I CAN'T ask about WWII, the Great Depression, etc. because they are out of that person's living memory. If something happened outside society's living memory, it's unlikely a daily topic of conversation. (6) #worldbuilding

When we think about now, or what I call "the point of the present," we tend not to go back more than 30 or 40 years. Today in the US we still hearken back to Reagan and the 80s but less so the 70s and even less the 60s. They don't feel as immediately relevant. (7) #WorldBuilding

Most of the people running the show are in their 50s and 60s--born in the 1960s and 70s. Their understanding of the world is shaped by their living memories--largely what they and their parents experienced in their lifetimes. (8) #WorldBuilding

You can (and should) do the same in your fictional world. Who are some of the oldest characters in your world? Take their age and subtract from the point of the present. Double that number and that's close to their living memory. (9) #WorldBuilding

A character is much more likely affected by a generational trauma suffered by a grandparent in a war 50 years ago than fretting about what happened 200 years ago. GenXers are grandkids of WWII and children of Vietnam vets, not Civil War or Revolutionary War (10) #worldbuilding

Of course in the US we see monuments to the Civil War (esp in South) all the time, but characters living in today's point of present would likely struggle with fallout from Gulf/Middle-Eastern wars than US Civil War because they are central in living memory (11) #worldbuilding

Emotional scars run deep. A Gulf War vet looking at a Civil War monument could have resonance for the present. Fictional worlds should work the same way; people are more influenced by events in living memory, then connect those experiences to older histories (12) #worldbuilding

Lord of the Rings is a good example. Humans have a hard time relating to elves because for elves EVERYTHING is in living memory. Galadriel remembers living under Morgoth for pete's sake. (Finrod has a great line in the Silmarillion about this btw) (13) #worldbuilding

Kingdoms of Men don't trust Aragorn? Why? Because the idea of a true king of Men is outside any human's living memory. Seems sus to them. Wars of the First and Second Age aren't on their minds, rather more recent politics of Middle-earth. (14) #worldbuilding

Same for Game of Thrones. Trouble for Bob Baratheon is that memory of the last Civil War is really fresh--most leaders not only remember it but took part in it and hold grudges and pass grudges onto the next generation. Dragons though? Outside living memory. (15) #worldbuilding

To conclude, in your worldbuilding projects, don't obsess about what happened 200, 300, or 4000 years ago. It's good to have a general idea, but put more time into the politics and events happening in living memory. (16) #WorldBuilding

For important characters, calculate their age, figure out how old they would have been during a given major event. 10-year-olds see things/remember things differently than a 30- or 60-year-old. Think about how different generations would remember such events. (17) #WorldBuilding

Hopefully applying "living memory" to your #worldbuilding project can help tighten its focus and create interesting differences of opinion btwn characters based on their ages and what parents & grandparents experienced and remembered (18, fin). Happy to chat more if interested.

Are you a professor/instructor/educator/teacher interested in #worldbuilding workshops to develop #criticalthinking, #empathy, and #DiversityandInclusion? New book by Trent Hergenrader & Stephen T. Slota seeking participants for case studies, all disciplines/areas: criticalworldbuilding.com/home/invitation

Another stellar project to be featured at @Frontiers_2022 is Trent Hergenrader's Collaborative #Worldbuilding system. #Teachers & #students use it to model both real & fantastical storyworlds! collaborativeworldbuilding.com/resources/worl… For more about our Featured Projects: frontiers.education.uconn.edu/featured-proje…

You can speak with scholar-developers like Trent Hergenrader during Frontiers' many planned discussions & workshops! Book your reservation TODAY: uconnuecs.cventevents.com/event/ab621fa4… UConn UConn Neag School of Education UConn Digital Media & Design IGM @ RIT RIT MAGIC Spell Studios RIT

Writing on #worldbuilding today and referencing this video from 1977, Powers of Ten. If you've never seen it, it's well worth a 9-minute watch. youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhv…

Today, my UConn Digital Media & Design Interactive Storytelling class is getting some #worldbuilding practice using Trent Hergenrader's Collaborative Worldbuilding System! 🌟🌎

Tenure-track position for an open-genre creative writer specializing in #Afrofuturism and/or #Africanfuturism, #MagicalRealism and Post-Colonialism, #SpeculativeFutures, #IndigenousLiteratures, Literatures of the #GlobalSouth, and more. Please SHARE widely sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search…

Come see us in the RIT MAGIC Spell Studios Center this Saturday, third floor, at Imagine RIT! Using historic worlds to inspire creative writing rit.edu/news/using-his… via RIT #RIT