On Writing and Worldbuilding: Volume 1
- Downloads：6569
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-12 07:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Timothy Hickson
- ISBN：1798967650
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Writing advice tends to be full of 'rules' and 'tips' which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong。 In On Writing and Worldbuilding， we will discuss specific and applicable ideas to consider， from effective methods of delivering exposition and foreshadowing， to how communication， commerce， and control play into the fall of an empire。
Reviews
Prithviraj
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So。。。 I have mixed feelings about this one。YouTuber Hello Future Me has a series on his channel called 'On Writing' and this book is more or less a transcript of that series。I would not recommend this book to someone who has read books about writing before。 They won't derive much utility from this one。But， if you're just getting into studying writing， then this might be a good introductory guide for you。 It has some fine advice in it， and the author explains his points using a lot of examples fr So。。。 I have mixed feelings about this one。YouTuber Hello Future Me has a series on his channel called 'On Writing' and this book is more or less a transcript of that series。I would not recommend this book to someone who has read books about writing before。 They won't derive much utility from this one。But， if you're just getting into studying writing， then this might be a good introductory guide for you。 It has some fine advice in it， and the author explains his points using a lot of examples from books from authors all across the board。3。8/5 。。。more
Kyle Petersen
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While I cannot talk about the plot of this book as there is none， I can talk about its content and presentation， briefly。 i purchased this as I’ve always had an interest in the processes and methods that go into creating a story and world， and this book delivered that insight。 I’ve also seen the video series this book is tied to， but it had been a while。 The presentation felt unique to Hickson’s style which made the reading feel familiar。 The topics covered were interesting and valuable， and the While I cannot talk about the plot of this book as there is none， I can talk about its content and presentation， briefly。 i purchased this as I’ve always had an interest in the processes and methods that go into creating a story and world， and this book delivered that insight。 I’ve also seen the video series this book is tied to， but it had been a while。 The presentation felt unique to Hickson’s style which made the reading feel familiar。 The topics covered were interesting and valuable， and the examples were relevant and generally recognizable。 That being said， I wouldn’t recommend reading it cover to cover for a school independent reading assignment like I did’ it’d be better to read sporadically as they are relevant or interesting to you。 。。。more
Santiago Muguiro
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Absolutely loved it。 The advice is super well researched and really makes sense。 It has helped me tell the stories that I want to tell in a more seamless way。 It is also very easy to follow。
Lori Carpenter
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Great information but needs a good editor for grammatical mistakes。
Adrian
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Not everything in it will be useful or informative， but even if you're interested in writing other genres than science fiction or fantasy you may still gain something from this。 Nothing that ground breaking， but laid out in an idiot resistant format that I will try to reread if I continue or start to write， depending on what I consider things at the moment。 Written well enough you could probably read it for fun as someone with no interest in writing， though I explicitly can't recommend that。 Not everything in it will be useful or informative， but even if you're interested in writing other genres than science fiction or fantasy you may still gain something from this。 Nothing that ground breaking， but laid out in an idiot resistant format that I will try to reread if I continue or start to write， depending on what I consider things at the moment。 Written well enough you could probably read it for fun as someone with no interest in writing， though I explicitly can't recommend that。 。。。more
Gerard Vargas
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9/10
Tobias Wallbaum
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A damm good work that helpd one understand how the stories we only consume work， and why some work better， some work good and some are just garbage made by Zack Snyder
Iago
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This is a good book， and as I finished it I felt like I've learnt something。 I've been following Tim's videos for a long time and this book condenses all his essays， and also gives some extra content。 This is thought as a reference book for writing， yet I read it from start to finish and it is not dry at all， it's fun and enjoyable all the way through。 It uses many books， films and tv shows as examples on every point that he makes， and I haven't read most of them， yet the author is able to illus This is a good book， and as I finished it I felt like I've learnt something。 I've been following Tim's videos for a long time and this book condenses all his essays， and also gives some extra content。 This is thought as a reference book for writing， yet I read it from start to finish and it is not dry at all， it's fun and enjoyable all the way through。 It uses many books， films and tv shows as examples on every point that he makes， and I haven't read most of them， yet the author is able to illustrate the concepts he wants to explain without being too spoilery （he always points out the reference stories at the beginning of every chapter， in case anyone wants to avoid any kind of spoilers）。 Would recommend as a reference book for every aspiring writer， and as reading content for every fantasy/science-fiction enthusiast。 。。。more
