How long does it take to make a universe, how deep do you go?
It depends on the book, honestly. For a thick, multi-volume epic fantasy, I take years working on the world. Such was the case with The Way of Kings , and a few of the other massive Epics I’m planning. Mistborn had about a year of planning ahead of time.
Some books, however, I write more freely. I almost always spend a few months working on the world before writing; it’s the thing I feel I need best fleshed out. However, it is dangerous as well. Some writers spend all of their time worldbuilding and none of their time writing.
I try to focus my energies on areas of worldbuilding important to the conflict and the characters. In Mistborn , the languages weren’t important—I was going to have everyone speaking one language. In Kings , language was more important, so I developed the linguistics. (Though that won’t be manifest for a few more books.)
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