Blog

World Building (pt 7) - It's Magic!

In this post, we'll explore strategies for crafting magical systems and fantastical elements that captivate readers and elevate your world building in the realm of fantasy writing. Defining the Rules of Magic: A well-defined magical system establishes clear guidelines for how mag…

World Building (pt 6) - Landscapes & Geography

Landscapes and geography are essential building blocks in the creation of a believable and captivating fictional world. In this post, we will explore strategies for crafting diverse, intriguing, and immersive landscapes and geographical features that form the backdrop for your st…

Challenge and Response

In my last post, I challenged you to complete an exercise focused just on the economic aspects that may not even have direct impact on a story. I asked you to: Pick a favorite story or novel. List how one group of people in the story make a living. Use the five why's to explore w…

World Building (pt 5) - It's the Economy, Stupid!

We've started looking at the relationships between the political structures of your world and its economy. Any political body is going to have some relationship to the economic structures. Not to be too cynical, but if politics is about the accumulation of power and control, mone…

World Building (pt 4) - Politics & Economics

Continuing my series on Worldbuilding series, let's look at the politics and economics of our world. In prior posts, I discussed Cosmology and Mythology and Laws, Ethics, and Morality. These two aspects will have a significant impact on the politics and economies of your world. W…

World Building (pt 3) - Laws, Ethics, and Morality

In our previous blog post, we discussed the importance of creating a captivating cosmology and mythology for your worldbuilding efforts. Now, let's focus on another essential aspect: establishing laws, ethics, and morality to create a robust social structure in your story. Establ…

World building (pt2): Cosmology & Mythology

In this post, we'll focus on creating a captivating cosmology and mythology as part of your world building efforts. A well-designed cosmology and mythology form the bedrock of your story by establishing the beliefs, values, traditions, and moral frameworks of your characters and …

World building: Crafting Rich, Imaginative Settings for Your Stories (pt 1)

We've talked about character creation using my character template, but what good are characters that don't interact in a rich and inviting world? This is the first in a series of posts about building compelling worlds and societies for our characters to interact in. Crafting Capt…

Creating Compelling Characters (pt 6)

This six-part series will walk through the sections of my Character Template, describe how to use that template, and why you should go to this effort. I'll sprinkle in some behind-the-scenes usage of the template as I've applied it to my latest writing efforts. My template is ava…

Creating Compelling Characters (pt 5)

This six-part series will walk through the sections of my Character Template, describe how to use that template, and why you should go to this effort. I'll sprinkle in some behind-the-scenes usage of the template as I've applied it to my latest writing efforts. My template is ava…

Creating Compelling Characters (pt 4)

This six-part series will walk through the sections of my Character Template, describe how to use that template, and why you should go to this effort. I'll sprinkle in some behind-the-scenes usage of the template as I've applied it to my latest writing efforts. My template is ava…

Creating Compelling Characters (pt 3)

This six-part series will walk through the sections of my Character Template, describe how to use that template, and why you should go to this effort. I'll sprinkle in some behind-the-scenes usage of the template as I've applied it to my latest writing efforts. My template is ava…