#Fantasy Genre Development

[vestestafantasy]

Exploring The Evolution of Sword and Sorcery Genre

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[extasiswings]

Nitpicky pet peeve for published books, I find it extremely grating when a character isn’t doing something they otherwise would and it’s obvious the only reason is the author has decided “X can’t happen yet for the plot”. Because it’s totally fine and reasonable if X can’t happen yet for the plot, but then…come up with a legitimate reason for the character not doing X? Don’t be lazy about it!

(This complaint brought to you by the fact that the protagonist of the book I was listening to was confronted by what he thought was the dead body of the love of his life and went into a blind rage and tried to murder the antagonist who was responsible for her death and he…stopped himself for Reasons that seem to boil down to “she wouldn’t want me to kill someone” except that a) he regularly kills people who have done far less than the antagonist, b) she knows this and is fine with it, c) she would definitely support him avenging her with murder (to be clear she is not actually dead but neither he nor the antagonist know that), and d) this motherfucker (the antagonist) definitely deserves to get murdered. Like…it would have been extremely easy to write it as “he was stopped by the guards in the room” or “the antagonist managed to escape” so the fact that the reason the antagonist is still alive is because the protagonist had a bizarre crisis of conscience resulting in a complete and total personality change is just???????? Please be so fucking serious rn)

[no-s-estelle]

I've been gnawing on The Librarians like a dog on a bone ever since I finished the series a few weeks ago, and now I have Thoughts:

I hope the new show explores more of the library's history and the magical universe around the library. There's so much potential for Lore there, and so many implications the show never touched on. The library's existed for over 2000 years, but all the Librarians we see are white Europeans/Americans? (Besides Ezekiel) Technically Charlene and Judson as the original Guardian and Librarian must have been ancient Roman, Greek, Egyptian maybe, but that was never explored. The library went from Alexandria to the New York Metropolitan Library? Where was it in the interim? It could have literally been anywhere in the world! Show me the library in tsarist Russia, or Edo Japan, or the Incan empire. Or at least mention that the library spent time anchored there. You have 2000 years of history to play with, ffs.

And then in the earlier seasons the show implied the existence of a whole magical society, and then barely did anything with it. Show me how the library as an institution impacts the magical world, beyond just collecting and locking away artifacts! Give me more librarians mediating disputes between pissed off dragons, except we don't have the CGI budget for actual dragons so they're just guys in fancy suits! What happened with the lake forum??? I kept waiting for that to be a bigger storyline, and it never went anywhere, even though Cassandra kept using magic. It felt like an unfired Chekhov's gun. Just. Just give me lore, please.

From press releases, it looks like the new show is going to at least start off in Serbia? Or just generic Central Europe? So I'm interested in what they do with that. Idk, I mostly want them to really lean in to the world-wide storytelling potential, even if they shoot it all in Oregon. I believed the same one forest in British Columbia was 50 different alien planets for Stargate; I'll believe Oregon is China or Japan or West Africa or wherever they want me to believe it is.

[olis-inkwell-symposium]

Oli’s Inkwell Pinned Post

Welcome to Oli’s Inkwell Symposium!

Here, we help stories take shape, worlds come alive, and characters leap off the page. Whether you’re here for writing advice, world-building tips, or to dive deeper into character development, you’ve come to the right place.

My goal is to help you harness your creativity and bring your ideas to life, regardless of your writing journey. From crafting complex relationships to building immersive settings, I’m here to guide you through every storytelling aspect.

For a glimpse of my writing in action, head over to @oliolioxenfreewrites. Check out the list below, drop an emoji for your post preference, and let’s unravel the art of writing together.

Each section covers a different aspect of creative writing, character development, world-building, or plot structure.

If you have a preference on the topic you’d like me to write about next, please submit an ask with the emoji next to the question!

Character Creation & Development

🔄 Character Arcs: How does your character evolve throughout the story?

🧍 Character Voice: How can you make your character’s dialogue distinctive?

💡 Character Motivation: What drives your character forward?

👥 Relationships: How do your characters’ relationships shape their actions?

