The Making of a New World: Arranging the Puzzle
Last week I began development of an original fantasy world. We discussed the genre and subgenre, the general aesthetic, and the tone of the world, and gave it the temporary…
The Making of a New World: Genre, Aesthetic, & Tone
Picture a blank piece of paper in front of you; the first page of a thick pad. There is a sharp pencil in your hand with a pristine eraser. These…
How to Make a Monster Part 5: Divine Enforcers
The foruth and final monstrous archetype is the Divine Enforcer. They are the punishers of transgressions and the keepers of sacred and forbidden places. Sometimes they are the twisted results…
How to Make a Monster Part 4: Corrupted Humanity
The third Monster Archetype on the list is Corrupted Humanity. These represent the fear of our own internal desires, the fear of betrayal, the fear of good turning to evil,…
How to Make a Monster Part 3: Twisted Reflections
This week we discuss the second Monstrous Archetype: the Twisted Reflection. As I talked about in Part 1, the Twisted Reflection represents a familiar evil, a sin committed by ones…
How to Make a Monster Part 2: The Primal Predator
Last week I talked about the 4 Monster Archetypes I am using the Primal Predator, the Twisted Reflections, the Corrupted Humanity, and the Divine Enforcers. This week I want to…
How to Begin an Invented Civilization, and How Far to Detail it.
One of the hardest parts of building a culture from scratch is grasping the scope of the world. How much is necessary? How much serves the story and how much…
Start with the Story or Start with the World
Top-down vs bottom-up world development. As I look at some of the other worldbuilding advice givers out there, I see several of them talking about the problem of putting too…
How to Make an Immersive Scene for your Audience
The Goal: Setting a scene in such a way that the reader or player feels present in the story. The world of plagues and racism fades away and they brought…