The most powerful tool for world-building is layering in references to past events left unexplained. And the biggest disease franchises now suffer from is the compulsive urge to explain EVERY. FUCKING. THING.
Explaining away every single throwaway line and character not only makes the storyworld smaller, but it also effectively shuts down mystery and the direct appeal to our imagination.
One of the most depressing things I ever saw was the SOLO movie showing us Han Solo literally doing the Kessel Run in less than 12 Parsecs. That line works so much better if you *don't* know exactly what that means!
Image
I'm reminded of China Miéville describing the couple of things that Tolkien did really, really well: the Watcher in the Water is so cool because "we know almost nothing about the many-limbed thing in the water outside Moria." Image
Lest we forget: the really great thing about MAD MAX: FURY ROAD was that it didn’t give out *any* exposition and simply immersed us in its crazy-ass world.
Since this tweet has blown up a bit, let me take the opportunity to shamelessly promote my own book on #transmedia world-building: amazon.co.uk/Science-Fictio…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Dan Hassler-Forest

Dan Hassler-Forest Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!