⚖️ Flaws vs. Strengths: How do you balance a character’s flaws and strengths?

Dialogue Writing

🗣️ Realistic Conversations: How do you make dialogue sound natural?

🤐 Subtext: How can your characters say something without explicitly saying it?

📜 Exposition in Dialogue: How do you reveal backstory through dialogue without info-dumping?

🔇 Silence: How can silence in dialogue speak louder than words?

World-Building

🏙️ Setting: How do you make your world feel lived-in?

🌍 Culture: What are the critical cultural norms in your world?

🛠️ Technology: How does technology shape daily life in your world?

🏛️ Political Structure: What type of government exists in your world, and how does it impact the characters?

🌦️ Climate: How does the climate or weather affect your world?

🐉 Magic System: What are the rules and limits of magic in your world?

📜 World History: How do major historical events resonate with your characters and their motivations?

⏳ Pacing: How do you balance action and slower scenes to keep readers engaged?

🌀 Conflict: What is your story’s central conflict, and how does it escalate?

🏁 Resolution: How can you provide a satisfying conclusion to your story?

💥 Raising Stakes: How do you increase tension and intensify conflicts?

🧩 Plot Twists: How can you set up surprising and inevitable twists?

Thematic Development

🧭 Moral Dilemmas: How do your characters wrestle with ethical choices?

⚖️ Power and Corruption: How does power alter characters in your world?

🌌 Fate vs. Free Will: How do these forces shape your characters’ choices?

👑 Legacy: What impact do your characters’ actions leave on the world?

Conflict

⚔️ Internal Conflict: How do you make your character’s inner struggle feel authentic?

🤜 External Conflict: What forces are pushing against your character’s goals?

🌊 Man vs. Nature: How does the environment act as an antagonist in your story?

💣 Conflict Escalation: How do you intensify a conflict without repeating the same beats?

Villain Development

🧛 Villain Motivation: What does your villain want, and why?

🤔 Villain Complexity: How can you make your villain morally ambiguous?

🕸️ Sympathetic Villain: How do you make readers understand (if not agree with) your villain’s perspective?

💥 Villain’s Weakness: What is your villain’s emotional or physical weakness?

Scene Writing

🎬 Action Scenes: How do you write fight scenes that are engaging and easy to follow?

🌅 Descriptive Scenes: How can you create an atmosphere without overloading on description?

🎭 Character Reactions: How do your characters’ emotions and body language drive a scene?

⛓️ Transitions: How do you smoothly shift from one scene to the next?

Emotional Engagement

💔 Tragedy and Loss: How do you write emotional scenes that hit hard?

💥 Tension: How do you create and maintain emotional tension between characters?

😢 Catharsis: How do you offer emotional release for readers after a climactic moment?

Backstory Integration

🔮 Revealing Backstory: How can you weave backstory into the narrative without info-dumping?

🪙 Trauma and Recovery: How does your character’s past trauma affect their present?

🏚️ Old Scars: How do past mistakes or regrets shape your characters’ decisions?

🗝️ Secrets: What is your character hiding, and how does it influence their relationships?

Genre Exploration

🏰 Fantasy Tropes: How can you subvert familiar fantasy tropes in your writing?

🕵️ Mystery: How do you plant clues without making the plot predictable?

👽 Sci-fi World-Building: How can technology or alien cultures push the boundaries of your world?

🖤 Horror: How do you create a sense of dread in your scenes?

💖 Romance: How do you create authentic, slow-burn romantic relationships?

🎭 Comedy in Dark Fiction: How can you weave moments of humor into dark or serious narratives?

[conspirartist]

Revisiting the character designs I did for my barchelor thesis (part 1/3). The older version is bellow the cut. I tried to stay as close as possible to the original designs, as I still think they work very well...

Anyway, meet Peter, a silver-tongued ghost punished to work as a bartender in his after-life.

