Hard Worldbuilding vs. Soft Worldbuilding | Which is better for your story?

Hard vs Soft Worldbuilding for fantasy and sci-fi writers. What's the difference, and which one is better?
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#writing #worldbuilding #scifi #fantasy
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Chapters:
00:00 What are soft and hard worldbuilding?
00:53 Examples from classic fantasy
01:50 Which I chose for my worlds
02:56 How to tell hard worldbuilding from soft
03:53 Which is better?
06:07 Final notes on worldbuilding
06:37 End cards

[AutumnAprodithe]

Im writing a scifi horror, but before disaster strikes I want to write about peaceful times, but I find that part the hardest.

[niteshjangid]

I personally like to write fantasy so its Hard-world building for me, never knew about these terms tho. For my ongoing story, It took over a month to fully design my world, still modifying it with plot to leave no plot holes.

Question for you- how do I know my world building is good, what questions can I ask to my world?

[c.c.milton]

As a pantser with a very over active imagination, I find a medium world building with a sprinkle of deep mixed in for the start to be the easiest of the two. It makes sure you won’t info dump, but yet let readers think there is more than you wrote. Then in book 3 I take it deep, as the past catches up with the present. But I was fully aware I was writing a series, so I had to think hard on the best way to world build in 5 books. Always annoys me when the author goes big at the start, cause then it seems bland and nothing new to explore later on. One book I read a while ago, author told the entire history in like the first 3 chapters. So when the characters found a smash ancient statue you already knew why. He didn’t trust the reader with their imagination. It is always annoying when the author does not trust the reader. Anyways great vid. I think it is one of your bests.

[markmuller]

For people with Aphantasia definitely soft w.b. I'd assume 😅

[freeman_]

If anyone wants an example of S tier world building in high fantasy, check out Cradle. Will Wight is a wizard at pacing you through a gradually widening world.

Or you could just not be a coward and do 12 pages of lore dumping with 0 external stimuli besides the mc acknowledging a singularly fat beetle trundling by.

[niteshjangid]

For a sec I thought you are teaching art 😂