Tools of the Trade: Stellarium
When a character swims across the Arctic Ocean, in a story set a thousand years in the future, what stars might she use to guide her passage westward?
Posts Tagged ‘world building’
How to Kill Your Imaginary Friends: Tools for the Toolbox: Going Viral
“Tools for the Toolbox” is a series of posts that describe disease types and organ systems. Eventually I hope to include enough information that a writer might be able to do some creative mixing and matching to produce the symptoms they want to give a character. Because it’s really frustrating to throw darts in the dark and hope something lands near the bull’s-eye. Hope it helps!
How to Kill Your Imaginary Friends: How To Talk Doctor! Lesson 1
Dr. Grasshopper explains how to construct believable doctor language for your invented diseases.
How to Kill Your Imaginary Friends: Superballs, Pockets, and Fun With Awesome Molecules
Dr. Grasshopper answers mail about toxins which can rob the blood’s ability to transport oxygen. Learn about how the blood carry’s oxygen and the things that can go wrong.
How to Kill Your Imaginary Friends: When Your Audience Might Know More Than You Do
Using real-world diseases in a work of fiction has a large number of potential pitfalls. Here are a few tips about how to make your pestilential plot point a little more plausible.
Happy… what day is it?
Around the world people are celebrating February 14, 2010 as a special day. What, exactly, that special day is depends on who you are and what tradition you grew up in. It provides an excellent example of ways to use different calendars in world building.
How To Kill Your Imaginary Friends: Flatlines
I’m happy to announce a new feature on the SFWA blog, “How to Kill Your Imaginary Friends: A writer’s guide to diseases and injuries, and how to use them effectively in fiction” written by Dr. Grasshopper.
The Moss-Troll Problem
Literature is all about metaphors–analogies. One thing is like another. Much of literature works by saying, “This thing is like this other thing.” In secondary world stories, how do you handle metaphors?
Link: Why Are Europeans White?
When working on the world-building for your secondary fantasy world, here’s an interesting thought to chew on. Did you know that Northern Europeans are uniquely depigmented?
Research Tool: A brief intro to furniture history
When writing there will come a moment when you have to deal with furniture. If it’s historical fantasy, steampunk or timetravel you’ll face the question of finding something that is period correct. What did people sit on in 1650? How long have drop-leaf tables been around? What was the most expensive wood?
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