World building in Short Stories

We normally think of world building as in pages upon pages in notion detailing history, politics, and economics of a sci-fi world or having your own Wikipedia in World Anvil of this high-fantasy kingdom that rivals Tolkien’s.

However when we get into the meat of the story, world building isn’t quite as straightforward. Sure, in novels, you can have a beautiful map before the first chapter or use the prologue to narrate a creation-myth and the power dynamics of the land but, in short stories, “you just need to drop the readers straight into the established world, without needing to explain everything about it,” (Samantha Todd).

Which sounds scary, not going to lie, because how can we make sure the reader doesn’t get lost between all this lore? Well, the simple answer is that you curate your world around the protagonist and the story you’re telling.

Read More