Tokimaru
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If you're a fan of Tim's YouTube channel analysis， this is a great book to pick up and support his work。 Overall I enjoyed the subject。 I listened to the entire audiobook and still took in all the points he makes because I've watched his videos on all of these subjects multiple times。 Some subjects he dives a little more into to clarify things he might not have had time for on his YouTube channel or adds on things like references and points， but overall he doesn't bring as much new content to th If you're a fan of Tim's YouTube channel analysis， this is a great book to pick up and support his work。 Overall I enjoyed the subject。 I listened to the entire audiobook and still took in all the points he makes because I've watched his videos on all of these subjects multiple times。 Some subjects he dives a little more into to clarify things he might not have had time for on his YouTube channel or adds on things like references and points， but overall he doesn't bring as much new content to the table as I had hoped for。 It feels a little like you got a textbook of YouTube content that feels very familiar if you've already watched his video series。 。。。more
Colin Edwards
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As someone who loves creating stories， whether for personal fantasizing or for things like D&D， I figured Hickson's book would be right up my alley。 I am also a massive fan of his YouTube content， which is where I found out about this book originally。 I do enjoy this book and certainly recommend it to newer writers， although it did not quite have the full appeal I was hoping for。 I am a sucker for worldbuilding and the Worldbuilding section of this volume felt very specific and less thought-out As someone who loves creating stories， whether for personal fantasizing or for things like D&D， I figured Hickson's book would be right up my alley。 I am also a massive fan of his YouTube content， which is where I found out about this book originally。 I do enjoy this book and certainly recommend it to newer writers， although it did not quite have the full appeal I was hoping for。 I am a sucker for worldbuilding and the Worldbuilding section of this volume felt very specific and less thought-out than the Writing section。 On top of this， there were many more formatting and editing errors as the book went on （though I believe this is mainly due to the grueling process of self-publishing）。 I think my main issue with the book was that many of the examples Hickson uses are great， but niche。 Not niche in an underground sense， but niche in that if you have never read/watched the series he is describing， a lot of it can seem confusing and makes you lose track of the point he is making （this problem is circumvented in the YouTube videos this book is adapted from because he can also SHOW you what he is referencing）。 With the number of times he discusses Avatar （as he should， it's a pinnacle of writing and worldbuilding）， it made me wonder if someone who has never watched this mid-2000s cartoon would have the same appreciation for those scenes described in the book。 Overall， the book is very well-written and an easy read full of Hickson's nerdy humor and wit to keep the reader engaged， but I found more gripes the longer I read it。 I am really looking forward to seeing how Volume 2 improves！ 。。。more
Medhya R Samarasinghe
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Definitely a worthy read for anyone who wants to write a story。 Even for anyone curious about the art of writing。 There are many things that you can learn from this book， and help inspire and make easy the writing process！
Mark Eichin
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Not sure how interesting this is for a writer of any experience， but from the perspective as a reader who is interested in the "behind the scenes" and getting a better appreciation of how worldbuilding works （how much effort it is， and the kind of things that make it convincing， plausible， or even just "doesn't fall apart at the first interesting plot event"） it's got a lot of structure and really accessible examples。 Put another way， it's useful for deconstructing worldbuilding， which I suspect Not sure how interesting this is for a writer of any experience， but from the perspective as a reader who is interested in the "behind the scenes" and getting a better appreciation of how worldbuilding works （how much effort it is， and the kind of things that make it convincing， plausible， or even just "doesn't fall apart at the first interesting plot event"） it's got a lot of structure and really accessible examples。 Put another way， it's useful for deconstructing worldbuilding， which I suspect matters as much if you're writing in an existing world as it does when coming up with your own。 。。。more
Lucia
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Came out of reading this with some great ideas！ Definitely worth a read。 Even if you're one of the few uncultured readers that hasn't watched "Avatar: The Last Airbender。" Came out of reading this with some great ideas！ Definitely worth a read。 Even if you're one of the few uncultured readers that hasn't watched "Avatar: The Last Airbender。" 。。。more
Patrick
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Great book that gives real actionable advice on how to write and worldbuild
Parker
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Timothy Hickson has a lot of useful tips！
eddie ♡
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A great book on the basics of writing and worldbuilding。 I knew most of what was in this book， but for someone who is new to writing， I think it's a great segue into more complex structures and thoughts。Tim's Youtube channel is pretty great， too， and if you're more of a visual learner， you might benefit more from watching him talk about these things than reading them。 Also， it's free。 A great book on the basics of writing and worldbuilding。 I knew most of what was in this book， but for someone who is new to writing， I think it's a great segue into more complex structures and thoughts。Tim's Youtube channel is pretty great， too， and if you're more of a visual learner， you might benefit more from watching him talk about these things than reading them。 Also， it's free。 。。。more
