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Worldbuilding Checklist – The Basics

Posted on June 15, 2021February 13, 2025 by R.M. Archer

Last week, I talked about the core elements a fictional culture needs, and over time I’ve written posts on many different worldbuilding concepts and how to build them well. Today, I want to share with you a worldbuilding checklist that includes all of the elements (both general to a world and specific to various cultures) that I see as integral to a functioning world. And I’ll include a printable version, too, so stick around to the end for that. Continue reading “Worldbuilding Checklist – The Basics” →

Deciding the Foundational Truth of Your World

Posted on November 24, 2020February 13, 2025 by R.M. Archer

Something I’ve always found fascinating, as a Christian with an interest in story, is how so many mythologies have points in which they reflect the truth of how the world was made, how it flooded, and even sometimes how it was saved and how it will end. When something is true, it is impossible to completely obscure that truth. Which is why I think it’s important for authors to lay out the groundwork for their fictional worlds fairly early on; the foundational truth of your world will shine through in many different areas. Continue reading “Deciding the Foundational Truth of Your World” →

Preptober Prompts Day 6 – 2020

Posted on October 6, 2020February 13, 2025 by R.M. Archer

What’s the biggest change your storyworld has seen?

Well… it’s seen a lot of nations fall and spring up. But the creation of The Dewinen was probably the biggest change. Magic-users didn’t have a systematic way to learn about their powers before Eloren Damerel created The Dewinen, so there were a lot of unskilled magic-users running around making messes. Then The Dewinen were established and skilled magicians were assigned to certain places around the worlds to oversee magic academies and the like so that magic might not run so rampant and dangerous. That change is probably the biggest, if only because it affects both planets.

How about you? What events or changes have most significantly altered your storyworld?

Looking for a flexible place to keep your world information? Sign up to my newsletter to get access to a country-building template! (The resource library also includes a NaNoWriMo checklist to assist you with your prep!)

Preptober Prompts Day 4 – 2019

Posted on October 4, 2019February 13, 2025 by R.M. Archer

There’s no music-based magic in Virilia, no. In Teraco (which is significantly westward of Virilia) there’s a race of Harlequins who possess illusion magic and sometimes use music to focus it–violins and flutes are especially popular among Harlequins–but unfortunately, none of my worlds include legitimately music-based magic (yet).

Does your world feature any music-based magic? I’d love to hear about it down in the comments!

And don’t forget that you can submit prompts! There are three “extra” days in October which aren’t part of an official Promptober week (thank you, Anne, for this term!), and I’ll be featuring reader-submitted prompts for those days. All you have to do is submit a prompt below, but you can improve your chances of getting your prompt chosen by sharing about and participating in Preptober Prompts. The three readers who are chosen will get special graphics for their prompts, and if they’re bloggers then their blogs will be featured. Any prompts not chosen will be compiled into a list as a bonus for those who want extra prompts. Sound cool? Submit a prompt below!