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Within every organization there is disagreement, both inconsequential and monumental. Sometimes the people who have these disagreements come together to form sub groups within their organization and work towards their own agenda. These sub groups are called factions. Read more »
Chris, Oren and Mike discuss the unique challenges urban fantasy writers face when worldbuilding, and their share favorite solutions from books, shows and movies. They dissect tropes that are common in urban fantasy worlds and compare them from one world to the next. Read more »
What do the Borg from Star Trek, the Formians from Ender’s Game, and Gaia from Foundation have in common? They’re all group minds. What is a group mind? Essentially, a group mind is the connected consciousness of at least two individuals. There are lots of … read more »
Any good fantasy setting should be true to its name: fantastic. A dash of dragons, a sprinkling of flying castles, and a few sentient forests can really improve a world’s flavor. But some stories just aren’t compatible with obvious, physics-violating quirks. You may need to … read more »
When worldbuilding is your favorite creative outlet, it can be difficult to find a forum for sharing. A world is not usually a stand alone product. Don’t fear, though, there are ways to let others enjoy your world and not feel all those hours of creative endeavor were for naught. Read more »
Every once in a while, a team of astronomers discovers an Earth-sized planet orbiting its star equivalent to where Earth orbits the Sun. And popular science blogs go crazy, because – wow, that world could support life! It’s amazing… Or it would be, if life was as fickle as the writers of popular science blogs. Read more »
Creating your own language probably brings to mind Tolkien’s Elvish languages or Marc Okrand’s Klingon. Most of us, though, aren’t scholars and linguists like Tolkien and Okrand. Don’t worry. You don’t need to be to add some linguistic depth to your worldbuilding. Creating a relatively simple naming language can do the trick. Read more »
There are many tomes you can read to improve your skills; the worldbuilding skill is no exception. There’s one in particular I can personally vouch for: The Planet Construction Kit by Mark Rosenfelder. A Complete Guide to Worldbuilding Before I delve into the details, I … read more »
Magic is a cornerstone of fantasy. A good place to start when creating a magic system is to ask yourself some questions about how the magic works. Knowing the answers to the following questions is integral to building a cohesive world. Read more »
Mike, Oren, and Chris explore how science fiction is used to comment on contemporary issues. From dystopian novels to Vietnam War analogies, they share the stories that brought their message home, and deconstruct those that missed their mark. Read more »