Category: Research & Worldbuilding

June 8, 2016

Fantasy & Sci Fi Terms: Terms for Magic & Technology

There’s a great technique in writing, especially in Fantasy or Science Fiction, where you use an existing word as a word for magic or technology. That’s a really great way to give your story character and make your world stand apart from others. The only problem arises when you forget and also use the word the way you normally would:...

Categories Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 0

June 1, 2016

Actual Realism v. Believable Realism: How to Fake It

Making writing seem real means the story has to match personal experiences and what we’ve heard about, but that covers a lot of ground. Especially since no one will have experienced everything first-hand. That means that the main part you have to match is the impression of the subject that society gives us. That’s why you can fake it. For most...

Categories Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Research & Worldbuilding Comment: 1

May 13, 2016

Researching the Tudor Period? Check out Ruth Goodman

If you’re writing a story set in the Tudor period, you might check out books, articles, and youtube videos by Ruth Goodman. I first came across her work in the article, “Getting Clean, the Tudor Way,” where she discusses daily cleansing habits of people during that time as well as modern experiments to see how well those habits worked (apparently people...

Categories Research & Worldbuilding/Writer Resources Comments: 0

May 11, 2016

When It Comes to Accuracy & Inaccuracy, Watch out for Hardcore Fans

It’s really fascinating to listen to a couple of hardcore fans talk – especially if they’re not major fans of the same topics. For example, imagine a serious WWII history buff and a hardcore Tolkien fan having a conversation about movies and their accuracy or lack thereof. In the course of the exchange, both The Two Towers and The King’s Speech come up...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 0

April 29, 2016

How to Break Promises without Breaking Promises

Promises are made to be broken. Hmm. Nope. Scratch that. Promises are made to be broken well or not at all. Either you have to keep the promises you make to your readers, or you have to break them in a way that doesn’t really break them. Let’s just say that breaking them is the exception, not the rule. But if you...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 2

April 28, 2016

What Promises Are You Making to Your Readers?

What promises are you making to your readers? What does that even mean? It’s not like you signed a written contract. You didn’t pinky swear to tell the reader what happened to that character who disappeared mysteriously in the first chapter. You’re under no obligation to include that, right? Actually,… I guess it was an implied pinky swear ’cause you kind of are. Readers rely on...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 2

April 6, 2016

10 Examples of Worldbuilding with Food in Books & Films

Who doesn’t like food? Ok, maybe someone doesn’t, but we all have to eat to live. That means we all have experiences with food (meh or no). That doesn’t mean we have the same experiences with food. What food is available, how much is available, what is common, how it’s eaten, and even who can afford what are all pretty...

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March 18, 2016

Fairy Folklore as Inspiration for Writing

From what I’ve seen, every culture has folklore involving fairies or other spirits, and they make great inspiration for all genres. Although serious usage may require more research than a St. Patrick’s Day writing prompt. Whether you need fresh ideas for types of magic (worldbuilding), ways to frighten people, or even human behavior, fairy stories have a lot to offer – as...

Categories Creative Process/Inspiration/Research & Worldbuilding Comment: 1

March 5, 2016

Do I Have to Be a Scientist to Write Science Fiction?

Is it just me, or can the science part of science fiction be pretty intimidating? I mean, I got through high school chemistry and all that, but science has never been my best subject. I don’t spend a lot of time reading about astronomy or physics or anything seriously technical. I’m not an engineer. I’m definitely not a rocket scientist. I...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Research & Worldbuilding Comment: 1

February 29, 2016

The 29th of February: Anomaly & Inspiration

Happy 29th of February! Enjoy it while you can since it won’t be around for another 4 years. The actual day, that is. But leap year or February 29th could be in your book. Leap Year is one of those weird true stories that is so ingrained into our culture that we accept it without really thinking about it. Yes, there...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 0