[tumblweeds-omegaverse]

there's gotta be some irony in being a person who dislikes bioessentialist tropes in worldbuilding, and also being a person who can enjoy omegaverse. if only because it immediately makes the omegaverse stuff I create more complex than it could otherwise be.

could I make it so my hyena inspired species has a dynamic that basically means dominant females, and then go from there? sure.

is that what I did? no. no it is not. has every attempt to change it turned into something that is harder to explain but feels more fun to write? yes. is this odd for me? nope!

(extended ramble continues)

me, a person who tends to have casual projects spiral out into massive things: how did this happen?

worldbuilding file: has morphed from "haha funny crossover silly time" to "...currency should probably used for trade, but maybe that’s a way to fill the gap of 'I dont know you personally yet'? or to ensure that merchants can swap for items made far away? with locals, a gift economy is probably even stronger than trade... thinking that instead of stamping coins, it’s common to trade useful materials in a transportable form? mana stones as currency just as much as metals? high-quality wood? ores in bar form, like small palmable sticks one can carry in a pouch?"

me: ...fine, I'll make another project for casual stuff while I keep researching climates and animal behavior and pre-industrial weaponry!

the project idea: lol what if I cross 2 other things I like with omegaverse? the fact that the other project also uses omegaverse tropes certainly won't get confusing ever! and it definitely won't get complicated, since this one actually takes place on this planet!

one month later: ...so, if a person transforms into their alternate form in order to access abilities, does that mean that their scent also changes during that time? I mean, if their appearance, clothes and items, and even physical durability can be enhanced, there's no reason why they couldn't also smell differently.

ooh, if they have some control over how they look, does that mean that they could choose their scent for the alternate form? hmm, people would probably lean into stereotypes around scent that are based on dynamic. like if light herbal scents are associated with betas, then...

wait. wait, is that a beta thing in this verse? or is that the other one? let's check...

oh hang on, what if people consider being able to do this as some kind of override to your social status? like sure, you might have been born omega, but this ability makes you too different to be seen as "a normal omega" or something.

but how would people know that without some kinda tell? is there some sort of registration...? is it like how animals can tell the difference between themselves and a familiar? would the initial shift into that battle form cause a change that people can pick up on, even after they leave it? some kind of mark that gives it away if people see it?

I definitely don't want to lock the capability to only one dynamic, that comes too close to bioessentialist stuff and stereotypes...

sure, the stereotypes might say it's not normal for betas, but that makes it more interesting when it comes to character interaction, yeah?

...geez this is getting involved again...

[glitchlight]

i'll be curious to find out after it comes out exactly how much of a rip off of BG3 dragon age 4 is because that trailer sure makes it look shameless.

[englishmagic]

Well, I think Disco Elysium has upgraded to True Brainrot - my father said the word “isola” during family dinner yesterday, in a conversation about etymology bc we’re a cool family, and I think my smile wrapped all around my head. Actual chills down my spine thinking about the pale and the land masses enveloped in nostalgic apocalypse. Keeping the enthusiasm in because video game lore is like the least interesting subject in the world to the rest of my family, who are all a completely different genre/generation of nerds who believe the only reason you’d play video games is if you’re too intellectually compromised to read a book.

[thebirdandhersong]

✨A Rare Bird (click here)✨

team & genre: Team Chesterton, intrusive fantasy (stories where the fantastical elements intrude into the real world)

imagery used: light, water, wind, bread

story summary: it is 1921 in the Age of Babel Rising according to Seelie reckoning. At Dragonsbane, two university students - the ferocious and reclusive Petra Wilder and the warm-hearted and lonely Galen Wong - make a bargain to change their reality. Human and faerie, peasant and prince will work together to undo a family curse and fulfill a family prophecy. But greater forces are at work in the world, including ancient personages, the mysterious and missing Dreamland, a little spirited sister who doesn't know how to give up, a nosy cook with a heart of gold, the power of a reluctant friendship, and a much of a which of a wind...

status: Chapter 1 out of (originally) 3 completed for the challenge; future of the story TBD

main characters: Petronella 'Petra' Wilder from Northern Fairyland & Jinliang 'Galen' Wong of the Middle Kingdom

pinterest board here & spotify playlist here & writing updates here

[yume-fanfare]

this no context page i drew yesterday

[howdoesone]

How does one compare and contrast different sub-genres within science fiction or fantasy literature?

