Cozy fantasy has been launched into unexpected popularity recently, arguably first by the success of the TikTok viral Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, and a following spate of popular titles (such as The House in the Cerulean Sea, A Coup of Tea, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries, That Time I Got Drunk & Saved … Continue reading What is cozy fantasy?
Gnolls are a species of hyena-like humanoids, sometimes called “beastmen” or “beastkin”, common as a stock species in fantasy. I have a soft spot for these guys - hyenas are cool and I feel like they’re often underutilized. Portrayals tend towards making them one note evil. I have problems with any portrayal of a whole … Continue reading Where did Gnolls come from?
Fantasy has a fascinating array of alternative words for wand. Interestingly, many of the words are used in different way to their dictionary definitions and I've found it hard to find much information. So I put together my own list of definitions I've learned from years of reading fantasy and mythology. There aren't as many … Continue reading Alternative Words for Wand
Today, we are discussing Orcs. Stock fantasy species get a bad rap lately. It can be the first thing you want to do when you start a new fantasy world: Reinvent the wheel. Or in this case, reinvent the elf. But these races have an interesting history that makes them a useful writing tool. The … Continue reading How To Make Orcs Interesting and Unique
When I started creating my high fantasy world, I stumbled onto a serious issue very early. I went into things with the intention of creating a classic medieval world (spoiler: it didn't happen). But I'd created a magic system that rendered the classic staples of a medieval world defunct. Plate armor, knights on horseback, stone … Continue reading Castles Don’t Make Sense In High Fantasy (a lot of the time)