I don't feel beholden to follow the real world at all. The important thing is to know WHY things turned out the way they did. You need to understand the reasons for events, or at least be able to make reasonable guesses about them.

Each book needs a good beginning and a good ending. People get pissed off when you don't close things off properly at the end.

And if Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that cool props and special effects are not enough. Story comes first. Everything depends on story.

One of my favorite artists on Deviantart.

If there is one thing I will not abide it is the folly of a willful pride.

I don't feel beholden to follow the real world at all. The important thing is to know WHY things turned out the way they did. You need to understand the reasons for events, or at least be able to make reasonable guesses about them.

What I'd love more than anything is for Worldbuilders to continue to grow and become entangled in all the different corners of the geek community.