Reddit mentions of Medea: Harlan's World

Someone would be able to tell a story of a species and its development in a world-building setting. In fact, I have a book here at my desk side that does that. Medea: Harlan's World by Harlan Ellison. It is a book that I would recommend to world-builders interested in science fiction or speculative evolution. It is an anthology collection set on a fictional world's moon, and it follows the development of fictional species and alien cultures. Humans exist within the setting, so don't expect an entirely alien setting, but it is still interesting. As an anthology, it contains a set of stories, although world-building was a core aspect in the creation of Medea.

Although Medea was born out of world-building, only the first 100 pages focus upon the world-building content itself. The other 300+ pages contain short stories by various science fiction authors. But within those first 100 pages, Medea is able to describe the with great detail the world, its species, and its characteristics. It also contains a written concept seminar in which the authors collaborate their ideas and concepts. It is a great behind the scenes look at the world-building that was performed.

I am not discouraging anyone from world-building and writing simultaneously. I am also not discouraging new writers or authors from thinking outside the box. I hope it does not come off sounding as such since world-building is something I promote to those interested in creative writing. I am just suggesting that the world-building and the writing balances out, with one holding priority over the other where appropriate.

One could even split up the world-building and the writing. The Dungeons & Dragons franchise is able to do so. It has the campaign guides, which focus on the world-building of the franchise. There are also novel series written by authors such as R.A. Salvatore, which focus on the stories of the franchise.

The recent The World of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, Elio Garcia, and Linda Antonsson is another good example of world-building holding the priority. Where George R.R. Martin holds the story in priority in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, world-building holds the priority in The World of Ice and Fire.

Edit: I should also state that my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. As I mention in the initial post, I world-build as a hobby. I have never tackled writing a proper story or novel.

Medea: Harlan's World, great extrapolation of this, with a lot of good short stories by excellent sci-fi authors, edited by Harlan Ellison. Perhaps a bit dated now, but overall very well done.