--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a certain amount of…" description: "\"There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off on until I need it for the story. World building in advance isn't really my thing, maybe bec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/greg-van-eekhout-26306_advance_there-s-a-certain-amount-of-world-buildi_411212.png" --- # There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off… ![“There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off on until I need it for the story. World building in advance isn't really my thing, maybe because I didn't grow up playing RPG's.” quote by Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/greg-van-eekhout-26306_advance_there-s-a-certain-amount-of-world-buildi_411212.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/greg-van-eekhout-26306_advance_there-s-a-certain-amount-of-world-buildi_411212.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/greg-van-eekhout-26306_advance_there-s-a-certain-amount-of-world-buildi_411212.png) > “There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off on until I need it for the story. World building in advance isn't really my thing, maybe because I didn't grow up playing RPG's.” [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers to develop world details only when needed for the story, rather than pre‑building everything. **In simple terms:** Build worlds as the story demands. Key Takeaway Add details when they serve the plot. Themes writing world‑building process Mood practical reflective Type advice creative When to use this quote - novel drafting - game design - scriptwriting - creative planning Key Concepts narrative focus flexibility Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever feel stuck without a pre‑made setting? - How does on‑the‑fly world‑building affect pacing? A Different Perspective Pre‑building can limit spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advance/) [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-world-2603301/) [Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow/) [Grow up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-up/) [Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold/) [Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [Need Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-story-653514/) [Off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off/) [Playing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing/) [Playing Rpg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-rpg-3665929/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-world-828131/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Until](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/until/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-building-393471/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe if you play somebody in a certain world people sometimes misinterpret that it's a support of that world or that occupation or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/maybe-if-you-play-somebody-in-a-certain-world-people-sometimes/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) > [If anything is certain, it is that change is certain. 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My life is kind of boring, needs something that I can confess till all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-republic/i-need-another-story-something-to-get-off-my-chest-my-life-is-kind-of/) [One Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-republic/) > [“all of us need a story outside ourselves, a form through which we imagine ourselves as players in the game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/all-of-us-need-a-story-outside-ourselves-a-form-through-which-we/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“You have information for us? No, you have all the information you need in your head, what you want, what you need, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v/you-have-information-for-us-no-you-have-all-the-information-you-need/) [V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v/) > [Being there for people but no one being there for you when you need them seems to be the story of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-there-for-people-but-no-one-being-there-for-you-when-you-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Greg van Eekhout > [Being part of the original 'Star Wars' generation, I have always known a dark future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/being-part-of-the-original-star-wars-generation-i-have-always-known-a/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [More than working toward the book's climax, I work toward the denouement. As a reader and a writer, that's where I find the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/more-than-working-toward-the-book-s-climax-i-work-toward-the/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [It's possible I'm a weird person, you know, and if I could only write for people who are like me, I wouldn't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/it-s-possible-i-m-a-weird-person-you-know-and-if-i-could-only-write/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [“Magic is like pulling the pin on a grenade and then sutffing it down your pants to see what happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/magic-is-like-pulling-the-pin-on-a-grenade-and-then-sutffing-it-down/) [Greg Van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [I grew up in Los Angeles, and I was always fascinated by the La Brea Tar Pits. 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It's about expressing the idea that the world is going to start affecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/middle-grade-fiction-to-me-is-really-about-emergence-of-self-it-s/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [In everything I write, I'm always striving to hit the right mix of light and darkness, humor and pain, fun and seriousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/in-everything-i-write-i-m-always-striving-to-hit-the-right-mix-of/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [I feel lucky that my career so far has included books for adults and books for kids. They're equally important to me, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/i-feel-lucky-that-my-career-so-far-has-included-books-for-adults-and/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [The stakes in my books tend to be kind of ridiculously high. In 'Kid vs. Squid,' the question is whether or not the California…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/the-stakes-in-my-books-tend-to-be-kind-of-ridiculously-high-in-kid-vs/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [I try to eat vegetarian, though I'm not very good at it, and it's a work in progress. But we basically are what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/i-try-to-eat-vegetarian-though-i-m-not-very-good-at-it-and-it-s-a/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > ['California Bones' is the first volume in my trilogy about Daniel Blackland, a wizard trying to survive in a world that eats wizards. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/california-bones-is-the-first-volume-in-my-trilogy-about-daniel/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [To act as though we have hope is to keep hope alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/to-act-as-though-we-have-hope-is-to-keep-hope-alive/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [I think there's only one reason to write in any genre or to any particular age group: You are called to it. You think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/i-think-there-s-only-one-reason-to-write-in-any-genre-or-to-any/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [As a reader, I tend not to get too much from tales of unrelenting grimness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/as-a-reader-i-tend-not-to-get-too-much-from-tales-of-unrelenting/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) [Explore all 22 Greg van Eekhout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) ## More Advance quotes > [I don't think we should tell them what we're going to do in advance. Let them think. Worry. Wonder. Uncertainty is the most chilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/i-don-t-think-we-should-tell-them-what-we-re-going-to-do-in-advance/) [Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Some companies out there quote a start of production that is substantially in advance of when customers get their cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/some-companies-out-there-quote-a-start-of-production-that-is/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [My priority in life is my whanau, followed by my work as an artist, which has blessed me with the ability to provide opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/my-priority-in-life-is-my-whanau-followed-by-my-work-as-an-artist/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [Others have said it before me. If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu. And so it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/others-have-said-it-before-me-if-you-don-t-have-a-seat-at-the-table/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [What I have in advance are people I want to write about and a problem or problems that I see those people encountering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/what-i-have-in-advance-are-people-i-want-to-write-about-and-a-problem/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Error is discipline through which we advance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/error-is-discipline-through-which-we-advance/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [I think it's important to earn your fan base and not just try to immediately advance to the top. 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But that ignores the very tangible benefits disarmament would bring for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/some-might-complain-that-nuclear-disarmament-is-little-more-than-a/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/let-our-advance-worrying-become-advance-thinking-and-planning/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Let us not bankrupt our todays by paying interest on the regrets of yesterday and by borrowing in advance the troubles of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-sockman-2/let-us-not-bankrupt-our-todays-by-paying-interest-on-the-regrets-of/) [Ralph W. Sockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-sockman-2/) > [In times of failing health, don't hopelessly pray for the intervention of a mythical god; wish hopefully for an advance in medical science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/in-times-of-failing-health-don-t-hopelessly-pray-for-the-intervention/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [Clearly, unless thinking beings inevitably wipe themselves out soon after developing technology, extraterrestrial intelligence could often be millions or billions of years in advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/clearly-unless-thinking-beings-inevitably-wipe-themselves-out-soon/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 263 Advance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a certain amount of world-building that I hold off on until I need it for the story. 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