World Builders Anonymous

Latest Episodes:

012 Melding Religion With Fantasy And Magic Nov 06, 2018

Show notes

The boys weren't as productive as they'd like this week, but they have a fun discussion of melding religion with magic in your fantasy story while Vito pops a beer and John shakes his head at his mildly inebriated sibling. Too often, religion is treated as the whipping boy of a story, the cringeworthy obsession of the "idiot" character, or merely the source of a villain's bigotry and closed-mindedness. When integrated intelligently though, religion can enrich your magic system, culture, and characters instead of simply being "there" in the background of your fantasy story. This was a fun one for us, and we hope you guys enjoy!

011 How to World Build Swords/Discovering Characters by Jumping Around Oct 30, 2018

Show notes

They boys discuss aspects of swords and other bladed weapons that one should consider before writing a first draft. Should elves wield curved, single-edged weapons just because they're elves, or are there other factors to consider? Spoiler alert: there are. Is is realistic to have a quick, rapier-wielding character dancing around an armored knight? Spoiler alert: the results might be...somewhat gruesome...

The then talk about discovering characters by jumping ahead chronologically. By "observing" a proposed character interacting with your main characters in a later scene, you might get some ideas for the scene in which they're introduced.

010 World Building Music/Coming Up With New Characters Oct 23, 2018

Show notes

Vito is a professional musician and John is quite talented in his own right. Today, they discuss music from a world building perspective. What does it feel like to play an instrument you know well? What does it feel like to play something that's unfamiliar? What are some interesting instruments you could incorporate, and what role does music itself play in your world's culture/religion? They then discuss coming up with new characters you never planned on while plotting your story. What can you discover about your main characters through their interactions with discovered characters?

009 World Building Archery/Writing Two Chapters At Once Oct 16, 2018

Show notes

Vito and John discuss different types of bows and where/when they might be appropriate to use in your story. For example, is it realistic to use composite bows in a humid, rainy environment? Who could realistically use a bow powerful enough to do that much damage? It might not be the typer of person you're thinking. We can't all be naturally super strong like Legolas in Lord of the Rings; real people have to train long and hard in order to handle the heavy draw weight of powerful bows. What might be better ranged weapon options for weaker characters? The boys then talk about jumping around from chapter to chapter in your writing, perhaps to keep momentum going when you hit a rough spot in a certain chapter.

008 World Building Money/Writing Action Scenes Oct 09, 2018

Show notes

Today, the boys explain everything you need to know about world building money in a fantasy setting...well, at least enough to write your first draft. Why don't things like gemstones make good money? Why is gold and silver always used instead of, say, iron? They also discuss the past week of writing, including adding scenes to your beginning and writing action scenes.

007 What to do when you stall/Penguin Sharks: Scourge of the Seas Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

The boys have now both encountered chapters that became a chore to write. What do you do when the words don't flow easily? How do you push through stalls while writing your first draft? Also, they intro a new segment they're working on, a segment that explains everything you need to know for your first draft about a variety of subjects. Today's is a fun test run for the idea; what do you need to know about penguins and sharks before writing them into your story? How might some of these creatures' real world abilities and attributes be incorporated into your world building?

006 Your First Draft Is Just A Giant Brainstorm Session Sep 25, 2018

Show notes

The sooner you accept the fact that your first draft is part of the chaotic brainstorming/worldbuilding process, the sooner you'll actually get to the meaty part of the writing process where it all comes together: revision/editing.

This episode has it all; two theme songs, drunken sailor fetch quests, no long pauses at all, and a discussion about leaving space for additions later on, after you've solidified your story, characters, setting, etc. through the process of writing your first draft.

005 World Building: How To Do It Without Getting Sidetracked Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

Vito and John recap their first week of writing their first drafts. They discuss pushing through discouragement, how to preserve your excitement for the story from plotting to drafting, and their complimentary differences in style as writers. The meat and potatoes of this episode is this idea: when do you world build? It has to be done if one is writing fantasy. That's kind of the point of fantasy, after all. But how do you make sure you're tailoring your world to your story and not the other way around? How do you build your world without getting lost in Wikipedia? How do you avoid using world building as a crutch for your lack of motivation to actually write? All this and more in this week's episode.

004 The Deep Breath Before the Plunge/How To Make Magic Interesting Sep 11, 2018

Show notes

Vito and John start out talking about John's idea for a magical power in his story. One of his characters can control light itself. How does one make that interesting/balance it with other magical abilities in one's story? Also, this week marks the start of the actual writing process! How does one start writing the prose of a story? What obstacles can one expect? All this and more in this week's episode!

003 Utilizing The 27 Chapter Plot Structure Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

The boys kick things off with a World building brainstorm by asking how one might go about combining a magic system with religion. They go on to talk about the 27 chapter outline they've been following, and the different ways they have been utilizing it. They discuss when it's right to put "cool things" into your novel, and wrap things up with their plans for the final week of outlining.

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