Welcome to Season 4 of Daggers & Daydreams! We’re kicking things off with one of Helen’s favourite topics—worldbuilding. Whether you’re crafting an elaborate fantasy realm or setting your story in the “real” world, the way you build your world shapes your characters, your plot, and the entire reading experience.

We talk about what worldbuilding really means, how it differs across genres, and why even contemporary fiction needs it. We also dig into our own processes, what comes first (the world or the characters), the common pitfalls we’ve encountered, and whether you really need that fantasy map.

Finally, we share some of our favourite fictional worlds we’d happily live in…and the ones we’d run from screaming.

Timestamps
00:18 – Season 4 welcome & upcoming topics
01:33 – What worldbuilding means to us
02:44 – How the world impacts story and character arcs

04:31 – Why worldbuilding matters in all genres
10:26 – Differences in worldbuilding between fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary fiction
15:17 – Our personal worldbuilding processes
18:00 – What comes first: the character or the world?
23:16 – Do you really need a fantasy map?

26:42 – Pitfalls we’ve fallen into when worldbuilding
30:55 – Favourite worlds we’d want to live in and worlds we’d definitely avoid

34:05 – Top tips for Worldbuilding
36:46 – Closing thoughts

Keywords: worldbuilding tips, writing craft, fantasy writing, contemporary fiction, story setting, character development, novel structure, writing advice