What Is Worldbuilding?

This article was co-written by M.E. White and published in Volume 5 Issue 3 of Worldbuilding Magazine.

In this article, M.E. White and I endeavor to establish an understanding of "worldbuilding" that encompasses the only world that we have access to: our own. Basing our thoughts on Tolkien's theories of worldbuilding laid out in "On Fairy Stories," we synthesize his thoughts with semiotics and indirect representational philosophy. By describing how we can worldbuild we outline what worldbuilding is, a subject which is the foundation for our ultimate goal: an aesthetics of worldbuilding.

Thank you to our friends and comrades of the TerraGenesis Collective, and to the editors of Worldbuilding Magazine, who helped polish this work!

"What Is Worldbuilding?" Banner Art by S. King — Banner & Cover