Category: World Building

  • 7 Things to Think About When Writing the Future…or the Past

    Nora Roberts is best known for her romance novels — all of which move through several genres. You’ve got historical, fantastical, modern, thriller, etc. (I could list and list and list…but you get the point.) But she’s also the creator of the J.D. Robb in Death series. For those of you who may not be…

  • It’s a Kind of Magic

    You know, for a fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire doesn’t have tons of magic. In plenty of fantasy, the magic is front and center. Magical creatures, magical people, magical wars, magic, magic, magic… But, Martin plays it subtle. In most of the first book, there’s hardly anything magical at all. A hint…

  • World Building vs. Character Building

    Today I’m going to follow up on my earlier post about The Year of the Flood. I had talked about Atwood’s world building, which is immersive and draws me right in. She doesn’t info dump, but rather, she gives little glimpses to draw you in. It’s like the world-building peep show. On the second page…

  • World Building

    I’m working my way through Atwood’s The Year of the Flood. The interesting thing to look at is how she built her world. On one hand, she explains very little. She tosses the reader right into the midst of rakunks and a post-apocalyptic world. It’s not until much later that she explains about the genetic…