Have you ever thought about how your characters keep time? Our observation of time shapes our days, years, and lifetimes, shaping what we focus on when and how we are able to interact with others. If you haven’t yet shaped the calendar and divisions of time in your world, now is a great time to start. ;) This post will help you understand the critical Continue reading “Calendars & Timekeeping in Fantasy”
Worldbuilding Lessons I’ve Learned from Each of My Published Works
Today I’m going to mix a post for readers with a post for writers and talk about worldbuilding lessons I’ve learned from the books I’ve published (whether I learned these lessons before or after I published a given book). So for those of you here for worldbuilding lessons, welcome. For those of you curious about what you might find in my published works, welcome to you, too. Let’s get started.
Short Story Collection Vol. 1: Solidify before you publish (& what you publish is semi-permanent)
We’re taking this list in Continue reading “Worldbuilding Lessons I’ve Learned from Each of My Published Works”
Developing a Fictional Government — The Short Version
If you’re like me, developing governments and politics might not be the most thrilling part of worldbuilding. But it is an important facet to think through–especially if your stories tend to prominently feature governments and/or politics. (Anyone else end up writing lots of political stories even though you’re not a big politics person?) So today I’m going to show you the most critical pieces of shaping a fictional government. Once you have these Continue reading “Developing a Fictional Government — The Short Version”
Why You Should Choose to Love Your Project
If you’ve started a project, chances are you love at least one thing about that project; otherwise, why invest time in it? But do you know why you love it? Do you know how to keep that spark burning once you hit the murky middle, you’re struggling to wrap up all your plot threads surrounding the climax, or you’re fighting through edits?
Today I want to talk about why you should choose something to Continue reading “Why You Should Choose to Love Your Project”
Worldbuilding Lessons from a History Major – Guest Post by Cate VanNostrand
Today I’m excited to share a guest post from Cate VanNostrand, who has been a long-time friend and supporter of my work and, I’m happy to announce, recently launched a blog where you can learn more about her and her work! There will be a link to her website at the bottom of the post and I highly recommend you check it out. But for now I’ll pass you over to her!
History has a huge impact on the way we write. Whether we’re basing our stories off of real-life historical events or using history to Continue reading “Worldbuilding Lessons from a History Major – Guest Post by Cate VanNostrand”