The Brooklyn Rail

A is for ancestral connection, the sooner the better
Our roots are not fixed in the past but pulse through dreams and echoes, guiding us across time. In worldbuilding, we look to our ancestors for signs—fragments of forgotten wisdom hidden in the fabric of the present.

B is for birthing, to birth a new one—one must rest
Creation is not a violent rupture but a quiet emergence, a slow unfolding from the depths. To build a world, one must first surrender to stillness, allowing the unknown to take shape in the dark.

C is for change, god is change
Change is not a linear progression, but a constant undulation. It is the force that reshapes everything it touches. Worlds do not stand still. They morph. They grow. They dissolve and reform in unexpected ways.

D is for delusion, most effective things are always not rational
The most powerful creations arise from the illogical. A new world often begins with something irrational, a spark that cannot be explained, a vision that exists beyond the borders of reason. Reality is always a little bit mad.

E is for embodiment, digesting the seed, being the new world
To build a new world, we must live it. We must wear it in our bones, breathe it in, let it flow through us as we give shape to what we imagine. The world begins with a thought but becomes real in the body, in the senses.

F is for fantasy, dream bigger than this reality
Worldbuilding requires us to step beyond the boundaries of the known. Fantasy is the muscle of the imagination, the leap from what is to what could be. It is the space where the impossible is not just possible, but essential.

G is for grace. Make a bad painting. Make a mistake. F is also for forgiveness
In creating, we will falter. But grace is found in those moments of imperfection, where our failures become the raw material of new possibilities. Mistakes are not setbacks; they are pathways to new worlds. Forgiveness is the ability to remake what has been broken.

H is for help, a new world never comes alone
Every world is shaped by forces beyond the creator. It’s a collaboration with the invisible, the forgotten, the unknown. A new world rises through the collective—through all that is seen and unseen, acknowledged and unacknowledged.

I is for iteration
Worldbuilding is not a singular act but an ongoing process. Each iteration is a layer of paint, a pulse of new possibility, a slow and steady shaping of something once formless into something alive.

J is for journey
The path to building a world is winding and unpredictable. It takes us to places we did not expect, through landscapes where the laws of physics and logic do not apply. Every step, every misstep, is part of the journey toward realizing a world’s fullest potential.

K is for knowledge
True knowledge is not what we are taught, but what we uncover. The new world is full of hidden truths, fragments of wisdom scattered like forgotten fragments of a dream. To build is to seek out knowledge, often in the strangest of places.

L is for love
Love is the force that binds everything together. It is the fabric that connects beings, ideas, spaces, and energies. Without love, a world is a series of disconnected parts. Love is the magic that turns those parts into a living, breathing whole.

M is for making love, how are you supposed to make a new world?
Creating a world is an act of deep, intimate connection. It is the union of disparate elements, a constant flow of energy between all parts of existence. To build is to engage fully—emotionally, physically, spiritually—with the world you are shaping.

N is for nourishment
A world cannot grow without sustenance. Nourishment comes in many forms—knowledge, care, energy, materials—but most importantly, it comes from attention. To nourish a world is to feed it with all that it needs to thrive.

O is for opulence
A new world must be full, overflowing with possibility, richness, and color. It is a place where abundance reigns, where every corner holds something of wonder and discovery. There is no scarcity in a world made from imagination.

P is for paint it over and over again if you have to 
The world is not built in a single stroke. It is painted, erased, and painted again. Each attempt brings you closer to something truer, more fully realized. Creation is a process of continual refinement, of daring to make mistakes and learning from them.

Q is for questions, the more the better
The more questions we ask, the deeper we go. To build a new world is to ask everything, to look at the simplest things and wonder, “What if?” These questions open doors to worlds we never dreamed of, to paths we had never imagined.

R is for respond rather than react
Building a world is not about reacting to what already is. It’s about responding to what could be, to the potential that exists in every moment. To respond is to engage with intention, to shape the world rather than let it shape you.

S is for sovereignty
Sovereignty in a new world is not control, but freedom. It is the power to shape one’s own reality, to exist as an autonomous force within a larger creation. A new world grants the space for all things to flourish, to be fully themselves without constraint.

T is for texture
The texture of a world is what gives it depth. It’s the way the ground feels underfoot, the rough edges of a stone, the warmth of the air. It’s not just what you see but how it all feels, how it moves, how it interacts with everything around it.

U is for unseen
Beneath the veil of what we know lies an unseen world, a realm where all that is hidden waits to be uncovered. The unseen world contains contradictions, impossible geometries, and forgotten histories. It is a place where the rules of our world dissolve, and new realities emerge. To build a world is to peer beneath the surface, to look at the fragments of the unseen and make them real.

V is for vision
Vision is the first step of creation. The spark ignites the entire process, the ability to imagine a world that doesn’t yet exist. Vision allows you to see beyond the limits of the present, into a future shaped by your imagination.

W is for womanism
A new world must be built with inclusivity, strength, and care. It must embrace the resilience and complexity of all people. To create a world is to create a space where everyone has the freedom to be, to thrive, and to transform.

X is for Xenogenesis
To build a world is to give birth to the unfamiliar, to create something radically new. Xenogenesis is the introduction of life that does not belong to the world we know, and that comes from outside its logic and shape. It is the spark that leads to new forms, new life.

Y is for yearning
Yearning is the force that drives creation. It is the deep, insatiable desire for something more, for something better, for something that transcends the limitations of the present. Yearning pulls us toward the impossible, toward the worlds that await us.

Z is for zeal
Zeal is the energy that powers us forward. It is the passion to keep building, even when the world is not yet fully formed. It is the fire that burns in the heart, pushing us to take risks, to dream wildly, and to make a world that is truly our own.