World-building

John and Craig discuss how you create a fictional universe for your story, and the limits of how much can fit on the page. From location to language to wardrobe, choosing which details to make explicit is a crucial early decision. Too little detail and the reader doesn’t know how your story is special; too much detail and the story gets lost. Also this week, Resurrection vs The Returned vs The Returned vs Les Revenants — just because it’s an original idea to you doesn’t mean it’s the first time anyone’s ever thought of it. We also provide exactly five minutes of follow-up on last week’s discussion about what should replace the current screenplay format. And True Detective! Which we loved! It’s only because we loved it that we can point out ways it could have been stronger. Did the traditional once-a-week format help or hurt it? Probably both. LINKS: Get tickets now for John’s WGF panel, From First Draft to Feature Weekend Read 1.0.2 is in the App Store now Slate on Resurrection vs. The Returned True Detective on HBO Fiasco by Jason Morningstar Airmail for OSX Outro by Scriptnotes listener Blake Kuehn (send us yours!) You can download the episode here: AAC | mp3. UPDATE 3-21-14: The transcript of this episode can be found here. The post World-building first appeared on John August.