Never submit a story to a market without reading the submission guidelines first. It’s also important to read work previously published in that market so you can get an idea of what types of stories the editors like. I always do the former, but tend to neglect the latter unless samples are offered online. I [...]

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If you haven’t read my previous posts on building a fantasy fiction world, you’ve missed out on discussions about using geography to support your story, integrating the history of your fantasy world without resorting to large information dumps, and creating dynamic inter-character relationships by developing cultural factors like race, religion, government and social mores. Of [...]

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All life is created, and must, therefore, have a creator. Jord created the world and filled it with life. Then He created the Nefilum as stewards over the world. The Nefilum rebelled against their task, however, and turned to the worship of demons, seeking dominion over the natural world. Jord was grieved, but He could [...]

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Fantasy worlds take all shapes and sizes. The physical landscape of your story’s setting plays a large part in its uniqueness. Creating fantastical geography involves more than just drawing maps, however. Determine the Scope Building an entire fantasy world can be daunting, and unnecessary. No need to create entire continents if your hero will only [...]

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One of the reasons writing appeals to me is the act of creation. There is nothing quite as satisfying. Fantasy fiction amplifies this satisfaction because I’m not only creating a story, but I get to build an entire world around that story. World-building is not unique to fantasy fiction. Any time a writer pens a [...]

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