Going places we've never been

This was a great discussion by a panel of eight authors.

Over the last few days I've been listening/watching the SFF Addicts podcast episode that was recorded at Worldcon 2025. Adrian M. Gibson, M.J. Kuhn, and Greta Kelly did a great job at moderating a panel with George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, ‪BrandSanderson‬, Rebecca Roanhorse and Ryan Cahill. I really enjoyed the questions that they asked and the discussions that occurred. It was about 2 hours long, so I couldn't listen to it in one sitting. There was just too much going on.

The panel covered a lot of topics, but I really liked it when they got into discussing using settings that are unfamiliar to us as readers. Greta Kelly kicked it off by pivoting off some comments made by George R.R. Martin and asked the panel about their worldbuilding that may not center on the typical European focus in fantasy books. The link will take you to George's comments and Greta's question. The discussion was thought provoking for me. The area I'm picturing for Mack Hawthorne is kind of modeled after England. The technology level is the late 1800s. I'm not going somewhere I've never been (in books) before.

To an extent, I'm doing this on purpose. There's so much that I have to learn about writing that I'm purposely not taking on some challenges. Right now it's about learning to write an entire novel and putting together the largest story that I've ever told. So going to something familiar sounding isn't a bad idea. I can let myself be stretched as a new author, which feels like quite a bit already.

Still, there was a lot for me to consider here. I've already looked into American and Native American folklore for creatures. I didn't know anything about almost everything I read about. There's a ton of sources and ideas that I've never considered. What would a story in the Philippines look like, for example? I know nothing about that area of the world. This discussion is something that I want to keep in mind as I grow as a writer. I like the sense of wonder that a fantasy book brings. We can look for that wonder in the histories, cultures, and folklore of other times and places on the earth.

I need to come back to this when I really start trying to develop my abilities in worldbuilding.