Should you orphan your protagonist? Why is it that so many main characters have no parents?

"Almost all of the most iconic characters in fiction are orphans. ...Why can’t protagonists have parents?"

#writing #booksky #worldbuilding #fantasy #scifi

Gender Roles in Fantasy and Sci-Fi How does your world deal with guys, gals, and nonbinary pals?

"Speculative fiction allows for writers to explore the furthest reaches of our imagination. This goes beyond just technology and magic. The genre offers the opportunity to rethink and recreate social systems like caste and gender."

#writing #worldbuilding #scifi #fantasy #booksky

Live action ‘One Piece’ smartly rewrites Straw Hat history Sometimes it’s for the best when an adaptation takes liberties with the original

"This isn’t to suggest that the original anime is subpar — but even diehard fans can recognize the shortcomings of the madcap production schedule that endeavored to keep up with the manga."

#OnePiece #writing #Medium

medium.com/theuglymonst...

The Machine As Supernatural Horror Exploring the cyberpunk subgenre typified by The Terminator, The Matrix, and Neon Genesis Evangelion

"As a kid, I classified The Terminator and The Matrix as something else entirely: horror in which the monster was a machine."

#writing #cyberpunk #scifi #horror #anime

When Fantasy Novels Rewrite The Life Of Jesus On faith, doubt and the power of imagination

"Which novels speak to the current mood, post-Easter haze? My answer might surprise you — they are genre picks that I don’t think anyone but the deep geeks would know."

#booksky #fantasy #christianity #writing

Should aliens look human? What kind of aliens populate your planets?

“We know that the morphology of the aliens of Star Trek were largely limited to the practical effects of the time. But the written word, and your worldbuilding, need not be constrained by such considerations.”

#writing #scifi #booksky #worldbuilding #ProjectHailMary

A crash course in royalty (and how to reinvent it) How monarchies, royal titles, and court actually work.

"But — and I’m telling on myself here — I think as writers, we frequently approach royalty and its hierarchy through vibes. We consult what we’ve watched and read previously, rather than read dissertations about how monarchies and lines of succession really work."

#writing #booksky #worldbuilding

Is there such a thing as too much worldbuilding? The answer is no… but also yes (sometimes)

"As worldbuilders, we need to keep in mind that while we might really care about the tiny details, our audience might not."

#writing #fantasy #worldbuilding #booksky #starwars

Devilman Remains The Best Subversion Of Spider Man Two very different takes on how to write a teenage superhero

"For the longest time, I thought the very idea of a teenage superhero was lame, but honestly, I just didn’t connect with the Spider-Man format. Then I discovered Devilman."

#writing #booksky #anime #devilmancrybaby #spider-man

✨The world is waking up✨ March 2026 recommendations, resources, and rants for fantasy and sci-fi writers.

Our March newsletter is out with new seeds of inspiration to sow this spring ☘️🌱

#writing #writingcommunity #booksky #fantasy #scifi

The Best Times Fantasy Books Took A Healthy Dig At Each Other Your die hard genre fans live for those Easter eggs…

"But there is a thing that ups the ante when it comes to tropes--when writers not only actively lean into them but actually take a dig at them."

#writing #booksky #fantasy

So You Want To Write Victorian Inspired Fantasy? Some places to look for worldbuilding inspiration regarding worlds based upon the 1800s.

"I venture that as fantasy writers most of us are going down this path and not the one where historical accuracy is king.

...what are the essential flavours of the 19th century and what can be sacrificed?"

#fantasy #writing #historicalfiction #booksky

medium.com/worldbuildin...

Why do readers think that Silver Elite was written by AI? Who is Dani Francis? Why did she write a spicy dystopia?

"Conspiracy theories that the book was possible written by AI have accumulated online. Perhaps Dani Francis isn’t a person at all, but a LLM that had been fed Fourth Wing and The Hunger Games and a dash of Reylo fanfics."

#writing #booksky #scifi #dystopian #NoPaywall

So you want to build a magic system One hundred questions to ask yourself about magic ✨

"As a fantasy writer, you don’t need to break down the unknowable into the explicable… but you do need to answer some questions, namely questions that your readers will have while enjoying your story. Leaving them without answers might lead to confusion and frustration."

#writing #fantasy #booksky

Paracosm, Milo Winter, and The Age of Scorpius Paracosms are fine first forays into worldbuilding, but they need to grow up and mature alongside the writer.

"Remember when you were a little kid and you imagined up a world of your own to adventure in? That’s a paracosm. Many worlds have started out as a child’s daydreams, somewhere to mentally dive into when bored or scared or sad."

