The Art of Worldbuilding
Every writer needs to bring to life the world in which their characters live and act. It’s not just fantasy and science fiction writers who need to ‘worldbuild’. If you want the ‘world’ in your story to be believable and engaging to readers, you need details, atmosphere and a strong sense of places. Or else your story will fall flat.
All stories take place within their own world. Maybe it’s a cafe in a modern city, a manor house in the 1850s, or an alien planet in the future or even Middle Earth. Sometimes, we become so focused on plot and structure that we forget how important it is to create the right world. Not only for the reader but also for you as the writer.
This course will give you tools to help you create the world that is right for your characters and theme and plot.
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Step 1: Learn the technique
Watch and absorb Pamela Freeman’s insightful “Focus On” seminar as she explores how to build immersive, believable story worlds that enrich your characters, deepen your themes and strengthen your plot.
Step 2: Put it into practice
Complete focused writing exercises designed to help you develop vivid settings and create places that feel real and engaging to readers.
Step 3: Receive personalised guidance
Submit your work for thoughtful responses from experienced publisher Bernadette Foley, who will help you identify strengths, refine your storytelling choices and bring greater depth and authenticity to your story world.
This is a structured opportunity to apply what you learn – and grow as a writer. Whether your story takes place in a bustling modern city, a historical landscape or an entirely imagined world, this course will help you create settings that feel alive on the page and unforgettable to readers.
“The best part was learning more about how to reveal the world by having the character(s) interact with it. I’ve worked on my character(s) quite a bit, and on the plot, story arc and now focussed on narrative tension. But suddenly realised that I was neglecting to look at how I was building this world! This will definitely have an impact on how I approach building the world of my story.”
Wendy Banham
The world of your story will have an impact on every part of the writing process: on style, tone, point of view, characters and plot. Having your world firmly in your mind makes actually writing the story much easier, and the reading of that story so much more engaging. And yet it’s one of the most ignored parts of the creative process.
How do you make that world of the story come alive for readers, so that it becomes a place that feels real to them? A place they want to go back to.
Creating your story world is one of the fun parts of writing. It’s about playing with ideas, images, research and imagination in order to create places that are vivid in your mind, so you can share them with your reader.
This is not just about description – it’s about the work you do before you write the scenes.
Pamela Freeman on the importance of building the world of your story
This online seminar will give you tools to help you create the world that is right for your characters and theme and plot. Your guide is multi award-winning, bestselling author Pamela Freeman and will help you develop the skills you need to create your world, your way.
You’ll explore the following:
- What’s a world and why do you have to even think about it?
- How the underlying world influences your story and how it’s read
- Approaches to creating your world – research, play, plot.
- World-building systems and tools
- And MUCH more, including a Q&A session.
What You’ll Receive:
- Access to Pamela Freeman’s insightful Focus On seminar
- Handouts and slides that accompany the seminar
- Exercises to practise the skills outlined in the seminar
- Feedback on the exercise of your choice from experienced publisher Bernadette Foley
“Pamela was clear in her explanation of how important creating the world of the story is. The handout and slides were a great bonus! Well prepared. I did not realise how important it was to have a clear direction and concept of the environment in which the story is set. It has clarified quite a few points for my writing.”
Mary dos Santos
Meet your presenters
Pamela Freeman is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 50 books and novellas, plus short stories and scripts. She writes under three names: Pamela Freeman for children’s and fantasy, Pamela Hart for mystery novels and historical fiction, and Elizabeth Leydin for stories set in the Regency.
Prolific across multiple genres, Pamela has a Doctorate in Creative Arts (Writing) and she has been the director of creative writing here at the Australian Writers’ Centre for over 10 years.
Bernadette Foley is one of the most connected people in the publishing industry, working as an editor and publisher for over 30 years. She was publisher of fiction and non-fiction for international publishing house Hachette Australia for 10 years, working with such authors as Di Morrissey, William McInnes, Gabrielle Lord, Graeme Blundell, Kate Ceberano, Bronwyn Parry, Lian Hearn, Pamela Freeman, Troy Cassar-Daley and many more. In 2015, Bernadette received the George Robertson Award for Service to the Australian Publishing Industry.
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Duration 1
This is an online course
Date: Monday 19 October 2026 Start any time during the week
Duration:
1 week Allow 2-3 hours during the week
Feedback:
Yes $95 |
Duration 1
This is an online course
Date: Monday 30 November 2026 Start any time during the week
Duration:
1 week Allow 2-3 hours during the week
Feedback:
Yes $95 | ||||
