There’s been a buzz of discussion lately about overused character tropes in the fantasy genre—the orphan child fated to save the world; the lone wolf assassin; the hot-headed and reckless protagonist; elves who love trees and loathe dwarves. It’s made for some incredibly insightful reading, allowing writers to see what readers are tiring of, potential …
Writing fantasy can so often leave you caught up in a web of your own making. Most fantasy involves a secondary world, that is a world different from our own. Granted, it doesn’t have to be totally original, but it raises the question: how different should we make it? Should we scrap everything we know and play God and build from scratch? Should we shape and morph things that already exist? Or should we keep what everyone finds familiar?
These questions can be asked when it comes to inventing anything for our worlds, but one such area in which it’s particularly prevalent is with language. In this new world of ours, does everyone speak the same language?
Today I present a guest post by Ed White, writer of fantasy and science fiction. It’s these two genres that his article focuses on, discussing their origins, their very essence, and, as Ed puts it, ‘the legion’ of sub-genres that have developed to make these genres two of the most exciting, inspirational and forward-thinking of all.
Dros Delnoch, Pelennor Fields, Julatsa, the Battle of the Bastards, Helms Deep. These are just some of the most iconic battles in fantasy. The writers of these epic clashes knew a thing or two about warfare, and this post aims to give you some research to aid your creation of the compelling and gripping clashes fantasy fans love so much.
I’m delighted to introduce Ed White, writer of creative and visionary fiction, who’s contributing to the blog this week with an insightful post on a significant subject in SFF: spirituality and religion. Enjoy!
Life changed a great deal for women during the Middle Ages, reducing the majority to three societal statuses: Maiden, Wife, and Widow. Get some inspiration for your fantasy stories with today’s Fantasy Friday article.
For this week’s instalment of Fantasy Friday, I’m delighted to introduce fantasy author Jesper Schmidt. Jesper runs AmWritingFantasy.com along with Autumn Birt. He’s a world-building and mapmaking genius and I could think of no better person to give an insight into the world of cartography!
To gain an insight into the role and lives of the lords of the Middles Ages we’ll first take a brief look at the reign of King Richard II, otherwise known as Richard the Tyrant. From there we’ll turn our focus to the world of barons, the individuals who held almost unlimited power over the land granted to them by the king.
