We love making fictional worlds, but what makes a world like Tolkien's Middle Earth so powerful? What makes these mythical places feel like real locations in the minds of readers? In this course, students will learn about geology, sociology, and history to build a believable world.
Total classes: 12
Duration: 55 minutes per class
Prerequisite: Worldbuilding, Part One or equivalent
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th grade. Interested 8th-grade students are also welcomed.
Suggested credit: One full semester of Art, Social Studies, Creative Writing, or Sociology
Instructor: Inshal Chenet
Instructor Email: inshalj@gmail.com
Course description: Whether you are writing a fantasy or sci-fi story, creating a video game, designing an RPG, or just making a world for fun, this course is a guide for making believable worlds. We will be merging good storytelling, good science, and good sociology to help students develop their worlds.
Course outline:
Week 1: Living like a medieval
Week 2: Cultures and geography
Week 3: Cultures and daily life
Week 4: Trade and international life
Week 5: Language and names
Week 6: Soft and Hard Magic/Technology
Week 7: Effects of Magic/Technology
Week 8: War on earth
Week 9: War in space
Week 10: Hidden Worlds
Week 11: Story Telling and talking about the world
Week 12: History unlike our own.
Course materials: Readings will be provided FREE by the instructor as PDF files. An answer key is not provided for this course.
Homework: Each week, students will be required to read a text, and then write / draw a few pages about their world.
- Teacher: Inshal Chenet