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Worldbuilding 11: tools of the trade?

Tools of the trade?

Fantasy literature is a niche in the publishing market but it has spawned a rather larger industry online: the myriad websites, agencies and resourceful individuals that promise to guide you through the process of creation, from inspirational beginnings to successful outcomes. These various agencies hold out the promise that you are not alone in your ivory tower - help is at hand.
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Worldbuilding 10: the name of the rose, and other things

The name of the rose, and other things

There are more things in the world than folk, and there are more things in a novel than characters. The world you build for a fantasy setting should give the reader a sense of completeness, and consistency; this means that you should pay attention to the smaller, peripheral elements as well as the main characters and events.  Read more

Worldbuilding 9: how should my characters speak?

How should my characters speak?

Your world is constructed: you have a comprehensive setting, a cast of characters (human and/or otherwise), and a plot ready to launch. You come to the first lines of dialogue in the story; how do your characters speak? In this article I'll look at some useful strategies, and some of the pitfalls, involved in fantasy dialogue.  Read more

Worldbuilding 8: non-human characters

An elf, a dwarf and a goblin walk into a tavern: no, that's not the first line of a terrible joke. All too often, however, it is the default setting for fantasy literature; a convention that, from some angles, rather resembles a cliché. In this article I'll examine some of the pros and cons of having non-human characters and how they affect your worldbuilding.  Read more

Worldbuilding 7: It's a kind of magic

It's a kind of magic


In the first article on magic in fantasy writing we looked at power scaling, plot armour and plausibility. Here we will look at the different types of magic and, more importantly, the cost of magic. Like many other elements in a constructed world, magic is, effectively, a technology; and technology always has a cost.  Read more

Worldbuilding 6: Magic

The uses and limitations of magic in fantasy worldbuilding

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Worldbuilding 5: culture

Culture

Culture is a slippery concept; it's one of those terms we all know the meaning of until we actually think about it. For the writer, culture can be a two-edged sword: ignore it and your story lacks depth, colour and context; focus too much on it and you risk bamboozling - or worse, boring - your reader into putting the book down.  Read more

Worldbuilding 3: geography and physical location

Geography and physical location

Pretty much every time I pick up a fantasy novel and begin to read, the first thing I encounter is a map, or a series of maps, laying out the whole world, the country or city where the main action takes place, two or more separate (and often belligerent) locations, or all of the above. It has become a convention of fantasy literature and, I tend to think, is often rather less use to t  Read more

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