202: Emma D. Dryden on Worldbuilding

Over the course of her twenty-five year career (including as Vice President and Publisher of imprints at Simon & Schuster), Emma D. Dryden has edited nearly 500 books for children and young readers, ranging in format from board books and picture books to poetry, novelty books, non-fiction, middle grade fiction, and young adult/teen fiction and fantasy.  In this rebroadcast,  Emma talks about how as a publisher she oversaw the annual publication of over 100 hardcover and paperback titles, many going on to win prestigious awards in the publishing industry.

We discuss worldbuilding, including:

• What’s the best way to help your reader feel like they’re in your world without “telling” and creating prolonged descriptions?
• How to use the weather to tell you story and build your world. – what if it rains? Are you in a desert?
• What are key pieces of the world to never forget?
• High fantasy tends to be created from the top down
• And more!

Related episodes

• Episode 148: Effective Description
• Episode 149: Sophisticated Show and Tell Part 1
• Episode 150: Sophisticated Show and Tell Part 2