All Bingo

Welcome to the Worldbuilding 4x4x4 Festival! This September and October, we're going to work on clarifying worldbuilding at four different levels: the world itself, the (or a) culture in which your story takes place, the dynamics of a group within your story (possibly the protagonists or antagonists), and an individual character (possibly your main character or primary antagonist).

The Rules:

1. Generate four cards at the Bingo Generator. (If you have any problems, or prefer to have a mod generate the cards for you, let me know!)
   
   Each card will be either 4x4 or 2x2. One will use the "Worldbuilding" list under Ysabetwordsmith's Miscellaneous Prompts; one will use the"Culturebuilding Considerations" list under Community-Contributed Lists, one will use the "Group Dynamics Considerations" list under Community-Contributed Lists; and one will use the "Characterbuilding Considerations" list under Community-Contributed Lists.
   
   Feel free to strike out any prompts you don't want, or which don't fit your world. (For example, it's fine to nix "Fossil record" from the Worldbuilding list if your entire story takes place on a spaceship, or something. Unless your spaceship has been drifting long enough that it has its own fossil record, which – just sayin' – could be really cool.)


2. Write one story (or produce one work) for each card. The work must incorporate all four prompts – either in a Bingo (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) on a 4x4 card, or a postage stamp/blackout on a 2x2.

So: four cards produce four stories, with four prompts each. 4x4x4.

( Example 1: 2x2 Worldbuilding Card )

( Example 2: 4x4 Group Dynamics card )

The goal here isn't just to get you to drill down into your world, from a bird's-eye view to an up-close and personal exploration of character. It's to get you playing with the ways in which different details interact to form rich, complex situations. Worlds become vivid and surprising when plot events and characters don't exist in isolation: even if you know precisely what mechanics you need to make your story and plot function, shading in background detail and complicating environmental factors make the entire thing feel more alive.

Whether you're working in an established universe or generating a new one from the ground up – and whether you're using this to build up to NaNoWriMo or coming along for the ride for yourself – I hope you enjoy this Worldbuilding 4x4x4 Festival!