How Can I Put Swords in a High Tech World?
Hello! Is there any way I could combine swords, technology, and magic, while overcoming the problem of guns/why they haven’t been developed/why they aren’t around? Thank you! -Pearl Read more »
Worldbuilding
Five Common Masquerade Explanations and Why They’re Bad
Recently, I wrote an article on ways to explain the urban fantasy masquerade. As soon as it was published, I realized my mistake. In my excitement to offer what solutions I could, I’d forgotten to tear down all the stories you like. *cough* I mean, … read more »
255 – Monsters of Ice and Snow
Brrrr, it’s cold! That’s bad enough, but what if there were monsters in the cold? That would be way worse, if maybe more fun, and it’s what we’re discussing today. We talk about the coolest ice monsters out there, and then list some snow creatures … read more »
How Can I Work Complex Worldbuilding Into My Story?
In a story I am helping write, the nations of the world are based off real empires from the middle ages, like Austria-Hungary, Buryatia, and Byzantium. Despite having a general knowledge of these realms, I have encountered a few problems with how to portray them … read more »
What Makes an Antagonistic Group Problematic?
Antagonists are an indispensable tool of storytelling, and a lot of stories require large groups of bad guys to oppose the heroes. But in addition to all the technical challenges of crafting antagonistic groups, we have to consider when these groups become harmful in real … read more »
How Can I Use Realistic Disease in My Story?
Disease and infection were deadly, particularly before modern medicine, germ theory, vaccinations, etc. However, having the main character get a coughing fit, diarrhea, and pustules does not usually make for a great adventure story. You can’t outwit or outfight cholera. You mention “A Basic Understanding … read more »
Five Scifi Stories That Would Be Better as Fantasy
Despite what some purists may tell you, there’s no clear line between scifi and fantasy. Instead, each genre has a collection of elements we associate with it, and different stories may have more or fewer of those elements. That’s why we can confidently say that … read more »
Explaining the Urban Fantasy Masquerade
Speculative fiction storytellers will go a long way to make fantastical situations feel plausible. Sure, they will never be perfectly plausible because magic isn’t real, but it’s still no good if our audience is wondering why the hero won’t use teleportation during our tense climax. … read more »
249 – American Folklore
Everyone loves using their cultural heritage for spec fic inspiration, but what happens when Americans look to their own folklore for ideas? They find out that most American folklore is terrible, that’s what. But do not despair, for in among the bigoted mess, there are … read more »
Five Epic Fantasy Conflicts Other Than War
I’ve got nothing against a good war – in fiction anyway. War provides immediate, large-scale conflict for our stories and as such will always be a valuable tool. But just like no one wants to eat the same thing every day, it’s boring if every … read more »