#writing #booksky #fantasy #booktok #NoPaywall

What’s the difference between science fiction and science fantasy? Often it’s assumed that it’s either or: magic or technology. Not both. But you can have your magic and space travel too.

"Science fiction imagines possibilities. Science fantasy imagines possibilities AND impossibilities. It’s a powerful hybrid, as is evident with some of the most successful examples of the genre."

#sciencefiction #scifi #fantasy #sciencefantasy #writing #booksky

What is LitRPG? Who the heck is this Dungeon Crawler Carl character?

"It would be hard to argue that authors like Travis Deverell (He Who Fights With Monsters) and/or Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl) weren’t somewhat inspired by “I’ve been transported into a video game” stories that are so prevalent within the isekai genre."

#litrpg #writing #booksky #fantasy

Creating Monsters: The Three Ingredients of Great Bestiaries Monster as actor, monster as story, monster as art piece

"A monster is a story in that the writing describing it unravels a tale — a mystery or a tragedy or a warning. Each entry in a great bestiary is a standalone piece of fiction that draws us in to read to its conclusion."

#DungeonsAndDragons #NoPaywall

medium.com/theuglymonst...

Hobbits made Tolkien go from good to great “Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet…

"The humble hobbit is much more relatable to humble human readers than Tolkien’s ethereal elves, the rough and tumble dwarves, and even the “modern” men of Middle-earth."

#writing #booksky #fantasy #tolkien #NoPaywall

Books that feel like Pokémon Creature collecting, training, and battling — but in books!

"There are stories out there that share Pokémon‘s appreciation for the bond between a supernatural creature and a plucky protagonist as well as explore the concept of borrowing a creature’s power to do battle."

#booksky #Pokémon #writing #fantasy

It's another wonderful Wednesday! Fellow #writers what are you working on?

Murderbot vs Star Trek: the eventual conclusions of capitalism in science fiction How sci-fi imagines utopias and dystopias.

"Well, most science fiction stories are certainly critical of capitalism. Worldbuilders like Gene Roddenberry and Martha Wells take capitalism to, what they perhaps see as, the economic system’s eventual conclusion. In space."

#scifi #writing #booksky #startrek #NoPaywall

Lady knight stories for Chappell Roan lovers Stories of chivalrous women in armor for those who couldn’t get enough of Chappell Roan of Arc

"To see a woman step into the role of knight, in spite of resistance and traditional expectations, speaks to courage far beyond the willingness to do battle.

Also they’re really, really cool."

#fantasy #ladyknights #booksky #writing #scifi

The Reader-Writer Contract And How Not To Betray Your Readers

"In fantasy, we’re required to trust the words on the page to understand this new world we have been thrown into. We are beholden to the author’s choice of words to understand what might not be directly said."

#writingcommunity #NoPaywall #booksky #fantasy

Where did cozy fantasy come from? Cozy fantasy as an antidote to the grimdark days

"The idea behind this comfy subgenre is telling fantasy stories that slow down and linger in settings like The Shire rather than moving on to world-saving quests and perilous journeys to Mordor."

#booksky #writingcommunity #NoPaywall #cozyfantasy

Should your fantasy world be “generic?” On the power of presumption in fantasy novels and the shortcuts that make your story sweeter.

"Perhaps in time medieval Europe won’t be be synonymous with fantasy and instead the genre will be defined by magic and monsters rather than castles and chivalric orders of knights."

#booksky #writing #NoPaywall #fantasy

Every villain imagines that they are actually the hero Your antagonist’s motivations are just as important as your hero’s

"But then there are those who are doing the wrong things for what they believe is the right reason. These are the characters that are, in their own internal monologues, the heroes brave enough to do what no one else would."

#writing #booksky #NoPaywall

Worldbuilding Resources for Fantasy and Sci-Fi Writers A massive list of helpful books, tools, blogs, and communities.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of worldbuilding resources. I intend to add to it periodically. If you notice a helpful resource missing, please let me know in the comments and I’ll add it right away!

#booksky #writing #worldbuilding #writingcommunity

Decolonizing speculative fiction: 5 must-read Black worldbuilders Must-read worldbuilders that are taking science fiction and fantasy out of the Eurocentric dark ages.

"When we start to see more mediocre stuff by marginalized writers writing in non-European setting, then we will have arrived. It’s not when the best can get published, it’s when the mediocre could get published."

#booksky #BlackHistoryMonth #writing

You can’t rely on tropes (or can you?) Are tropes becoming overused in the fantasy genre?

"It’s not that I dislike tropes — I love fanfiction! It was the fertile soil in which I sowed by nascent writing skills! — but the increasing overreliance upon them is… boring."

#booksky #writing #writingcommunity