Worldbuilding for Masochists

Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Well, that really depends on how your world conceives of witchcraft, doesn't it? In this episode, we discuss witches: what form their powers take, what sets them apart from other kinds of magic users, how do you know someone's a witch, and what to make of all those familiars hanging 'round the place. (Cass apologizes for some fading audio in this episode. She's...

From youth to veneration, from cradle to grave, how does your fantasy world imagine the phases of life? In this episode, we think about the factors that influence a society's concept of aging: biological, economic, and cultural. What happens when your long-lived elves and your mayfly fairies live next door to each other? Are your adolescents adults-in-training or wild-and-free teenyboppers? And wh...

Your WfM hosts are authors naturally-inclined to overcomplicate their writing lives -- but what if your instincts run the opposite direction? "Science fiction with feelings" author Mike Chen joins us to discuss reverse-engineering worldbuilding from plot, maintaining consistency, using POV to communicate your world, and the most complex pizza ordering of all time.   Transcript for Episode 34 (with...

Fantasy literature hasn't always done well by people with disabilities. So how can we do better? Guest Elsa Sjunneson helps us think about possible ways to design a fantasy world with disabilities in mind: avoiding problematic tropes like magic cures, creating thaumaturgically-responsive buildings, and training service wyverns! We also explore the issues of community, economics, and technology tha...

When fantasy stories are so much about adventure, what is the function of home? The amazing Zoraida Córdova joins us to discuss domestic spaces and how to fit them into your worldbuilding! Is home a place? A people? A ritual? Is it somewhere you escape from, something you defend, or your last refuge? Transcript for Episode 32 (thank you, scribes!)

Guest Michael R. Underwood joins us to discuss military cultures in fantasy worlds! If your story has warfare, what does that mean for the structure of your society? Do you have a standing army, a militia on-call, feudal obligations? How do technology and economy play into your military configuration? And what does your all-important training montage look like? Transcript for Episode 31 (thank you...

K. Tempest Bradford , K. S. Villoso , and Sarah Guan join us for a panel discussing race and racism in fantasy worldbuilding. What sort of things does an author need to be mindful of when integrating real-world, real-world-inspired, or invented races into worldbuilding? How do tropes of fantasy species, like orcs and elves, or of magical races, like wizards and Valyrians, perpetuate harmful ideas?...

Whether your protagonist is a wholesome farm worker, a high-flying politico, or a bone-weary traveler, sooner or later, there's a good chance they'll end up in The City. But that city can be a character in its own right -- and that means putting some world-building work into figuring out why it exists, how it grew, what sort of people live there, and how they organize their lives! In this episode,...

Physical art colors the world around us -- literally! But how do we translate that into the written word? This week, we explore the difference between art and craft, art for public consumption versus private enjoyment, political messages in portraits and sculpture and graffiti, and how those details can communicate the values and trends in the world you're writing. Transcript for Episode 28 (Thank...

We begin Year 2 of the podcast by answering questions from listeners and introducing our new co-host, Cass Morris! We chat about architecture, city design, profanity, and other topics that may well spin out into full episodes as the year goes on. If you're new to the podcast, welcome! This is a great place to start. If you're a devoted follower of the podcast, welcome back! We're delighted to have...

Guest K.A. Doore joins us to talk about queer worldbuilding! What are ways to think about approaching queernorm in crafting second world fantasy? What ripple effects does normalizing queerness add to your world? Transcript for this episode (Thanks again, scribes!)

Fabulous guest ANDREA STEWART joins us to talk empires and rebellions, including the worldbuilding for the empire in Bone Shard Daughter! Don't miss this episode--it's revolting. In the best way possible. Transcript for this episode

Whether you're outfitting a fictional warrior for battle, a farmer for work, or a hapless Hobbit for a very long walk, the pragmatic and aesthetic elements of and individual's clothing and gear are an essential part of fantasy worldbuilding! Join us as we chat with Melissa Caruso (author of the Swords and Fire trilogy and, forthcoming, The Obsidian Tower). Transcript for this episode

People can make a ceremony out of just about anything--life events, accomplishments, afternoon tea. Why, and how, and what can it convey about the world our characters live in? Featuring TOCHI ONYEBUCHI! Transcript for this episode

We've finally done it--we're talking about food! Buffets of food description are a fantasy trope, but why is food so important to worldbuilding, anyway? Transcript for this episode.

Bodies may not be technically required in fantasy, but most of our characters have 'em...what medicine and concept of physical health and self do they have? Transcript for this episode

On this week's episode we're joined by the fabulous romance author Cat Sebastian while we do some SEXY worldbuilding. With, like, slow jazz and shit. Saxophones. Rose petals on the bed. The whole thing. Get cozy!   The transcript of this episode is available here!

On today's episode, we're doing a deep-dive and building up that Thirteen Families culture that we mentioned a little while back! From the ground up, here we go!   The transcript of this episode is available here .

On this week's episode, we're talking about the wonders of the world, both natural and man-made, and how they can enrich your settings! The transcript of this episode is available here. Thank you to our wonderful scribes!!

This week, we're joined by S.A. Chakraborty, author of the Daevabad trilogy (The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper and, forthcoming, The Empire of Gold) while we talk about the loooooong game: Not just recent local history, but thousands or tens of thousands of years of world history.    The transcript for this episode is available here. Throw a bouquet of roses to your local scribes!!

On this week's episode, we're talking politics. Yeah, yeah, we know, but we're gonna try to make it fun. Like, why does fantasy fixate so hard on monarchies, anyway?? The transcript of this episode is available here .  

Listeners have sent us questions, and we spend the episode answering them, and each of these questions was juicy enough to make a whole episode out of alone.  So you get to hear random morsels of joy that you would only get with a Listener Questions: about travelogue plots and caraco jackets and crownball, whatever that is.   Transcript for the episode is here.   Thank you to our wonderful scribes...

Happy Holidays, dear listeners! This week, we're talking about worldbuilding holidays, and we giggle pretty much the entire time!  Transcript is available here. Blessings upon the heads of our wonderful scribes!

On this week's episode, we're joined by our glamorous guest, Tasha Suri, author of EMPIRE OF SAND and REALM OF ASH to talk about worldbuilding religions!   Transcript is available here

We're joined this week by glamorous guest star Cass Morris, Shakespeare scholar and author of FROM UNSEEN FIRE, to talk about art and pop-culture in fantasy worldbuilding!    The transcript for this episode is here. Thank you to our excellent scribes!