by
Oren Ashkenazi
It’s about time we got back to high fantasy, so let’s examine Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan, the first entry in a six-book series.* It’s about 140,000 words, and it’s actually a prequel, set around 3,000 years before Sullivan’s other series. However, the … read more »Podcast
by
Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle and Wes Matlock
All hail the once and future podcaster, hidden away among the common folk until their true audio greatness could one day be revealed! That’s right, we’re talking about monarchies in speculative fiction: why writers use them so often, how they can be a problem, and … read more »Podcast
by
Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle and Wes Matlock
Castles, spaceships, and high tech cities are all great, but they can get a bit repetitive after a while. Fortunately, despite spec fic existing for centuries (at least) by this point, we’ve still only scratched the surface of all the possible settings out there. Today, … read more »Worldbuilding
by
Oren Ashkenazi
Worldbuilding is a complicated craft, and with so many possible settings out there, it’s difficult to give advice on the subject as a whole. Fortunately, there are some principles that are useful across the board. That’s what we’re talking about today: best practices that will … read more »Podcast
by
Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle and Wes Matlock
We all lose things, but what about losing knowledge? How is knowledge lost, and what effect does it have on your story? When trying to find the lost knowledge, is it always in the last place you look? That’s what we’re talking about this week, … read more »Worldbuilding
by
Oren Ashkenazi
Hey there, friend, do you feel like joining some vampires for a night out on the town? What about riding with a werewolf motorcycle gang or chasing down demons in the city’s unrealistically accessible sewers? I hope at least one of those things appeals to … read more »Commentary
by
Chris Winkle
Joseph’s Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces (HWTF) has been incredibly influential since it was first published in 1949. The book is the basis for the popular structure known as The Hero’s Journey, and it’s influenced numerous storytellers such as George Lucas, Richard Adams, … read more »Commentary
by
Chris Winkle
Many of us grew tired of conflicts between absolute good and evil a long time ago. These conflicts often reduce antagonists to caricatures, include dehumanizing stand-ins for real groups of people, and feel too simplistic to be interesting. So, instead, many storytellers have depicted conflicts … read more »Worldbuilding
by
Oren Ashkenazi
In this series on worldbuilding, I’ve looked at both science fiction and high fantasy worlds. Today, we’re combining the two with a look at Frank Herbert’s Dune, a book that sits firmly in the space fantasy subgenre. Dune is a classic, a book that has … read more »Worldbuilding
by
Oren Ashkenazi
Building new cultures from scratch is a cornerstone of speculative fiction. From the fictional nations of high fantasy, to the interstellar empires of space opera, to the shadow kiths of urban fantasy, we authors are always crafting new societies to thrill and amaze. But for … read more »
It’s about time we got back to high fantasy, so let’s examine Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan, the first entry in a six-book series.* It’s about 140,000 words, and it’s actually a prequel, set around 3,000 years before Sullivan’s other series. However, the … read more » 
All hail the once and future podcaster, hidden away among the common folk until their true audio greatness could one day be revealed! That’s right, we’re talking about monarchies in speculative fiction: why writers use them so often, how they can be a problem, and … read more » 
Worldbuilding is a complicated craft, and with so many possible settings out there, it’s difficult to give advice on the subject as a whole. Fortunately, there are some principles that are useful across the board. That’s what we’re talking about today: best practices that will … read more » 
Hey there, friend, do you feel like joining some vampires for a night out on the town? What about riding with a werewolf motorcycle gang or chasing down demons in the city’s unrealistically accessible sewers? I hope at least one of those things appeals to … read more » 
Joseph’s Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces (HWTF) has been incredibly influential since it was first published in 1949. The book is the basis for the popular structure known as The Hero’s Journey, and it’s influenced numerous storytellers such as George Lucas, Richard Adams, … read more » 
Many of us grew tired of conflicts between absolute good and evil a long time ago. These conflicts often reduce antagonists to caricatures, include dehumanizing stand-ins for real groups of people, and feel too simplistic to be interesting. So, instead, many storytellers have depicted conflicts … read more » 
In this series on worldbuilding, I’ve looked at both science fiction and high fantasy worlds. Today, we’re combining the two with a look at Frank Herbert’s Dune, a book that sits firmly in the space fantasy subgenre. Dune is a classic, a book that has … read more » 
Building new cultures from scratch is a cornerstone of speculative fiction. From the fictional nations of high fantasy, to the interstellar empires of space opera, to the shadow kiths of urban fantasy, we authors are always crafting new societies to thrill and amaze. But for … read more » 
