powered machinery?
- Language and Dialects: Are there different linguistic groups? How do names reflect cultural history?
- Social Norms and Traditions: What are the taboos, holidays, and customs? How do they differ between social classes?
3. Magic System
- Hard vs. Soft Magic: Are there strict rules for how magic works, or is it more mysterious and undefined?
- Magical Influence on Society: Is magic feared, revered, or an everyday tool?
- Limitations and Costs: What prevents magic from becoming too powerful? Are there physical, mental, or spiritual consequences?
Worldbuilding should be strategic. Writers should focus on areas they are passionate about and that directly impact the characters and plot. Overdeveloping elements that don’t serve the story can lead to worldbuilder’s disease, which can delay writing progress indefinitely. In other words, it’s one of the worst cases of writer’s block. So, you’ll want to avoid it at all costs! But how?!
Avoiding Worldbuilder’s Disease
Many writers fall into the trap of excessive planning—spending years fleshing out details instead of writing. Sanderson warns against this “worldbuilder’s disease”, advocating for deadlines and an iterative approach.
"Worldbuilder’s disease is something that I coined among one of my early writing groups,” says Sanderson. “We talked about the idea that you could spend so long on this that you get paralyzed by the amount that you have to do."
The antidote is fairly straightword. Worldbuilding should serve the story, not hinder progress. To maintain balance, Sanderson suggests picking a few key elements to develop deeply rather than attempting to flesh out every aspect of the world.
A practical tool for this is the Iceberg Technique: most of the world’s details remain unseen beneath the surface, while only the essential, story-relevant elements emerge in the narrative. Readers should sense that the world is vast and complex, but they don’t need to see every detail.
Grounding the Reader: The Pyramid of Abstraction
While it’s challenging to ground a reader in every genre, fantasy authors face a unique challenge: every concept in their world must be communicated from scratch. You have to avoid confusing the reader. To do that, Sanderson recommends balancing abstract ideas with concrete sensory details.
For instance, instead of explaining a magic system’s mechanics in an encyclopedia-style info dump, describe how it feels—the shimmering of spice in Dune, the metallic taste of burning metals in Mistborn: The Final Empire. These tangible cues anchor readers in the world while allowing them to infer deeper rules organically. By focusing on sensory engagement, writers make their settings immersive without bogging down the story.
Choosing the Right Viewpoint and Tense
Making your world feel real can also come in the small details of your writing. While viewpoints and tense can be seen as more technical aspects of your craft, you can also use them in creative ways to make your world feel more immersive. Sanderson outlines the strengths and weaknesses of different perspectives:
- Third-Person Limited: The most common for epic fantasy, offering a deep dive into individual characters while allowing multiple viewpoints.
- First-Person Intimate: Common in YA fiction, placing the reader directly inside a character’s thoughts.
- Omniscient: Rare in modern fiction but effective in books like Dune, where the narrator provides an all-encompassing perspective.
He also discusses the nuances of present vs. past tense, noting that YA leans toward present tense while traditional fantasy favors past tense. However, both can be effective depending on the story’s tone and audience expectations.
Making Worldbuilding Work for You
Ultimately, Sanderson emphasizes that worldbuilding should enhance rather than distract from storytelling. To achieve this:
- Focus on interwoven ideas: Elements of setting, culture, and magic should support the character arcs and plot progression.
- Avoid info-dumping: Use character experiences and sensory details to reveal the world organically.
- Pick key areas to develop: Instead of fleshing out every aspect, invest in details that directly impact the narrative.
By applying these principles, writers can craft worlds that feel immersive, unique, and—most importantly—alive.
Until next week!
