story world
Fiction's internal reality
A story world is the complete fictional setting—with its geography, history, rules, and inhabitants—in which a narrative takes place.
The term emphasizes that compelling fiction creates an entire universe beyond what appears on page or screen: The story world of Middle-earth extends far beyond the events of the novels.
Writers and game designers speak of building or expanding story worlds, treating them as spaces audiences can inhabit imaginatively.
- narrativeAccount of events
- fictionImagined narrative work
- once upon a timeTraditional narrative opening
- fictional universeImagined setting for narratives
- settingContext of events
universe · alternate reality · realm · parallel dimension · lore · immersive · characters · mythology · fairy tale · fantasy · dimension · canon · backstory · landscape · saga · epic · timeline · worldbuilding
- franchisesfranchise, Star Wars, franchising, franchises, franchisor
- imaginary placesfictional cities, imaginary landscapes, wonderland, enchanted forest, fantasy realm
- literary settingssetting, narrative setting, Hogwarts, Narnia, Middle-earth
- Franchise Mediacinematic universe, expanded universe, extended universe, shared universe, franchise
- fictionfiction, novel, novels, novella, novellas
- worldsearth, planet, realm, kingdom, dimension
story worldreal world
Tangible everyday existence
reality · physical world · lived experience · objective reality · waking life
story, world, stories, storied, storybook, storyline, storyteller, storytelling, worlds