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<blockquote data-quote="MoogleEmpMog" data-source="post: 3460248" data-attributes="member: 22882">I personally find this untrue.&nbsp; True, perhaps, if the worldbuilding is done in 'rambling essays,' but this is the digital age; a reasonably competent computer literate person (say, good enough to consistently get to and post on a message board <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ) can do worldbuilding in MS Word or Wordperfect and generate an index for it that will allow him easy reference; with a smidgeon more expertise or a copy of any commercial HTML editor, he can hypertext up his world document and make it even easier to reference.As to the original quote, I think it takes a subjective viewpoint that applies either to the author's own preferences or to a certain subset of speculative fiction, and then applies it to the whole.Me, I *hate* detailed worldbuilding in books.&nbsp; Bores me to tears.&nbsp; Howard gave a more vivid picture of the Hyborian Age in a paragraph than most fantasists, operating in the Tolkien mold, do in a whole novel, and Howard also developed the world as he went along, leaving plenty of empty space for storytelling...But Howard still did worldbuilding OUTSIDE THE STORIES (and, subtly, in them).&nbsp; He wrote out a rough history that allowed him to reference ideas consistently, to tie his Conan yarns in with earlier works and with Lovecraft's mythos, and to give hints of the wider world or even map it out.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MoogleEmpMog, post: 3460248, member: 22882"] I personally find this untrue. True, perhaps, if the worldbuilding is done in 'rambling essays,' but this is the digital age; a reasonably competent computer literate person (say, good enough to consistently get to and post on a message board ;) ) can do worldbuilding in MS Word or Wordperfect and generate an index for it that will allow him easy reference; with a smidgeon more expertise or a copy of any commercial HTML editor, he can hypertext up his world document and make it even easier to reference. As to the original quote, I think it takes a subjective viewpoint that applies either to the author's own preferences or to a certain subset of speculative fiction, and then applies it to the whole. Me, I *hate* detailed worldbuilding in books. Bores me to tears. Howard gave a more vivid picture of the Hyborian Age in a paragraph than most fantasists, operating in the Tolkien mold, do in a whole novel, and Howard also developed the world as he went along, leaving plenty of empty space for storytelling... But Howard still did worldbuilding OUTSIDE THE STORIES (and, subtly, in them). He wrote out a rough history that allowed him to reference ideas consistently, to tie his Conan yarns in with earlier works and with Lovecraft's mythos, and to give hints of the wider world or even map it out. [/QUOTE]

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