Category: Worldbuilding

Scribes & Archers > Writing > Worldbuilding
Creating Courtship & Marriage Customs

Creating Courtship & Marriage Customs

Posted on by R.M. Archer

I had another guest post lined up for today about building languages, but it’s been delayed, so here’s the post I was intending to post after that one, instead. So if you’re looking forward to the final post in my conlang series, stay tuned for next week! And in the meantime, enjoy this post on developing courtship and marriage customs.

What is the Purpose of Marriage?

Really, this question should be answered from two angles. One: What is the fundamental purpose of marriage in this world? Where and why Continue reading “Creating Courtship & Marriage Customs” →

Unconventional Languages & Alternative Communication – Guest Post by Lavender Bleu

Unconventional Languages & Alternative Communication – Guest Post by Lavender Bleu

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Hello and welcome to another conlang post! This one is a guest post by Lavender Bleu (go check out her blog; she has awesome posts on worldbuilding, not to mention many other areas of the writing craft… Just read this post first. ;) ), and she’s going to be talking about alternatives to oral speech when it comes to language and communication. This is a super cool topic, and I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did!

Written Language

Written language is something Continue reading “Unconventional Languages & Alternative Communication – Guest Post by Lavender Bleu” →

The Lazy Worldbuilder’s Guide to Conlang

The Lazy Worldbuilder’s Guide to Conlang

Posted on by R.M. Archer

This post was meant to go up last week, but burnout got to me and almost nothing went up. So, first of all, I apologize for the missed week. Here’s the post you were meant to get last week, all about how to build a language (conlang = “constructed language”) that will add realism to your world… even if you’re not a linguist and don’t care to go full Tolkien with your world’s language(s). Continue reading “The Lazy Worldbuilder’s Guide to Conlang” →

The End of the World as You Made It

The End of the World as You Made It

Posted on by R.M. Archer

You’ve been imagining your world the way it is “now,” whether “now” is the particular time span for a novel or even a larger time span that you’ve fleshed out around that. You likely also know how your world was made (and what your characters believe about the creation of the world, whether those two are the same or not). But have you ever considered how (or if) your world will end? Well, that’s what we’re about to look at in this post.

Does Your World End?

The first, most obvious question is Continue reading “The End of the World as You Made It” →

Sanderson’s Third Law: When Should You Create a New World?

Sanderson’s Third Law: When Should You Create a New World?

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Sanderson’s Third Law of Magic states,

“Expand what you already have before you add something new.”

If you’re constantly coming up with new story ideas, you might also come up with a lot of different settings in which to place those stories. The question is, at what point is it appropriate to create a whole new world and when should you just build on whatever you already have?

Now, we are discussing Sanderson’s Laws of Magic. He has magic systems in mind when he presents this advice. But this “law,” at least, is applicable to much of writing and today I want to explore how it interacts with worldbuilding as a whole.

Why to Expand First

First off, why is Sanderson’s Third Law good advice for worldbuilding as a whole?

For one thing, it makes worldbuilding Continue reading “Sanderson’s Third Law: When Should You Create a New World?” →