There is a high chance your characters will go travelling, especially the adventurous types who love a good quest. I have discussed geography in world building in an earlier blog. This one will look at how best to traverse it. Walking Walking is the simplest and cheapest method of getting A to B. A stout …
Beta Readers are invaluable to writers. They put their trust in them to read and critique their work. So what have I learnt since becoming a beta reader? 1) Stick to guidelines and deadlines Writers should give you guidance on what they want from you. Ask first if they would like you to offer help …
Read more “Five things which have helped me become a better beta reader”
Twitter has a wonderful writing community. I think the best part is the hashtag prompts. Take #vssnature, which I host, as an example. The aim is to write a tweet-sized very short story (vss) on the prompt word. I limited this prompt to nature words, but there are other daily and weekly hashtag prompts to …
Read more “Exploring Your Writing Through Twitter Hashtag Prompts”
The easiest way to approach geography in world building is to cut it down into three sections: The physical structure of the world, The climate, How the population affects and is affected by 1 and 2. You don’t need a geography degree to design a plausible landscape. By focusing on how your characters affect and …
Religion is a significant part of world building in fantasy because every society has its own origin story. Even in places where the popularity of religion is fading, it still heavily imprints on society. It is the story of creation and how your characters perceive how they fit within it. Developing a framework Getting the …
The delight (and bane) of writing fantasy is world building. As well as writing the story, the author must also become a tour guide, knowledgeable in the environment, people, cultures, and much more. Alongside the book, there will be hundreds of notes compiling the equivalent of a Lonely Planet guide to your fantasy realm. How …
Read more “An Introductory Guide to World Building in Fantasy”
A conversation with Kieron Circuit @callow_explorer on keeping records of our work in progress has prompted me to think of its benefits. I am the first to admit that I cringe when I read through my first drafts. Personally, writing them is equally the most unenjoyable part of the entire writing process. In my head, I can …