Yesterday was a pretty amazing day, one that gives me a lot of hope for the future of the human race. For one, Curiosity landed on Mars, and even though […]
Read moreCategory: worldbuilding
Adding just a hint of mustard
Seven years ago, when I first participated in the ArmadilloCon Writers’ Workshop (two more weeks until the sign-up deadline!), I brought the first chapter of an early draft of the […]
Read moreDigging into the Iceberg
As much as I talk about Worldbuilding, when it comes to the actual writing of books, I don’t put too much on the surface. Sometimes it’s out of fear of […]
Read moreOrganization of Worldbuilding
I’ve mentioned before how I have the various nations of the world that Druthal occupies given some degree of definition in “National Documents”. These are, in essence, a handful of […]
Read moreUncommon Questions in Worldbuilding
When it comes to worldbuilding, I live by the Iceberg Rule: Most of it goes unseen. Another way to look at it is the corollary to “Show, Don’t Tell”: Know, […]
Read moreElves and Originality
Tim Akers, author of “The Horns of Ruin”, writes “In Defense of Elves“, where he defends using elves in fantasy fiction. Or, at least, that’s what it says the article […]
Read moreWhy are we stuck in the Middle Ages?
Something has been picking at my brain for a while, and it’s something I will fully cop to being somewhat complicit in myself. Why is the fantasy genre stuck in […]
Read moreWorldbuilding and Language: Idioms and Slang
As I’ve said before, I’m not too keen on doing the nuts and bolts of a constructed language as part of my worldbuilding. Well, more correctly, I think it’s a […]
Read moreFantasy Tropes: The Noble Warrior
Generally speaking, the classic Anglo/Francan/Germanic knight doesn’t exist in Druthal or Maradaine. It’s a trope that doesn’t fit with the worldbuilding I’ve done, despite it’s longstanding place in the genre. […]
Read moreFantasy Tropes: The Gentleman Thief
Right now my fiction-reading* is Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick, which I had heard from several sources as being the best fantasy book from a debut author in 2011. So […]
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