Science fiction and fantasy are broad literary genres that encompass a wide range of sub-genres, each with its own unique characteristics and conventions. Understanding the differences between these sub-genres is crucial for analyzing and appreciating science fiction and fantasy literature. In this article, we will examine some of the most popular sub-genres within science fiction and fantasy,…

[holdharmonysacred]

Started writing a post about unit blorbofication and story depth in FE in light of the latest round of past FEs VS 3H VS Engage discourse, someone remind me to go back to writing it later when I get my brainpower back.

[joncronshawauthor]

Scott Lynch's Revolutionary Impact on Fantasy Literature: The Influence of 'The Lies of Locke Lamora'

Scott Lynch’s tour de force, ‘The Lies of Locke Lamora’ burst onto the fantasy scene in 2006, marking a significant turning point in the genre’s evolution. The book, and its subsequent sequels in the ‘Gentleman Bastard’ series, introduced readers to a unique and innovative world of fantasy that has since greatly influenced countless authors and contributed to the development of modern fantasy…

[pangolinheart]

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but Tyr is canonically a weaver. It started out because finding clothes that fit in Eorzea was very difficult, but he found he does like doing it.

He makes clothes or other things for friends and family. He takes personal tastes into account but if given free reign (and if the relationship is flirty/romantic) chances are they can figure out what features of their body he likes.

He and Tataru sometimes chill out and work on their projects together. She has the space and there’s usually snacks. It’s very low key

WWWWWW Canonical crafters are such good flavor lore. Weaver really suits Tyr, and I can definitely see his point. I always think about weird little practicalities like this because Yeah, it would be hard to find shirts with necks you could fit over your horns in Eorzea, where Au Ra aren't native and are pretty uncommon. And even if you could find pants with tail-holes for miqo'te (though, despite making up like 1/3 of all player characters, i think miqo'te are canonically supposed to be kind of rare within urban areas?) they'd be way too small. Even being a lalafel finding clothes in, say, Ishgard seems difficult, though I guess before the industrial revolution more clothes were made-to-order so that would probably be the situation on the Source as well, which would make it easier.

(Another weird detail I think about how male au ra in particular sleep - it seems like it'd be uncomfortable to lay on your side but mail au ra technically have spines on the back of their head so that seems like it'd rule out sleeping on your back too.... And even though lady au ra don't canonically have the spines one model of female au ra horns extend past the back of the head, so a similar situation...) All that aside, even though they don't seem like his style necessarily I think Tyr would look cute in the Boltfiend and Boltsoph's outfits - and conveniently all of the top pieces button! I would be interested to see what kind of clothes Tyr would design for his love interests/friends! I imagine he has some unique aesthetic sensibilities with all of the travel he's done. I really like the image of Tataru and Tyr hanging out, amiably weaving and sewing together. It seems like it would be a pleasant, relaxing time! I would hang out with them.

[aria0fgold]

So in a way, alcohol is considered a type of poison but not Too Much of a poison, so therefore it isn't affected by the poison immunity, in this essay I will--

[enchantingepics]

Story Prompt 18

In a dimension where the laws of reality were as capricious as the wind, an enigmatic figure existed, a master of martial arts who had surpassed the boundaries of life and death. This mysterious being, let's call them the Wanderer, moved through the tapestry of existence with an ethereal grace that seemed to defy the very fabric of the universe.

The Wanderer's form shifted seamlessly between states of being, an entity untethered by the conventional constraints of mortality. In this surreal dimension, their movements were a dance, each step resonating with the harmonies of an unseen cosmic orchestra. The essence of the Wanderer was said to be interwoven with the threads of reality itself, a symbiosis that granted them access to the boundless energy of the cosmos.

Challengers emerged from various corners of this alternate reality, drawn by tales of the Wanderer's legendary skill. Whether facing them in physical combat or engaging in battles of the mind, these contenders soon discovered the indomitable force that stood before them. The Wanderer's presence was an unwavering testament to the resilience of determination and the relentless pursuit of strength.