The foods we stuff down our gullets reflect the society we have established, the way we live our lives, and even our attitudes towards food itself. A society reliant on cheese must have established the necessary production and transport networks, while a person subsisting on caviar and champagne is unlikely to live the life of … Read more
This article is by Alex Baker. Fantasy is a genre that has always resonated with teenagers. Whether it’s imagining themselves exploring the halls of Hogwarts in the pages of Harry Potter, or deciphering the alethiometer in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, for many teens fantasy is a chance to immerse themselves in a universe … Read more
This article is by by Cathy, the Overprepared GM, PsychoJuliet, Jaren J. Petty, and Cryssalia Noire, and is presented by Worldbuilding Magazine. Punk The mid-seventies saw the birth of a new artform, punk. It was a style, an ideology, and a way of life. It was a reaction to the peaceful acceptance of the hippie … Read more
This article is by M.S. Jenkins, and is presented by Worldbuilding Magazine. The world is a dangerous place, especially for Roman politicians, Hellenistic kings, and babies; ironically all for the same reason. It may be hard to believe, but poison and venom use is archaeologically about as old as human society. Research suggests that early … Read more
This article is by Arianna Lemont. Constructed languages are complicated, especially if you’re just starting out with no guidelines and no direction. Throughout my years of writing and creating fantasy languages, I’ve compiled a list of some of my personal favorite online tools for creating your own language, for whether you’re a newbie with no … Read more
This article is by Arianna Lemont. Languages like Tolkien’s Sindarin can lend life, consistency, and credibility to your fantasy worlds, but for the writer with no experience in it, language construction can be a daunting task. However, if you start with small steps the trek up the language mountain becomes much easier. The most basic … Read more
When I imagine the world — our world or my worlds — I imagine it as a vast, almost incomprehensible network. It sprawls in a million directions, up, down, left, right, and is one big web of chaos on the surface. But when you zoom in, the network becomes manageable, the million lines are replaced by dozens. … Read more
This article is by S. Yurvati. Okay, so we all know the moon isn’t really made of cheese—which really bummed me out as girl born in Wisconsin. However, it’s the most transcendent of all heavenly bodies and certainly offers copious sources of fanciful fodder for an author. Ancient cultures and mythology typically portray the moon … Read more
What are Cults? While there are numerous interpretations of what a cult specifically entails, there is consensus on the fact that a modern cult (we will not be talking about ancient cults, which is a subject onto itself), exploits the beliefs of its members for the gain of the cult. Furthermore, the International Cultic Studies … Read more
This article is by Garren Jacobsen. What do you call 1000 attorneys at the bottom of the ocean? A good start. Now, with the obligatory lawyer joke out of the way, let’s consider fantasy writers’ worlds and the law. There is a lot that goes into the law. Sometimes, the law is concerned with high … Read more