Writing Excuses 4.30: Worldbuilding the Future

Let's build THE FUTURE! [cue dramatic music] The Writing Excuses crew explores another angle on the massively multifaceted gem of a topic known as "worldbuilding." We've touched on governments, religions, and magic systems in the past. This time we're looking at a more exclusively science-fictional aspect of worldbuilding: extrapolating a future setting from what we know about the present. We start with Howard explaining why and how he went about it all wrong, and then managed to salvage it in spite of that. We move on to strategies for doing this sort of future prediction, and how to employ them in concert to worldbuild underneath your next novel. Strategies include "worst-case scenario," "best-case scenario," "the human factor," and "what's cool?" Audiobook Pick-of-the-Week: Empire of the East, by Fred Saberhagen Writing Prompt: "were-cuttlefish," courtesy of Dan Wells. Courtesy of Howard Tayler: those popping noises made by (we assume) the were-cuttlefish. This episode of Writing Excuses has been brought to you by Audible. Visit http://AudiblePodcast.com/excuse for a free trial membership*. *Note: From the Audible website, here are the terms of the free membership. Read the fine print, please! Audible® Free Trial Details Get your first 14 days of the AudibleListener® Gold membership plan free, which includes one audiobook credit. After your 14 day trial, your membership will renew each month for just $14.95 per month so you can continue to receive one audiobook credit per month plus members-only discounts on all audio purchases. A very small number of titles are more than one credit. Cancel your membership before your free trial period is up and you will not be charged. Thereafter, cancel anytime, effective the next billing cycle. Any unused audiobook credits will be lost at cancellation.