Mary Poppins
Discover the consciousness-based cosmology that P.L. Travers built in the Mary Poppins universe.
-
How to Design Soft Magic Systems by Refusing to Explain. Worldbuilding Lessons from Mary Poppins
Stop treating soft magic systems like lazy worldbuilding. Discover how P.L. Travers and Hayao Miyazaki use mystery and ‘Weaponized Silence’ to build wonder.
-
How to Design Intrinsic Magic Systems Where Characters ARE Magic. Worldbuilding Lessons from Mary Poppins
Does your character do magic, or ARE they magic? Learn how to design intrinsic magic systems using worldbuilding lessons from Mary Poppins.
-
What 5 Hidden Worldbuilding Rules Make Mary Poppins the Most Misunderstood Magic System in Children’s Literature?
Discover 5 hidden worldbuilding rules in P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins. The literary magic system is a masterclass in mystery that Disney completely missed.
The Cosmere
Explore how Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe provides a master class in worldbuilding constraint.
-
Magic Activation Mechanisms Are Worldbuilding Grenades with Very Long Fuses
Discover why magic activation is the most overlooked element of worldbuilding. Learn how the on-switch of a magic system creates institutional gatekeeping, social inequality, and visceral narrative stakes.
-
When Collective Memory Meets Physics
Collective memory is a foundational worldbuilding constraint that can turn belief into physics and forgetting into a death sentence.
-
How Worldbuilding Ripple Effects Bring Worlds to Life
Discover how worldbuilding ripple effects create settings where every void, institution, and cultural horror feels inevitable and lived-in.
The Expanse
Learn how Abraham and Franck’s The Expanse universe delivers a high-velocity pressure cooker for worldbuilding.
-
How Communication Delay Makes Distance Hurt. Worldbuilding Lessons from The Expanse
Master the art of the gap. Learn how communication delay drives narrative tension in The Expanse, The Martian, and Sandman. Discover why the speed of light is a worldbuilder’s most devastating weapon for creating high-stakes drama and moral isolation.
-
Build Your World on One Big Lie, Then Spend Years Asking What It Breaks. Worldbuilding Lessons from The Expanse
Stop over-explaining your fiction. Learn how to use one big lie in worldbuilding to create a consistent, lived-in universe. From The Expanse to Dune, discover why the best stories aren’t built on realism, but on the ruthless interrogation of a single impossible handwave.