The Worldbuilder’s Tavern

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult, indigenous horror novel The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. We discuss themes of colonialism, respecting nature, and cycles of violence; when to relay cultural and historical information when writing a novel, and how lived experiences impact worldbuilding. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a necromantic magic system—inspired by Tamsyn Muir’s novel   Gideon the Ninth —by answering these six questions: Does the necromantic magic deal with the body or the spirit? What can necromancy do? How do necromancers learn to use and improve their powers? What are the costs of performing necromancy? What are the benefits of necromancy? Ho...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult science fantasy novel Gideon the Ninth by Tamysn Muir. We discuss having a large cast of characters, necromancy, five-act structure, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel:  The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Disclosure: we are...

5.18 Building a Bonded Creature Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a bonded creature, inspired by Moniquill Blackgoose’s novel To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by answering these ten questions: What is the creature? Is the creature sentient or more animalistic? Why does the creature bond with human(oid)s? How does the creature bone with human(oid)s? How do the creature and human...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the YA fantasy novel To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. We discuss animalistic dragons, themes of colonialism and racism, romance in YA, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Disclosure: we are a Bo...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a university by answering ten questions: What does the University teach? Who is this University for, and who is excluded? What does the University value the most—profit, knowledge, power, etc.? What makes the University unique in its world? How do students physically experience the University? What are the social dynamics among students? H...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the sci-fi novella Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. We discuss aliens with tentacles, culture-based worldbuilding, how less is more in novellas, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Disclosure: we are a...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a zombie outbreak by answering these nine questions: What quintessential parts of zombie lore must be preserved to make it recognizable as a zombie? What is causing the zombification? How/where did it originate? What are the first symptoms of zombification? What are the later symptoms of zombification? What are the final symptoms of zombif...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult horror novel  What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. We discuss gross mushrooms, how the author uses line level techniques to create a sense of dread and deliver worldbuilding information, modern pronouns in a historical fantasy, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a space colony by answering these six questions: Why are people leaving Earth to establish a colony on another planet? What planet are they colonizing? Why that one? Who is leaving Earth? How does the group of people impact the culture of the new colony? What kind of government does the colony establish? What kind of economy does the colon...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the adult space opera  Leviathan Wakes  (The Expanse #1) by James S.A. Corey. We discuss the mystery/noir feeling of Miller's chapters, how the two narrators are foils for each other, balancing politics with adventure in a sci-fi novel, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our P...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a sea creature by answering these eight questions: What type of being is the sea creature—biological, spiritual, celestial, etc.? What does its body look like? How is it shaped by the depth, currents, and/or pressure of the water? How did the sea creature come into existence? Creation, transformation, evolution, punishment? How does the se...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the YA mythological fantasy Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen. We discuss African and Yoruba mythology, gods, fairy tale retellings, "The Little Mermaid," foreshadowing, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel:  Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (Dis...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a spacecraft by answering these ten questions: What is the purpose of the craft? What scale of distance does this craft travel? Does it orbit a single planet? Travel between multiple in the same solar system? Travel vast lightyears across the universe? How fast does it travel? If it has FTL travel, what is the mechanism for it? Is this a p...

Join us for a chat about the worldbuilding in the comedic sci-fi novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. We discuss political humour, absurdism, aliens, the importance of writing craft, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel:  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise as we create a superpower-based magic system by answering these eight questions: Are the superpowers based on magic or science or both? Do the powers have a theme to them? Do people gain powers randomly, are they born with them, or can they acquire them in some intentional way? What can people do with their superpowers? What are the limits, requirement...

Join us for a chat about the writing and worldbuilding in the fantasy murder mystery novel Voyage of the Damned by Frances White. We discuss genre blends, how to help readers keep track of multiple characters, what makes a novel voicey, and more. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel:  The Hitchhiker's G...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise in creating a cataclysmic event! Here are the ten questions we answered in this episode, which can help guide you in building your own cataclysm.  What is the nature of the event? Natural vs supernatural; single vs multiple events; unprecedented vs repeat, etc. What is the scale and impact of the event? Who or what is most affected, both immediate and...

Join us for a chat about the writing and worldbuilding in the horror novel Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. We discuss luck and math as a magic system, how people react to trauma, and the wonderful weirdness of horror. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Voyage of the Damned by Frances White (Disclosure: we...

Join us for a hands-on worldbuilding exercise in creating a dragon! Here are the seven questions we answered in this episode, which can help guide you in building your own dragon.  What hallmarks of traditional dragons are essential to keep in order for something to still be considered a dragon? What is our dragon’s intellectual capacity? Is it sentient, or more bestial? What is the full-grown siz...

Join us for a chat about the writing and worldbuilding in the fantasy novel, A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan. We discuss dragons as the topic of academic study, worldbuilding inspired by Victorian England, and memoir-style novels. Visit the Tavern: Website | Discord | TikTok  | Bookshop Support us and get bonus episodes by joining our Patreon Next month’s novel: Lucky Day by Chuck Ti...

In this episode, we're talking about writing and worldbuilding in the post-apocalyptic with zombies TV show (based on the video game series of the same name), The Last of Us. Proprietor's Pick: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intr...

In this episode, we're talking about writing and worldbuilding in the paranormal romance novel Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Proprietor's Pick: Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi Visit the Tav...

In this episode, we're talking about the writing and worldbuilding in the children's fantasy (with vikings) movie How to Train Your Dragon. Proprietor's Pick: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by...

In this episode, we're talking about the writing and worldbuilding in the urban fantasy novel Jade City by Fonda Lee. (Disclosure: we are a Bookshop.org affiliate, so if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission AND you will support an indie bookstore!) Proprietor's Pick: The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang Intro and outro music: "The Tavern" by Michael Ghelfi Visit the Tavern...