Jonathan Pageau Shares the Secret to Immersing Readers in Your Story
October Newsletter
Dear Writers,
What is it that keeps a reader immersed in your novel? What are the pitfalls that jolt readers out of your story?
There are many techniques that go into getting and keeping your readers’ attention, but one non-negotiable is worldbuilding.
All genres, even realistic fiction, have a requirement that many writers don’t fully realize: to immerse the reader, your novel must have a fully realized, internally consistent, and intrinsically coherent world in which your characters can live and breathe.
This is much more difficult than most people realize, especially considering how many people no longer have a coherent worldview of their own, even in daily life. And this is exactly what our St. Basil writers are currently studying in Jonathan Pageau’s Worldbuilding class.
Jonathan’s course helps writers practice their own symbolic thinking, apply it to thorny questions of technical worldbuilding, and ultimately create fully immersive worlds for their readers.
In today’s newsletter, we’re sharing some high-level tips on worldbuilding. Who knows? These tips may be exactly what you need to help you prep your submission for the St. Basil Writers’ Workshop 2025-2026!
Applications Open January 1st!
Between the election cycle and the holidays, we decided to open applications for the 2025-2026 Workshop in January instead of November. So there’s your built-in New Year’s resolution ;).
All you need for your application is a 5,000-word writing sample and $25 for your application fee. Want to learn more about the Workshop? Save your spot at our open house on January 21st, 8 pm EST.
Writing Prompt
Everyone knows what “worldbuilding” means, yet setting out to build a world can feel daunting. But fear not! All worlds start somewhere, be it the invention of a language or the image of a faun carrying parcels in the snow.
Inspired by a member of our Story Hearth writing community, here’s a prompt to help you build your world:
Come up with an impossible task.
Who wants to accomplish this task?
Why do they want to accomplish it?
Who or what stands in their way?
Have fun, and remember not to overthink technique–that comes later.
Article Spotlight
In preparing this newsletter, I read several articles on worldbuilding from sources I’ve long-trusted and others I’ve just discovered. While many of these articles offer useful tips, they often jump in “down stream.” That is, they don’t tackle the big questions like:
The best place to start worldbuilding
The best templates for worldbuilding
How to ensure your world is symbolically correct and internally consistent
How to create resonance with readers through worldbuilding
How worldbuilding shows up on both the cosmic level and the particular level
For these big picture questions, I find myself returning to an interview I conducted with Jonathan last year. So in lieu of an article, I’m sharing his talk.
Book Recommendation
Jonathan Pageau’s new fairy tale, Jack and the Fallen Giants, is now on sale and available for pre-order! Jack and the Fallen Giants is the second volume of a series of eight fairy tale books. Like all great fairy tales, Jack and the Fallen Giants is written to be enjoyed by children but contains hidden treasures for readers of all ages. A beautiful accompaniment to Jonathan’s first fairy tale retelling, Snow White and the Widow Queen, Jack and the Fallen Giants is exquisitely illustrated by the young French artist Eloise Scherrer.
Happy listening, reading, and writing!
~ Deacon Nicholas