Worldbuilding: How to Create Realistic Fictional Cultures
It's important to create a sense of culture even if it is just a fantasy, and the best way to do that is to look at a real human culture and see what makes it cohesive. - Laine Taylor
The Plague of Backstory
"If it’s critical to the character, it’s critical to the reader, and then it’s not backstory.” - Jeff Kleinman