If you're talking about Lord of the Rings the answer is "Hesitantly Yes". Saying the Lord of the Rings is a good book is a bit like saying...
My immediate reaction was the Powder Mage trilogy did this, but upon reflection they tended to use magic as more of a "buff" than outright spell...
This article by Philip Athans is a good discussion of part of how I approach villains or what I like about good villains. I think the general key...
I'd echo what seems to be the resounding chorus of people here to argue that it's mostly a discipline thing. I say this as a rather undisciplined...
On some level I think this is mostly a pedantic argument. If you define Tolkien broadly enough and fantasy narrowly enough you could probably...
I tend to not write and/or create many worlds with a significant magical bent to them, but my general considerations fall into two categories: 1)...
In no particular order of importance, these are the questions I came up with: 1) Why was the Father threatened by his son that craved power? 2)...
Skip.knox hit this on the head. I'd say perhaps you're thinking about it in only the partially correct way. Worldbuilding should serve the...
To touch on the character bit, I agree with everyone else that said previously that character tends to set great stories apart despite similar...
I'd second Demesnedenoir. At the end of the day there is no trick to it. You just need to sit down and write. Touching off something you said,...
If you're just looking to create a world, then I find these mapmaking tutorials to be helpful: Link to Map-Making Tutorials for GIMP and...
I like to gain a sense based on an actual nation's size. For example, Rome around 117 AD was around 5 million square kilometers or 1.93 million...
If you read pretty much any book regarding how to write compelling fiction it will address this question. The resounding chorus of answers is to...
I'd echo the first response in this thread by saying it is really a matter of what serves your story best. If it's important for the reader to...
Thomas is pretty on point. The real answer seems to be "do what feels right to you". I think the only caveat is not to get lost in the weeds....
