Recent content by D. Gray Warrior

Not fantasy, but The Catcher in the Rye. Literary fiction isn't typically my cup of tea, but for some reason, that one always piqued my interest. It was also only $10, so why not? I'm also into Christian theology, so been thinking out picking up the Unseen Realm by the late Dr. Michael Heiser.

Yeah, the times where I began with the story snd characters, I defaulted to the standard pseudo-medieval style aesthetic and just fill in things as needed.

I'm not a LotR but I might check that out just to see what his earlier works were right. I feel like a lot of what I write is crap, so it could help boost confidence.

For Game of Thrones, I think it's less that it's extremely low fantasy, and more about the tone. It's too cynical for my liking. Most of the characters aren't very likable (though I'm sure that's the point.) After a certain point, I couldn't get invested anymore and just watched it just be done...

My settings tend to be more grounded and down to earth, but not as much as some other settings. For instance, I think Game of Thrones is a little too "low fantasy" for my taste. My preference is for their to be elves and magic, but they are more in the background rather than the story's...

Wait, not all of Tolkien's stuff was good?

Yes. I just meant most mainstream fantasy assumes a Western European culture and aesthetic, at least in the minds of your average person. Or, I guess, western and Northern Europe combined. Personally, the Witcher is the only example I've seen of a Slavic inspired setting. Though, I do wonder...

In some ways, I think there's no winning, at least if your a Westerner/European. Don't write Medieval fantasy, because it's been done to death. Also, don't write about indigenous cultures because that's cultural appropriation. Or, if you do, make sure you walk on eggshells when doing so. I...

Let's see, I have a few: 1. I once wrote a story about a man on a hike through the woods. He ends up chasing a toad because it stole his bacon, and follows it through a portal. He ends up in a dystopian cyberpunk future where he befriends an anthropomorphic Venus flytrap who's also a trucker...

There's actually a lot I have never seen, mostly because I have never gotten the chance to see them. Also, I don't watch movies that often, anyway. When I do, it's usually some kung fu film or Indiana Jones-y stuff. Then again, I'm squeamish, so a few of them might be too intense for me...

Anyone else here built a setting without any story in particular in mind? Is it bad to do? I've been working on a steampunk fantasy world. So far, there's no actual characters or conflict yet since I'm still brainstorming it and only have loose notes about the setting and lore. However, I do...

I'm a conlanger, but most of my projects aren't related to any novels I am working on. Tbh, you don't need much. Jusr a few phrases or names. A phonology is still useful to help give the language character, but you don't need a whole lexicon. I think, iirc, High Valyrian and Dothraki from...

Yeah, for fictional settings, I just resort to random gibberish that I think sound nice.

Probably to do with the correlation with the Scottish Highlands and the dwarves being a mountain-centered society (albeit more subterranean.) I figured they'd have Swedish accents, being from Norse mythology and all. Alternatively, you could have yodeling dwarves in the Alps

I start with a general idea or theme. It doesn't have to be a story idea per se, but some kind of idea for the setting (like a magic system, historical eras like the Bronze Age, or unconventional technology.) My current project came about because I want to explore a conflict between technology...