Magic is a mainstay–some might even argue a defining characteristic–of fantasy fiction. A writer determines whether magic follows a system of rules or leaves it mysterious and unexplained when building the world the story is set in. That is only the first step of using magic in fantasy fiction, however. The writer then needs to [...]

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I recently attended an employer-mandated cultural competency course, and while I don’t feel any more culturally competent than I did before the workshop, one of the exercises we participated in provided a great template for constructing a detailed culture in twenty minutes. I’ve talked before about how important it is to flesh out cultures when [...]

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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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Now that you’ve determined the geography of your fantasy world and developed its history, it’s time to create the cultures that exist therein. “Cultures” really means people, and includes factors such as races, religions, forms of government, and social mores that define who they are. These topics all shape how the inhabitants of your fantasy [...]

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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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