One of the things we love the most as readers of Fantasy and Speculative Fiction genres is the role that magic plays in the worlds, characters, and plots of the stories we love.
Think about popular YA fantasy works such as “Harry Potter”, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, and most recently “Shadow And Bone”.
Read MoreOne of the best, and sometimes most infuriating, parts about being a fantasy and science fiction writer is whether to write too much or too little about the fictional world. I never overlook the little things in my creative writing, the things the readers do not see, like plants, places, animals, and more.
It feels like giving up easily to rely on things that already exist in our real world. Hence, I make it my mission to craft parts of my fictional world from nothing, like a lot of my favourite authors. Consider the Mockingjay from “The Hunger Games” or the rare plant Jurda Parem in the “Grishaverse” or the existence of Daemons in “His Dark Materials”.
Read MoreWorldbuilding is one of my favourite creative past-times and pre-writing activities. It is one of the greatest ways to immerse yourself in, and connect with, a story you are writing. There are countless things you could write about, many of which I have discussed here already. Such as geography, politics, justice, and commerce.
When I am building a new fictional world for one of my stories, I always have the most fun when I am writing about the elements of culture; whether for a specific place or the whole world.
Read MoreSome people hate world-building and others love it. I consider myself to be the latter. When I begin writing a new story, the first thing I like to do is create the world.
A great way to think about it is like this. A theatre performance would be pretty boring without the set, backdrop, and props to great a spectacle on the stage.
It is the same with writing fantasy and science fiction (for me, at least). A story and its characters are made better by the captivating world around them.
Read MoreI like maps. I think they’re great when you’re trying to figure out where your story is set and what the characters see in the world around them.
Now, I don’t consider myself an artist. My maps are messy, but I have learned a lot overtime about how to draw them. I thought it would be fun and helpful to share some of the tricks and tips I’ve discovered about fantasy mapmaking and worldbuilding.
Read MoreWorld-building is one of my favourite things to do. Especially when I find a new project to work on or I need a break from my current writing project.
Creating a unique, exciting world from scratch it what makes different fantasy novels so unique and exciting to read.
I’ve been thinking for a while now that fantasy literature is starting to make a comeback. And this makes writing fantasy even more inspiring and fun to do. But it is no easy feat. There is a lot of work that goes into creating a rich, imaginative world that feels real.
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