Joaquín
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Solid compilation of his videos （Hello Future Me）。 Could use some editing to be read better as a stand-alone book。
Abhirup
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Must-buy for understanding a deeper level of storytelling devices through well-accessible media。 Recommended for creative artists of visual and game media too， and not just writing。I have read other books relating to the writing craft - and they are always about "The 5 laws of magic-systems" or "Why your prologue should be less than 125 words" or "the 7 types of protagonists" or "100 thesaurus words you can use to show， not tell"。This book tosses these "monkey-see-monkey-do" tips aside， and inst Must-buy for understanding a deeper level of storytelling devices through well-accessible media。 Recommended for creative artists of visual and game media too， and not just writing。I have read other books relating to the writing craft - and they are always about "The 5 laws of magic-systems" or "Why your prologue should be less than 125 words" or "the 7 types of protagonists" or "100 thesaurus words you can use to show， not tell"。This book tosses these "monkey-see-monkey-do" tips aside， and instead goes into a deeper understanding of what makes good storytelling， how to deliver emotional beats， writing memorable character arcs and creating a unique and immersive world。It's divided into well-organized chapters， and uses well-accessible media like LOTR， Harry Potter， ATLA etc。 to give practical examples of his ideas in action。 While some of these ideas are a repetition from his youtube videos， it still adds value to have them compiled and collated under appropriate sections for quick references。Since the book is about fundamentals of storytelling， they are applicable to all media - such as filmography， video-games， table-top games， podcasts etc。 and not just writing alone。 I would encourage artists who engage in other forms of storytelling to look into this book too。 。。。more
Sebastian Zavala
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The title of "On Writing and Worldbuilding" may be a little misleading。 It sounds like something definitive， like the ultimate book about those subjects。。。 but it really is not。 It IS a compelling book full of interesting tidbits and recommendations regarding structure， plot， character and， of course， the general worldbuilding of sci-fi and fantasy stories。。。 but it doesn't feel like something COMPLETE。 Maybe due to the fact that it's supposed to be the first volume of who-knows-how-many books？I The title of "On Writing and Worldbuilding" may be a little misleading。 It sounds like something definitive， like the ultimate book about those subjects。。。 but it really is not。 It IS a compelling book full of interesting tidbits and recommendations regarding structure， plot， character and， of course， the general worldbuilding of sci-fi and fantasy stories。。。 but it doesn't feel like something COMPLETE。 Maybe due to the fact that it's supposed to be the first volume of who-knows-how-many books？In any case， I must admit I DID manage to extract quite a bit of knowledge out of this book --it's well-written （except for the odd phrasing or spelling mistake here and there）， it's entertaining， and it does offer a lot of advice regarding the aforementioned subjects。 Its greatest defect， though， is that it uses too many audiovisual examples， like movies and shows， instead of， you know， actual novels。 And Hickson DEFINITELY has a thing about "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra"， mentioning them in almost every chapter， and even using the same quote from the former show twice。 He definitely needs more examples （and more compelling ones）， and stop using "Avatar" for pretty much everything。 It can get really repetitive！Apart from that， though， I can't say its a bad book， despite it already having quite a big number of haters and naysayers。 Now， we just have to wait for the second volume！ （If it ever comes out， of course）。 。。。more
Norah Oldenziel
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This book is amazing and helpful in a way On Writing， by Stephen King， was praised to me。 This book talks about the inner turnings of fantasy and science fiction， whilst still touching on many aspects of general writing。 This book feels like the next step in my writing journey。 What it describes is a book which I would love nothing more than to read。
Brian Harrison
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This is an extension of Tim’s fabulous YouTube channel and I’m really glad to have picked up a copy of it。 If you haven’t seen his videos you should。 The book just adds to that information and fills it out more。 It is definitely a valuable writing resource。
Alex Brooksbank
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Absolutely loved this book。 The layout， tone and language were perfect for an educational book and I learned a lot about all sorts of topics。 It's also inspired me to go further and delve into both books on writing and texts relevant to my world。 I also loved the examples used and how they were analysed， really illustrating the topics Hickson was explaining。Very insightful。 I highly recommend it for writers and worldbuilders， particularly in the fantasy and sci-fi genres。 Will definitely go back Absolutely loved this book。 The layout， tone and language were perfect for an educational book and I learned a lot about all sorts of topics。 It's also inspired me to go further and delve into both books on writing and texts relevant to my world。 I also loved the examples used and how they were analysed， really illustrating the topics Hickson was explaining。Very insightful。 I highly recommend it for writers and worldbuilders， particularly in the fantasy and sci-fi genres。 Will definitely go back to different parts as I write！A/N - I listened to this on audiobook， and if you're so inclined， it is beautifully read。 。。。more
