How to use AI in your worldbuilding

How to use AI in your worldbuilding

Last updated Dec 14, 2023 | Writing Tips

AI gets a lot of flack from writers. It’s a new technology, barely out of its infancy. We are only just starting to understand and debate the legal ramifications and the uses of programs like ChatGPT. Some authors are up in arms. How dare software companies use their...
How to use humour in fantasy

How to use humour in fantasy

Last updated Dec 14, 2023 | Writing Tips

Pratchett aside, fantasy isn’t a genre that immediately screams out ‘funny’. If you consider the grim-faced barbarians in Robert E. Howard’s stories, Moorcock’s tragic Elric, or indeed the epic scale of Tolkien’s work… well, it all seems a bit serious, doesn’t it?...
What we can learn from The Hobbit

What we can learn from The Hobbit

Last updated Aug 2, 2022 | Writing Tips

The Hobbit is one of the bestselling books of all time.  It’s also one of the best guides to writing fantasy.  Modern fantasy writers sometimes shy away from Tolkien, seeing him as dated or over-wordy. A desperate desire to see our work as original and unique means...
5 awkward questions to ask about your magic system

5 awkward questions to ask about your magic system

Last updated Aug 2, 2022 | Writing Tips

Magic is the exclusive domain of fantasy and a cornerstone of our genre. So it makes sense that when worldbuilding, this is something you need to spend a bit of time on. A perfectly designed system of magic might just pop into your head while in the bath… or it might...