World of Eos: 8 Questions to Build Up your City
Previously: We determined the three original seats of human civilization on Eos. Each was pitched by the servant of a god to the humans living in the creshold valley. Each…
Fantasy Ramble: Balancing Unique Content and Generic Expectations
So, when you are designing a fantasy setting, there are two forces that you have to balance. This is giving me trouble with my current setting at the moment: That…
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…
Breaking-Down the Post-Apocalyptic Journey in 7 Easy Steps
One of the best ways to prepare yourself to present an idea, especially a fairly major thematic idea like, say, the world-as-we-know-it having ended, is to explore that concept in…
Keep in Mind: When Creating Ancient Religions for your New World
The purpose of this post is to ask the question: How can I make a fictional religion for my world feel less "fantasy" and more authentic to an ancient world?…
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 Make a Monster Part 1: Starting from Scratch
Monsters. When you create an original setting, you may often need a monster to terrify your characters and our audience. Or a plethora of them to fill out a wider…