Chris Bridges
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Amazing book for your writing shelfI read the book in 2 sittings and LOVED it。 The author covered aspects of world building that I never considered。I can see myself reading the book again。
Parker Yardley
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A great an needed book for any future writer。
Anne
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Love Tim's videos， and this was just as fantastic。 Except now I can UNDERLINE。 YesssFor sure recommend。It is a short book， but very concise。 A lot is packed in for how short it is。 Bonus are the footnotes and humor。 Love Tim's videos， and this was just as fantastic。 Except now I can UNDERLINE。 YesssFor sure recommend。It is a short book， but very concise。 A lot is packed in for how short it is。 Bonus are the footnotes and humor。 。。。more
Lena
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On Writing and Worldbuilding was a wonderful addition to the Hello Future Me YouTube channel。 While it does reiterate points made in videos， it goes a tad bit further in detail， and it seconds as an encycplodedia。 I can look up specific paragraphs and reread parts without having to scan through an entire video。 This is very handy for me in the revision stage of my manuscript。 Also very grateful for the list of references that introduces each chapter。 Avatar is used quite a bit， but there are ple On Writing and Worldbuilding was a wonderful addition to the Hello Future Me YouTube channel。 While it does reiterate points made in videos， it goes a tad bit further in detail， and it seconds as an encycplodedia。 I can look up specific paragraphs and reread parts without having to scan through an entire video。 This is very handy for me in the revision stage of my manuscript。 Also very grateful for the list of references that introduces each chapter。 Avatar is used quite a bit， but there are plenty of other examples and sources， too。 I do wish more examples were from novels rather than tv shows/movies。 I also think the author could have had more examples from his own writing， because he would know exactly what he intended with the examples。 All in all a useful compendium I'll be coming back to for making my own worlds more immersive。 。。。more
Bryce D
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"On Writing and World Building" is not only that of a literary， how-to but an interesting dive into the structure that makes humans the way they are。 I very much enjoyed this！ "On Writing and World Building" is not only that of a literary， how-to but an interesting dive into the structure that makes humans the way they are。 I very much enjoyed this！ 。。。more
Thirza
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First of all， the book itself looks gorgeous。 I was a bit sceptic when I first saw the cover online but once I held it in my hands it is truly a beautiful addition to my shelves。 I am not the biggest fan of the font though， it is occasionally difficult to read。 Not all t's are crossed and sometimes the uppercase P's are missing ink。 I am， however， not sure if that is because of the font， because I happen to own a copy that went a bit wrong in the factory or because I read a book with a really ni First of all， the book itself looks gorgeous。 I was a bit sceptic when I first saw the cover online but once I held it in my hands it is truly a beautiful addition to my shelves。 I am not the biggest fan of the font though， it is occasionally difficult to read。 Not all t's are crossed and sometimes the uppercase P's are missing ink。 I am， however， not sure if that is because of the font， because I happen to own a copy that went a bit wrong in the factory or because I read a book with a really nice font just before this。 Anyway， these are all completely irrelevant things regarding actual content。 The real question is， does it help you create stories？The answer to that， in my opinion， is yes。 Timothy Hickson's clear structure and simple language are a breath of fresh air compared to other writing books， which often contain stuffy language with too many rules and references to old books and movies nobody has read or seen。 On Writing And Worldbuilding has modern， accessible examples， announced at the beginning of each chapter， and every chapter is closed by a quick summary。 Instead of stating rules and regulations， Timothy explains what works in a story， and why it works。 He also gives tips on creating a realistic world， looking at real-world examples to show how empires and religions are upheld。The book doesn't only work for wanting to create a world yourself， but also helps you to analyse other people's worlds。 As an English student， I can imagine that I would use some of the information given if I have to close-read and analyse a novel。 The examples given are not limited to books， but extend to games， series and movies。 This makes On Writing And Worldbuilding not only a great resource for those wanting to write a novel， but for anyone trying to create a story， whether it is through words， visuals or any other possible media。 The book is intended for stories of fiction， with a focus on fantasy or science fiction。 However， it also contains handy tips for those looking to write more realistic fiction。All in all， I would definitely recommend this book and Timothy Hickson's YouTube channel hellofutureme。 They are both great resources for creators and for people analysising other people's creations。 。。。more
Sara
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LOVE THIS BOOK！！！！It is writen perfectly and flows very nicely。 There are many references to make you understand what he is talking about， but you do not need to know the books to understand what he is trying to say。 I learned a ton about who to write and how to build my fictional world。 I would recomend。
Merphy
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